^rW9mc^> 


Logical  s*v^ 

4-4 
T)&rp5e 


3)3- 
Copy  I 


English  Hymns  : 


THEIR  AUTHORS   AND   HISTORY 


BY 

samuel  willoughby  Nuffield, 

AUTHOR    OF     UTHE    LATIN    HYMN-WRITERS    AND    THEIR    HYMNS,"     "  THE    HEAVENLY    LAND," 

"warp  and  woof:  a  book  of  verse,"  "the  burial  of 
the  dead,"  etc.,  etc. 


SECOND    EDITION,    REVISED   AND    CORRECTED. 


But  the  great  Master  said,  '  I  see 

No  best  in  kind  but  in  degree. 

I  gave  a  various  gift  to  each 

To  charm,  to  strengthen  and  to  teach. 

These  are  the  three  great  chords  of  might, 
And  he  whose  ear  is  tuned  aright 
Will  hear  no  discord  in  the  three, 
But  the  most  perfect  harmony.''  " 

Longfellow  :    The  Singers, 


FUNK   &    WAGNALLS. 

NEW    YORK'.  jgg^  LONDON: 

IO   AND    12    DEY    STREET.  44   FLEET   STRE'ST. 

All  Rights  Reserved. 


ft%9 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  i856,  by 

FUNK  &  WAGNALLS, 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


To 
CHARLES   SEYMOUR   ROBINSON,  D.D.,  LL.B., 

Whose  Landes  Domini  furnished  a  Basis  for  the  Present 

Work,  as  his  Advice  and  Urgency  have  promoted 

its  Progress,  this  Compendium  of  Biography, 

Incident  and  Religious  Suggestion 

is  now  cordially 

DEDICATED. 


LA  US    PERENNIS. 

0  monks  of  Ant  loch,  I  read 
That  in  the  olden,   happy  days, 

You  kept  alive  a  precious  deed, 
And  sang  and  chanted  ceaseless  praise. 

Whoever  neared  your  holy  throng — 
Whether  he  came  by  night  or  noon — 

Across  his  spirit  passed  a  song ; 
Upon  his  heart  there  broke  a  tune. 

He  heard  and  knew,  and,  gliding  by, 

He  spake  within  himself,  and  said, 
"  So  must  the  angels  sing  on  high, 

Where  life  hath  risen  from  the  dead!" 

But  now  I  tread  your  voiceless  shore, 
O  monks  of  Antioch,  and  lo  ! 

1  hear  the  ceaseless  song  no  more ; 
No  more  the  choir  go  to  and  fro. 

Nay,  for  the  world  is  all  too  wide  ! 

Too  strait  and  close  the  cloisters  grew  ; 
All  nations  laud  the  Crucified, 

And  they  and  we  still  sing  with  you  ! 

October,    1885.  s-  W-    D- 


PREFACE. 


1  have  written  this  Preface,  in  waking  and  dreaming  moments, 
a  good  many  times.  It  is  "  borne  in  upon  me"  —  as  the  Quakers 
say — that  the  Courteous  Reader  and  I  must  make  each  other's 
acquaintance  in  the  first  person  singular  before  we  are  separated 
by  the  editorial  "  We." 

I  would  not  have  him  "  mislike  me  for  my  complexion,"  or 
fancy  that,  because  this  is  a  somewhat  elaborate — and,  I  hope, 
somewhat  accurate — treatise  on  the  Authors  and  History  of  Eng- 
lish Hymns,  it  must  therefore  be  dry  reading  and  useless  to  all 
except  the  musty  grubbers  among  old  hymn-books. 

Nor  would  I  have  him — or  her,  for  I  know  as  many  women 
who  love  hymns  as  I  do  men  ! — think  me  capable  of  imposing  on 
his  credulity  with  every  sort  of  ill-grounded  or  sentimental  tradition 
concerning  the  origin  or  the  use  of  these  Hymns.  The  size  of 
the  present  volume  shows  what  has  been  omitted  as  well  as  in- 
cluded. And  as  this  is  in  no  sense  either  a  work  of  fiction  or  of 
dead  statistics,  I  have  confined  myself  to  the  truth  as  I  found  it, 
and  have  mainly  restrained  a  desire  to  indulge  in  the  Comparison 
of  Texts  and  the  History  of  Alterations.  I  suppose  I  might  add, 
too,  that  I  have  only  plucked  a  few  flowers  from  the  outer  limits 
of  that  great  garden  of  Christian  Biography  wherein  grow 
Solomon's  rose,  Christ's  lily,  Chaucer's  daisy,  and  Robert 
Robinson's  saffron-crocus. 

It  was  when  I  was  busy  with  the  Latin  Hymns  that  this  work 
was  peremptorily  forced  upon  me  by  the  exigencies  of  the  case. 
Large  as  it  was,  I  looked  upon  it  only  as  the  adytum  or  vestibule 
to  that  cathedral  of  ancient  praise.  But  I  soon  found  that  Eng- 
lish Hymnology  afforded  a  very  fruitful  field,  for,  as  a  rule,  in 
the  immensity  of  material  each  editor  has  perforce  taken  a  certain 
direction  and  dug  his  galleries  and  shafts  to  correspond.  Such  a 
thing  as  one  General  Guide  to  the  whole  subject  of  the  Hymns 
themselves  was  not  to  be  had.     Especially  there  was  a  lack  in 


vi  PREFACE. 

America,  where  we  employ,  more  freely  than  does  England,  the 
sacred  songs  of  "all  peoples,  nations,  and  languages."  This 
catholicity  and  the  publication  of  Laudes  Domini,  Dr.  Robinson's 
latest  and  noblest  collection  of  hymns,  determined  both  the  basis 
and  the  scope  of  the  present  work. 

There  are  those  who,  in  Hymns,  as  in  Art  and  in  Music,  are 
clamorous  nowadays  for  the  new,  the  precise,  and  the  aesthetic. 
But  the  "  old  wine"  is  good  enough  yet,  and  there  is  honey  still 
in  the  lion-carcass  of  the  field-preaching  Church  of  Lady  Hunting- 
don's day.  I  shall  not  defend  archaic  expressions,  bad  rhymes, 
and  halting  rhythm,  but  I  shall  constantly  aver  that  Hymns  are 
pre-eminently  the  utterance  of  Spiritual  Life,  and  that  what  the 
Church  Universal  adopts  and  cherishes  is,  by  that  fact,  removed 
both  from  the  control  of  a  picking  pedantry  and  of  a  cold-blooded 
correctness. 

The  string  with  which  I  have  bound  these  things  together  is 
undoubtedly  mine  own.  I  have  not  been  satisfied  merely  to 
quote  and  to  compile  ;  but  I  must  needs  bring  in  more  or  less  of 
my  own  tying  of  the  knots.  I  feel  like  old  "  Democritus"  Burton  : 
"  As  I  do  not  arrogate,  I  will  not  derogate."  There  is  honest, 
hard  labor  here,  And  I  take  Burton's  comfort  to  myself  :  "  I 
shall  be  censured,  I  doubt  not  ;  for,  to  say  truth  with  Erasmus, 
nihil  morosius  kominumjudiciis,  there  is  naught  so  peevish  as  men's 
judgments  ;  yet  this  is  some  comfort,  ut  palata,  sic  judicia,  our 
censures  are  as  various  as  our  palates." 

I  have  paid  particular  care  to  our  American  Hymn-Writers,  and 
have  received  from  them  much  personal  help.  The  Materials  for 
Annotation,  placed  at  my  service,  have  been  unusually  fine — both 
as  to  Hymnologies  (of  which  I  have  consulted  all,  without  a 
known  exception)  and  as  to  Hymn-Books  and  Original  Editions. 
And  yet  I  have  scrupulously  avoided  a  kind  of  dogmatic  "  Sir 
Oracle"  method— which  is  to  me  one  of  the  most  unpleasant 
features  of  the  study  of  these  Texts  and  Origins.  The  best  of 
men  can  be  mistaken,  and  it  does  not  conduce  to  confidence  for 
any  person  to  believe,  or  imply,  that  knowledge  will  perish  with 
him.  Good  old  Daniel  Sedgwick  is  the  suggestive  "  horrible 
example" — writing  "  Jeremiah  Stegen"  for  "  Gerard  Tersteegen" 
and  assigning  R.  Robinson's  hymn  to  Lady  Huntingdon  ! 

I   trust  there  is    yet   more  light  to  break  across  this   hymn- 


PREFACE.  vn 

country,  this  Land  of  Beulah,  from  which  the  towers  and  palaces 
of  the  New  Jerusalem  can  be  seen.  And  while  I  have  many 
thanks  to  tender  to  many  friends  who  have  always  given  freely 
what  I  required  of  them  (and  whom  I  cannot  name  "  more 
particularly"),  I  am  notably  grateful  for  the  help  I  have  had  upon 
the  Indexes,  as  afforded  by  Mr.  H.  P.  Main  and  Rev.  Samuel  M. 
Jackson,  of  New  York  City  ;  Mr.  C.  Alex.  Nelson,  of  the  Astor 
Library  j  Mr.  C.  R.  Gillett,  librarian  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary  ;  Rev.  J.  L.  Russell,  of  Altoona,  Pa.  ;  and  Mr.  E.  P. 
Mitchell,  of  Glen  Ridge,  N.  J.  From  first  to  last,  also,  the  work 
has  received  the  accurate  and  invaluable  assistance  of  Miss  L.  B. 
Day,  of  Bloomfield,  N.  J. 

I  have  the  assurance  to  declare  that  these  Authorities  which  I 
have  consulted  ;  these  Authors  who  have  given  me  their  confirma- 
tion ;  these  Hymn-Books  which  pave  my  floor,  and  these  Hym- 
nologies  under  which  my  desk  groans,  are  inaccessible  to  the 
ordinary  reader,  and  are  largely  out  of  the  reach  of  specialists.  I 
have  been  freely  laying  other  people's  rose-leaves  in  my  wax  that 
I  might  burn  a  fragrant  candle  withal,  in  the  midst  of  the  ob- 
scurity. And  if  the  Courteous  Reader  likes  his  light,  I  shall  be 
well  content  ! 

And  now,  as  I  turn  from  these  studies  to  those  where  I  must 
toil  for  the  most  part  as  a  solitary  explorer,  that  I  may  soon  send 
"The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns"  to  accompany 
this  volume,  I  beg  to  add  that  the  present  pages  have  been  written 
amid  the  continuous  and  delightful  occupations  of  an  active  and 
growing  pastorate.  They  have  filled  its  interstitial  spaces  with 
their  own  benediction  of  charity  and  peace,  and  if  they  kindle  any 
other  heart  with  love  for  the  service  of  the  Lord  as  they  often  have 
kindled  mine,  they  will  achieve  the  mission  and  the  prayer  with 
which  they  go  forth.  The  years  thus  spent  have  made  me  ready 
to  borrow  the  language  of  an  unknown  hymn-writer  of  the  last 
century,  and  to  sing, 

11  I'll  trim  my  Lamp  the  while, 
And  chaunt  a  midnight  Lay, 
Till  perfect  Light  and  Gladness  come 
In  Glory's  endless  Day." 

Samuel  W.    Duffield. 
Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  April  22,  1886. 


PREFACE   TO    SECOND   EDITION. 


The  demand  for  a  new  edition  of  English  Hymns,  coming  so 
soon  after  the  first  issue  of  three  thousand  copies,  may  well  be  a 
surprise  to  others,  as  it  certainly  is  to  myself.  The  past  three 
months  have  been  spent  in  a  slow  convalescence  from  dangerous 
illness  induced  by  overwork,  and  no  medicine  could  have  been 
more  salutary  than  the  invariably  kind  reviews  printed  by  various 
journals  and  the  frequent  and  appreciative  letters  of  my  brethren 
in  the  ministry.  If  I  am  to  believe  what  I  read,  I  have  done 
some  service  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  even  while  my  lips  have 
been  silent  and  my  hands  have  "hung  down."  I  ask,  in  re- 
turn, the  prayers  of  those  to  whom  this  book  is  helpful,  that  I 
may  be  fully  able  to  renew  my  old  and  happy  labor,  and  also  to 
complete  the  manuscript  of  the  Latin  Hyi7in-  Writers  without  un- 
due delay.  I  can  indeed  make  the  final  couplet  of  Doddridge's 
Last  Hymn  my  own,  and  say  : 

"  For  'tis  a  heaven  begun  to  know, 
To  love,  and  serve  my  Lord  below." 

Mr.  Hubert  P.  Main  has  again  aided  me  (especially  in  the 
American  chronology),  and  I  owe  particular  thanks  to  Rev.  T.  W. 
Chambers,  D.  D.,  to  Rev.  C.  S.  Nutter,  to  the  veteran  hymnolo- 
gist,  David  Creamer,  and  to  Rev.  G.  W.  Anderson,  D.D.,  and 
his  friend,  Mr.  Francis  Jennings,  for  many  annotations  and  sug- 
gestions. The  very  few  real  changes  which  these  have  rendered 
necessary  are  a  "source  of  wonder  and  delight"  to  one  who 
hoped  for  accuracy  and  has  done  his  utmost  to  secure  it. 

Samuel  W.   Duffield. 
Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  Sept.  15,  1886. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS 


A  broken  heart,  my  God,  my  King. — Watts. 

It  is  one  of  the  truest  tests  of  a  hymn  when  it  is  found  to  pos- 
sess the  power  of  awakening  and  stimulating  devotion.  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge on  one  occasion  wrote  to  Dr.  Watts' that  he  had  preached  to 
a  number  of  plain  country  folk  in  a  large  barn.  The  sermon  was 
from  Heb.  6:12,  and  at  its  close  he  announced  and  read  the 
hymn,  "  Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise."  The  effect — he  tells 
Dr.  Watts — was  deep  and  pervading.  The  clerk,  who  acted  as 
precentor,  could  scarcely  utter  the  words,  and  many  of  the  audi- 
ence were  in  tears.  "  These,"  he  continues,  "  were  most  of  them 
poor  people  who  work  for  their  living."  They  had  found  in  the 
language  of  the  hymn — as  many  have  found  in  the  words  of  this 
which  is  before  us — the  interpretation  of  their  emotions. 

The  present  piece  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  51 — the  third 
part,  L.  M.  He  entitled  it  "  The  Backslider  Restored  ;  or,  Re- 
pentance and  Faith  in  the  Blood  of  Christ."  It  originally  pos- 
sessed eight  stanzas. 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have.  — Wesley. 

This  hymn  is  based  on  Lev.  8:35;  a  fact  which  was  definitely 
proven  by  Mr.  James  Grant  in  the  Christian  Standard,  about  1872. 
Calvinists  and  Arminians  had  been  in  controversy  over  the  views 
contained  in  it,  and  the  debate  had  been  somewhat  acrimonious. 
The  doctrine  taught  is  that  of  obedience  :  that  we  should  ' '  abide 
at  the  door  of  the  congregation,  and  keep  the  charge  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  No.  188  of  Charles  Wesley's  Short  Scripture  Hymns,  1762. 
The  tune  he  selected  for  it  was  "  Olney." 


2  EN  GUSH  HYMNS. 

A  few  more  years  shall  roll. — Bonar. 

From  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  First  Series,  1857.  ^ts  ^e 
is  "A  Pilgrim's  Song,"  and  it  has  six  stanzas.  Of  that  stanza 
commencing  ' '  A  few  more  Sabbaths  here, ' '  Dr.  Bonar  says,  in  a 
foot-note  :  * '  The  old  Latin  hymn  expresses  this  well  : 

'  Illic  nee  Sabbato  succedit  Sabbatum, 
Perpes  laetitia  sabbatizantium  ! '  " 

The  Latin  is  Peter  Abelard's,  for  whom  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn 
Writers  and  their  Hymns/'  where  there  is  a  full  account  of  the 
discovery  of  Abelard's  hymns. 

The  present  hymn  ranks  in  popularity  next  to  Dr.  Bonar' s  "  I 
lay  my  sins  on  Jesus."  In  the  original  form  it  contains  six  stan- 
zas, the  chorus  varying  only  by  a  single  word  in  each  case,  as 
"great"  day,  "blest"  day,  "calm"  day,  "sweet"  day,  and 
"  glad"  day. 

A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God.  — Hedge,  tr. 

There  is  no  grander  hymn  in  the  German  tongue  than  the  "  Ein 
Fesie  Burg ' '  of  Martin  Luther.  It  has  been  frequently  rendered 
into  English,  and  these  versions  have  been  collected  (1883)  by 
Rev.  Leonard  W.  Bacon,  D.D.,  and  published  as  an  accompani- 
ment to  the  Four  Hundredth  Commemoration  of  the  great  Re- 
former's birth.  We  venture  to  add  to  these  another  rendering, 
which  has  met  with  favor  among  Luther's  fellow-countrymen  resi- 
dent in  the  United  States. 

A  firm  defence  our  God  is  still, 
A  trusty  guard  and  weapon  ; 
He  bears  us  free  from  every  ill 
Which  unto  us  can  happen. 
That  old  devilish  foe 
Strives  us  to  overthrow  ; 
Great  might  and  cunning  art 
Arm  him  in  every  part ; 
On  earth  no  one  can  match  him. 

By  our  own  might  is  nothing  done, 

We  are  too  soon  forsaken  ; 
Yet  fights  for  us  that  Righteous  One, 

Whom  God  Himself  has  taken. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  3 

Who  is  this,  do  you  say  ? 
Christ  is  His  name  alway, 
The  Lord  of  Sabaoth  ; 
No  other  God  in  sooth 
Than  He  shall  win  the  battle. 

And  were  the  world  with  devils  filled, 

All  waiting  to  devour  us, 
We  fear  not  what  the  fiend  has  willed, 
He  shall  not  overpower  us  ; 
This  prince  of  wickedness 
May  scowl  no  whit  the  less  ; 
But  he  can  injure  none, 
His  might  is  overthrown  ; 
One  little  word  defeats  him. 

And  they  shall  let  that  Word  abide — 

No  thanks  to  them  for  favor  ! 
He  stands  forever  on  our  side, 
With  strength  and  saintly  savor. 
Let  them  deny  us  life, 
Goods,  honor,  child,  and  wife, 
Let  them  take  all  away, 
They  have  not  won  the  day  : 
God's  kingdom  shall  not  perish  ! 

[S.  W.  D.,  tr.t  1873.] 

The  rendering  by  Rev.  F.  H.  Hedge,  D.D.,  contests  the  palm 
of  popularity  with  that  by  Thomas  Carlyle,  "A  safe  stronghold 
our  God  is  still.  "  Rev.  Frederic  Henry  Hedge  was  born  in  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  December  12th,  1805,  and  after  an  education  in 
Harvard  College  (where  he  obtained  his  B.  A.  in  1825)  and  at  the 
Divinity  School  (1828)  he  entered  the  Unitarian  ministry.  He 
was  pastor  at  West  Cambridge  ;  Bangor,  Me.  ;  Providence,  R.  I.  ; 
and  Brookline,  Mass.,  from  which  he  removed  to  Harvard  College 
as  Professor  of  German  Literature  in  1872.  He  had  previously 
discharged  the  duties  of  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in  the 
Divinity  School  (from  1857)  in  connection  with  his  parochial  work. 
With  Dr.  Huntington  (now  bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church)  he  prepared  the  Hymns  for  the  Church  [Unitarian,  1853], 
in  which  this  translation  was  first  published. 

The  life  of  the  author  of  the  original  hymn  is  too  well  known  to 
require  notice  here,  except  as  to  its  dates.  Martin  Luther  was 
born  at  Eisleben,    Germany,  November  10th,  1483,  and  died  at 


4  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  same  place,  February  17th,  1546.  He  entered  Erfurt  Univer- 
sity in  1 501,  and  took  his  degrees  of  B.A.  in  1502,  and  of  M.A. 
in  1 505.  He  intended  to  be  a  lawyer.  The  death  of  a  friend  by 
lightning,  at  his  side,  made  him  resolve  to  be  a  monk.  He  was 
received  as  an  Augustinian  novice  at  Erfurt,  July  17th,  1505,  and 
in  1 507  was  regularly  ordained  as  a  priest.  The  vicar  of  that 
order,  John  Staupitz,  was  his  great  help  in  the  study  of  the  truth. 

In  1 508,  Luther  took  the  chair  of  Philosophy  at  Wittenberg. 
During  the  year  1 5 1 1  he  went  to  Rome  on  business  connected 
with  the  Augustinians.  It  was  after  this  that  he  preached  at 
Wittenberg  and  became  acquainted  with  saving  faith.  We  find 
him,  in  1516,  deeply  moved  by  Tauler's  mysticism,  and  in  a  way 
to  break  off  from  the  Roman  Church.  Yet  he  did  not  realize  how 
he  was  drifting. 

John  Tetzel's  sale  of  indulgences  drew  from  Luther  ninety-five 
theses,  nailed  (October  31st,  1517)  to  the  door  of  the  Schloss 
Kirche  in  Wittenberg.  Later,  the  cardinal-legate  Cajetan  was  ap- 
pointed to  reclaim  him  to  the  papal  authority.  But  this  was 
unsuccessful.  Cajetan  was  greatly  irritated  by  Luther's  strength 
of  argument.  "1  will  not  talk  any  more  with  the  beast,"  he 
said  ;   "  he  has  deep  eyes,  and  his  head  is  full  of  speculation." 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  now  dispatched  his  chamberlain,  Mil- 
titz,  to  induce  Luther  to  be  amenable  to  Rome.  He  partially 
succeeded  (January,  15 19),  and  Luther  promised  to  be  silent. 
In  these  days  he  was  of  a  thin  and  spare  appearance,  with  great 
freshness  and  vigor  of  speech,  and  a  "  rude  vehemence"  which  he 
could  not  suppress.      Students  flocked  to  his  lectures. 

In  1520,  the  incipient  Reformer  urged  the  Christian  nobles  to 
take  up  the  work  of  purifying  the  Church — since  the  Pope  declined 
to  attempt  it.  The  consequence  was  that  Eck  appeared  (Septem- 
ber 21st,  1520)  in  Meissen,  with  the  Pope's  ban,  to  which  Luther 
made  response  by  burning  the  bull  and  decretals  (December  12th, 
1520)  at  Wittenberg.  Charles  V.  did  not  feel  free  to  execute  the 
ban,  and  the  professor  was  therefore  summoned  to  the  Diet  at 
Worms.  On  April  17th,  1521,  he  was  confronted  there  by  the 
question  whether  he  was  willing  to  renounce  his  writings.  To 
this  he  gave  answer  that  he  could  not  do  it.  He  said  :  "  I  shall 
not  be  convinced,  except  by  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  or 
plain  reason  ;  for  I  believe  neither  the  Pope  nor  councils  alone,  as 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  5 

it  is  manifest  that  they  have  often  erred  and  contradicted  them- 
selves. ...  I  am  not  able  to  recall,  nor  do  I  wish  to  recall 
anything  ;  for  it  is  neither  safe  nor  honorable  to  do  anything 
against  conscience.  Here  I  stand,  I  cannot  do  otherwise.  God 
help  me.     Amen  !" 

On  the  25  th  of  May  the  ban  was  pronounced.  The  story, 
thenceforward— of  his  life  in  the  Wartburg,  and  of  his  translation 
of  the  Bible  and  authorship  of  hymns  and  publication  of  commen- 
taries and  controversial  tracts— is  thoroughly  known.  The  first 
Wittenberg  hymn-book  appeared  in  1524,  with  four  of  Luther's 
hymns  in  it.  The  battle  gradually  turned  in  favor  of  the  Reform- 
ers, and  from  the  date  of  his  marriage  (June  13th,  1525)  to  his 
death  in  1546,  Luther  became  the  quiet  arbiter  of  religious  affairs 
in  his  fatherland.  He  died  in  great  peace,  repeating  Ps.  31  15: 
"  Into  Thy  hand  I  commit  my  spirit." 

This  hymn  of  ours  is  "  Luther  in  Song."  It  has  all  of  his  rug- 
gedness,  his  trust,  and  his  majestic  courage.  A  superb  use  of  its 
music  is  that  by  Mendelssohn  in  the  Reformation  Symphony.  The 
first  part  of  that  unique  symphony  is  broken  and  confused,  but  in- 
termixed  with  strains  from  the  hymn.  Then  follows  a  pretty  pas- 
toral. Then  the  din  begins  again,  louder  and  harsher  than  ever, 
but  the  listener  feels  that  the  notes  of  the  great  choral  are  gaining 
strength  and  unity.  At  length,  in  the  climax  of  the  composition, 
all  the  instruments  sweep  up  together  into  the  notes  of  the  hymn, 
and  the  piece  ends  with  one  of  the  most  majestic  movements  that 
Mendelssohn  ever  conceived. 

Many  incidents  attest  the  hold  which  this  hymn  has  taken  upon 
the  German  heart.  In  1532  it  was  sung  at  Schweinfurth,  in 
Bavaria,  in  defiance  of  the  Roman  Catholic  priest.  When  Witten- 
bergwas  captured  in  1547,  just  after  Luther's  death,  Melanch- 
thon,  Justus  Jonas,  and  Creuziger  fled  to  Weimar.  There  they 
heard  a  child  singing  the  familiar  words.  "  Sing,  dear  daughter, 
sing,"  quoth  the  good  Melanchthon  ;  "  you  know  not  what  great 
people  you  are  now  comforting." 

So,  too,  it  was  Gustavus  Adolphus's  hymn  before  the  battle  of 
Leipzig  (1631),  and  also  before  that  of  Lutzen,  where  he  lost  his 
life.  And  when  the  deposed  ministers  of  Augsburg  comforted 
John  Frederick,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  in  his  prison  at  Augs- 
burg, he  asked  them  :  "  Has  the  Emperor  banished  you  also  from 


6  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  Empire?"  "Yes,"  they  said.  "But  has  he  banished  you 
from  heaven  ?"  "  No  1"  said  they.  "  Then,"  he  replied,  <c  fear 
nothing,  '  God's  kingdom  shall  not  perish  !  '  " 

In  1720  a  remarkable  revival  began  in  Moravia,  in  a  town  where 
David  Nitschmann  lived.  The  Jesuits  opposed  it,  and  the  meet- 
ings were  prohibited.  Those  who  still  assembled  were  seized  and 
imprisoned  in  stables  and  cellars  and  foul  outhouses.  At  Nitsch- 
mann's  house  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons  were  once  gathered 
when  the  police  broke  in  and  seized  all  the  books  within  reach. 
Nothing  dismayed,  the  congregation  struck  up  the  stanza  of 
Luther's  hymn, 

"  And  were  the  world  with  devils  filled, 
All  waiting  to  devour  us, 
We  fear  not  what  the  foe  has  willed, 
He  shall  not  overpower  us  !" 

Twenty  heads  of  families,  including  David  Nitschmann,  were  ap- 
prehended for  this  and  sent  to  jail,  Nitschmann  being  treated  with 
special  severity.  He  finally  escaped  ;  fled  to  the  Moravians  at 
Herrnhut ;  became  a  bishop,  and  afterward  joined  the  Wesleys  in 
1735  in  their  expedition  to  Savannah,  Ga. 

The  first  line  of  this  hymn  is  inscribed  on  Luther's  monument 
in  Wittenberg.  And  across  the  bastion-like  corner  of  the  massive 
and  beautiful  Lutheran  church  at  Broad  and  Arch  streets,  Phila- 
delphia, stand  the  appropriate  words,  "  A  mighty  fortress  is  our 
God."  Even  the  Huguenots  of  France  (between  1560  and  1572) 
borrowed  this  hymn  as  their  help  and  stay  in  times  of  bloody  per- 
secution. Whether  it  be  true  that  it  was  composed  on  the  road 
to  Worms  (1521)  or  later  (1529),  it  will  always  be  associated  with 
times  of  peril  and  of  the  testing  and  trial  of  faith. 

But,  after  all  other  incidents,  that  of  Luther's  own  use  of  his 
hymn  is  the  best.  When  dangers  thickened  he  would  turn  to 
Melanchthon  and  say:  "Come,  Philip,  let  us  sing  the  46th 
Psalm" — and  they  would  sing  it  in  this  "  characteristic  version." 

A  mother  may  forgetful  be. — Steele. 
It  has  been  said  of  Miss  Steele  :  "  Her  hymns  are  a  transcript 
of  a  deeply  sensitive,  humane,  and  pious  mind,  with  little  intel- 
lectual variety  or  strength  ;  but  they  have  a  free  and  graceful  lyrical 
flow,  and   no  positive  faults  beyond  a  tendency  to  repetition  and 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  7 

too  many  endearing  epithets."  Very  few  hymn -writers,  however, 
have  had  her  success  in  reaching  the  sympathies  of  the  Church. 
Twenty  of  her  hymns  are  in  Laudes  Domini,  one  of  the  most  re- 
cent compilations,  and  sixty-five  of  them  were  in  Evans '^Collection, 
1769.  Her  nom  de  plume  being  "Theodosia,"  they  are  there 
signed  "  T."  Between  these  dates  there  has  been  scarcely  a 
hymn-book  published  which  has  not  contained  more  or  less  of  her 
verses.  She  stands  fourth  or  fifth  in  the  list  of  contributors  to 
English  hymnody,  being  outnumbered,  usually,  by  Watts,  Dod- 
dridge, and  Charles  Wesley  ;  and,  occasionally,  by  Newton.  In 
1 760,  she  published  Poems  on  Subjects  Chiefly  Devotional  over  the 
signature  "  Theodosia,"  to  which  we  have  just  referred.  This 
work  was  in  two  volumes.  A  version  of  the  Psalms  was  added  in 
1780.  Mr.  D.  Sedgwick,  in  1863,  reprinted  her  Hymns,  Psalms 
and  Poems,  with  a  ' '  memoir  by  John  Sheppard. "  In  1 808,  her 
poems  were  reprinted  in  this  country  in  two  volumes,  i2mo.  This 
edition  includes  one  hundred  and  forty- four  hymns,  thirty- four  of 
the  Psalms  and  fifty  poems  "  on  moral  subjects." 

A  parting  hymn  we  sing. — Wolfe. 
11  I  can  remember  nothing  definitely,"  writes  Rev.  A.  R.  Wolfe, 
"  about  '  A  parting  hymn  we  sing,'  except  that,  in  looking  over 
the  lists  of  topics  in  hymn-books  with  the  idea  of  endeavoring  to 
supply  deficiencies,  I  thought  something  of  this  kind  might  be 
suitable  in  rising  from  the  Lord's  table."  He  adds  that  this  came 
to  mind  and  was  composed  ' '  with  scarcely  any  thought  or  labor 
of  my  own." 

A  pilgrim  through  this  lonely  world. — Denny. 

We  have  this  piece  from  the  pen  of  Sir  Edward  Denny,  an 
English  baronet  and  landholder  in  Ireland,  whose  principal  resi- 
dence is  London.  He  was  born  at  Tralee  Castle,  County  Kerry, 
Ireland,  October  2d,  1796,  and  succeeded  his  father  as  fourth 
baronet  in  August,  1831.  In  1839  he  issued  a  volume  of  Hymns 
and  Poems,  with  a  second  edition  in  1848.  In  religious  connec- 
tion he  is  a  member  of  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  and  he  is  the 
author  of  A  Prophetical  Stream  of  Time  and  other  writings  upon 
similar  topics. 

The  present  piece  is  from  his  Millennial  Hymns,  republished, 
with  a  long  preface  on  prophecy,  in  1870.     The  first  edition  was 


8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

issued  in  1839  and  the  second  in  1848.  The  title  of  this  hymn 
is  M  The  Man  of  Sorrows, "  and  there  is  prefixed  to  it  a  quotation 
from  Bishop  Gambold's  poem,  "  John's  Description  of  Jesus"  : 

"  Cheerful  he  was  to  us  ; 
But  let  me  tell  you,  sons,  he  was  within 
A  pensive  man,  and  always  had  a  load 
Upon  his  spirits." 

The  original  has  eight  stanzas. 

Abide  in  thee,  in  that  deep  love  of  thine. — J.  D.  Smith. 
The  author,  Rev.  Joseph  Denham  Smith,  is  a  prominent  evan- 
gelist, whose  efforts  to  promote  revivals  have  been  greatly  blessed. 
He  was  born  at  Romsey,  Hants,  England,  about  1 8 1 6  ;  educated 
partially  at  Dublin  Theological  Institute,  and  entered  the  Congre- 
gational ministry  in  1840.  In  1849  ne  became  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  at  Kingstown,  near  Dublin,  and  has  (espe- 
cially since  1863)  frequently  labored  in  other  places,  and  preached 
to  large  audiences  at  Merrion  Hall,  Dublin.  His  hymn,  "  Just 
as  thou  art — how  wondrous  fair!"  has  been  received  into  Mr. 
Spurgeon's  book. 

Abide  with  me  ;  fast  falls  the  eventide. — Lyte. 

From  1823  until  his  death  in  1847,  Rev.  Henry  Francis  Lyte 
was  perpetual  curate  of  Brixham,  Devonshire,  England,  among  a 
hardy  class  of  seafaring  folk.  He  "  made  hymns  for  his  little 
ones,  and  hymns  for  his  hardy  fishermen,  and  hymns  for  sufferers 
like  himself."  Most  of  his  hymns,  indeed,  were  written  there. 
This  one,  universally  admired  and  secure  of  a  place  in  all  col- 
lections, was  composed  under  very  pathetic  circumstances.  The 
author  had  been  steadily  declining  in  health,  and  the  climate  was 
pronounced  injurious.  Of  this  sentence  he  writes  :  "  I  hope  not, 
for  I  know  no  divorce  I  should  more  deprecate  than  from  the 
ocean.  From  childhood  it  has  been  my  friend  and  playmate,  and 
I  have  never  been  weary  of  gazing  on  its  glorious  face.  " 

But  he  was  forced  to  see  the  necessity  for  a  trip  to  the  south, 
and  again  he  writes  :  "  The  swallows  are  preparing  for  flight,  and 
inviting  me  to  accompany  them  ;  and  yet,  alas  !  while  I  talk  of 
flying,  I  am  just  able  to  crawl,  and  ask  myself  whether  I  shall  be 
able  to  leave  England  at  all." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  9 

It  was  in  this  weak  condition  that  he  endeavored  once  more  to 
meet  his  people,  administer  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  speak  some 
parting  words.  His  language  has  been  preserved.  "  Oh,  breth- 
ren," he  said,  ''I  can  speak  feelingly,  experimentally,  on  this 
point  ;  and  I  stand  before  you  seasonably  to-day,  as  alive  from 
the  dead,  if  I  may  hope  to  impress  it  upon  you,  and  induce  you 
to  prepare  for  that  solemn  hour  which  must  come  to  all,  by  a 
timely  acquaintance  with,  appreciation  of,  and  dependence  on  the 
death  of  Christ."  While  these  were  unquestionably  his  senti- 
ments, it  is  doubtful  if  the  exact  words  are  here  reproduced.  Mr. 
Lyte  was  a  writer  of  singularly  terse  and  beautiful  English,  as  his 
preface  to  the  poems  of  Henry  Vaughan  will  testify.  His  expres- 
sions may  therefore  be  regarded  as  paraphrased  rather  than  quoted 
in  this  final  address. 

The  scene  of  that  communion  was  notably  solemn.  Its  weary 
administrator  dragged  himself  to  his  room  and  remained  there  a 
long  while.  That  very  evening  he  gave  to  a  relative  this  hymn  in 
its  original  eight  stanzas.  It  was  accompanied  by  music,  adapted 
to  it  by  Mr.  Lyte,  and  which  has  no  other  merit  than  this  asso- 
ciation. Those  who  are  curious  in  such  matters  will  find  this 
tune  preserved  in  the  Evangelical  Hymnal  of  Rev.  C.  C.  Hall  and 
S.  Lasar. 

Mr.  Lyte,  not  long  afterward,  and  upon  this  very  journey, 
passed  away  from  earth.  Shortly  after  he  reached  Nice,  France, 
he  died,  pointing  upward,  and  whispering,  "  Peace  !  Joy  !"  He 
was  a  man  of  high  culture  and  genuine  poetic  gifts,  and  his  ver- 
sion of  the  Psalms  has  given  to  us  a  number  of  admirable  lyrics. 
He  edited  the  poems  of  Vaughan  in  1846,  and  thus  made  himself 
a  record  in  English  letters,  to  which  his  friends  and  successors 
have  added  another  memorial  of  a  different  sort  ;  for,  in  1883, 
the  church  of  Lower  Brixham  was  rebuilt  as  a  monument  to  his 
name  and  merits. 

Mr.  Christophers  thus  describes  the  scenery  amid  which  this 
hymn  was  written.     It  was,  by  the  way,   the  favorite  hymn  of 

Frederick  Maurice  : — 

"  Then  on  the  banks  of  the  Dart,  in  South  Devon.  Those  who  have 
had  the  joy  of  gliding  on  the  waters  of  that  lovely  river  well  remember 
its  strange  twists  and  turns — especially  at  one  point,  where  it  turns  back 
on  its  course,  and  where,  in  following  it,  we  seem  now  to  be  plunging 
into  a  depth  of  oaken  woods,  and  now  are  suddenly  amid  an  open  amphi- 


io  ENGLISH  HYMNS, 

theatre  of  leafy  heights,  rising  one  above  another,  and  opening  here  and 
there  into  bright  green  lawns  and  ferny  slopes.  Around  a  point,  and 
there,  under  the  shelter  of  hills  crowned  with  billowy  foliage,  her  line  of 
rustic  roofs  just  peeping  above  the  many  masses  of  copse  and  garden 
verdure,  in  dreamy  stillness,  and  in  simple  and  homely  beauty,  is  the 
village  of  Dittisham.  There  the  wandering  curate  nestled  in  a  cottage, 
going  out  now  and  then  to  officiate  at  Lower  Brixham.  Brixham  was  at 
last  his  parish  ;  and  there,  for  twenty  years,  he  toiled  in  his  pastorate 
under  many  a  cloud — clouds  of  personal  suffering,  clouds  of  pastoral 
difficulty  and  discouragement.  To  his  tender,  sensitive  nature  the  pecul- 
iar condition  of  his  flock  must  frequently  have  been  a  source  of  trial.  His 
charge  was  the  busy,  shrewd,  somewhat  rough,  but  warm-hearted  popula- 
tion of  a  fishing-coast  and  seafaring  district,  which  had  been  subjected  to 
all  the  corrupting  influences  peculiar  to  the  neighborhood  of  naval  and 
military  forces  during  the  French  war." 

Rev.  George  D.  Baker,  D.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  tells  this  story 
about  the  hymn  :  When  at  Nice,  he  went  to  see  the  grave  of 
Lyte.  There  was  one  there  before  him,  a  young  man,  shedding 
copious  tears  of  gratitude.  The  words  of  that  hymn  had  been 
directly  instrumental  in  his  conversion. 

According  to  thy  gracious  word.  — Montgomery. 

This  is  from  the  Original  Hymns,  where  it  is  numbered  as  129. 
The  title  given  to  it  is,  "  This  do  in  Remembrance  of  Me. — 
Luke  22  :  19. "     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Among  communion  hymns  we  seldom  find  a  sweeter  strain  than 
this.  Montgomery  was  quite  a  Moravian  ;  and  here  is  one  of 
their  brief  sacramental  songs  : 

"  Bread  of  life  ; 
Christ,  by  whom  alone  we  live  ; 
Bread,  that  came  to  us  from  heaven  ; 
My  poor  soul  can  never  thrive, 
Unless  thou  appease  its  craving  ; 
Oh,  it  hungers  only  after  thee  ; — 
Feed  thou  me  !" 

Acquaint  thyself  quickly,  O  sinner,  with  God. — Knox. 
This  is  the  Scottish  poet  whose  poem,  "  Oh,  why  should  the 
spirit  of  mortal  be  proud?"  was  such  a  favorite  with  President 
Lincoln.  He  wrote  what  Mr.  Frederick  Saunders  justly  calls 
"splendid  lyrics/'  William  Knox  was  born  in  1789,  and  died 
in  Edinburgh,  November  12th,  1825 — the  "  son  of  a  respectable 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  n 

yeoman,"  upon  Sir  Walter  Scott's  testimony.  He  succeeded  to 
good  farms  under  the  Duke  of  Buccleugh,  but  became  dissipated, 
and  ultimately  bankrupt.  It  was  then  that  his  fine  vein  of  pen- 
sive poetry  showed  itself.  His  Lonely  Hearth,  Songs  of  Israel,  and 
Harp  of  Zion  displayed  a  talent  which  years  afterward  attracted  the 
attention  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  what  is  now,  through  his  com- 
mendation, a  poem  of  classic  excellence. 

In  1864,  during  the  month  of  March,  the  artist  Carpenter  and 
the  sculptor  Swayne  were  both  in  Washington.  The  sculptor  was 
working  upon  a  bust  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  a  temporary  studio  in  the 
Treasury  Building.  The  President  asked  Mr.  Carpenter  to  ac- 
company him  thither,  and  there,  referring  again  to  this  poem  by 
Knox,  he  was  delighted  to  find  that  Mr.  Swayne  possessed  a  copy 
of  the  verses  in  print,  which  he  had  cut,  several  years  before,  from 
a  Philadelphia  paper.  They  had  been  originally  given  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  by  a  young  man  named  Jason  Duncan,  and  the  President 
had  recently  written  them  from  memory  for  the  wife  of  Secretary 
Stanton,  saying  that  he  had  often  tried  to  discover  the  author,  but 
in  vain.  Subsequently  the  re-publication  of  the  stanzas  in  the 
New  York  Evening  Post  secured  the  identification  of  the  poem  with 
the  name  of  William  Knox.  Lincoln's  death  was  precisely  such 
a  sharp  contrast  as  that  of  the  final  couplet  : 

"  From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud  : — 
Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ?" 

This  hymn  is  in  Knox's  Harp  of  Zion,  where  it  is  based  on  Job 
22  :  21,  27,  and  28,  and  has  the  title,  "  Heavenly  Wisdom." 
The  original  form  is  much  the  best.  It  has  apparently  been 
strained  through  an  evil  sieve,  and  the  volume,  which  bears  the 
date  1825,  is  so  rare  that  few  have  seen  it.  The  lines  are  there 
stated  to  have  been  "  written  for  Mr.  Pettet." 

"  Acquaint  thee,  O  mortal  ! 

Acquaint  thee  with  God — 
And  joy,  like  the  sunshine, 

Shall  beam  on  thy  road  ; 
And  peace,  like  the  dewdrops, 

Shall  fall  on  thy  head  ; 
And  visions,  like  angels, 

Shall  visit  thy  bed. 


12  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Acquaint  thee,  O  mortal  ! 

Acquaint  thee  with  God — 
And  the  prayer  of  thy  spirit 

Shall  reach  his  abode  ; 
And  the  wish  of  thy  bosom 

Shall  rise  not  in  vain  ; 
And  his  favor  shall  nourish 

Thy  heart,  like  the  rain. 

V  Acquaint  thee,  O  mortal  ! 

Acquaint  thee  with  God — 
And  he  shall  be  with  thee 

When  fears  are  abroad  ; 
And  in  every  danger 

That  threatens  thy  path, 
And  even  in  the  valley 

Of  darkness  and  death." 

4 '  In  composing  the  following  poems, ' '  says  Knox  in  his  pref- 
ace, "  I  felt  a  pure  and  elevated  pleasure,  and  it  is  my  sincere 
wish  that  the  reader  may  experience  somewhat  of  a  similar  feeling 
in  the  perusal  of  them." 

Again  as  evening's  shadow  falls. — S.  Longfellow. 

Rev.  Samuel  Longfellow  is  a  brother  of  the  poet,  Henry  Wads- 
worth  Longfellow,  and  a  Unitarian  clergyman.  He  was  born 
June  1 8th,  1819,  at  Portland,  Me.  ;  graduated  at  Harvard  College, 
1839,  and  at  the  Divinity  School  in  Cambridge,  1846.  He  then 
became  pastor  at  Fall  River  in  1848,  and  was  afterward,  in  1853, 
settled  over  the  Second  Unitarian  Church  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  He 
next  went  abroad  on  an  extended  tour,  from  which  he  returned  to 
assume  the  charge  of  the  Unitarian  Church  in  Germantown,  Pa. 
From  this  pastorate  he  resigned  in  1882  in  order  to  prepare  the 
materials  for  a  full  biography  of  his  brother.  On  this  work  he  is 
understood  to  be  at  present  (1885)  engaged. 

Mr.  Longfellow  and  his  friend,  Rev.  Samuel  Johnson,  labored 
faithfully  to  advance  the  hymnody  of  their  denomination.  It  is  to 
him  in  particular  that  the  "  Vesper  Service"  owes  its  popularity. 
He  was  the  first  to  maintain  it  in  the  shape  which  other  churches 
have  since  employed.  Perhaps  as  a  consequence  of  their  labors 
among  hymns,  both  Mr.  Longfellow  and  Mr.  Johnson  have  been 
for  years  regarded  as  holding  strongly  to  "  theistic  opinions,"  and 
opposing  all  chilling  rationalism  whatsoever.     It   is   the  highest 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  13 

testimony  that  could  be  paid  to  the  devotion  of  these  writers  that 
their  compositions  have  not  been  deemed  incongruous  or  incon- 
sistent in  recent  collections  made  for  evangelical  churches.  The 
hymn  itself  was  written  for  a  little  book  of  Vespers,  prepared  in 

1859. 

Again  our  earthly  cares  we  leave. — Newton. 

This  piece,  written  by  Rev.  John  Newton,  is  usually  changed 
from  its  original  form  as  it  appears  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  where  it 
is  reckoned  as  No.  43  of  Book  III.  « The  title  given  to  it  there 
is  :  "  On  opening  a  House  of  Worship."  And  the  hymn  begins 
with  the  line,  "  O  Lord,  our  languid  souls  inspire,"  and  has  seven 
stanzas.  In  comparing  it  with  the  version  in  common  use  one 
would  conjecture  that  the  first  and  the  third  stanzas  of  our  ordi- 
nary hymn  were  by  Cotterill  ;  the  rest  remain  substantially  as  they 
were  written  by  Newton. 

Again  returns  the  day  of  holy  rest. — W.  Mason. 

There  were  two  persons  bearing  this  name  of  Rev.  William 
Mason  ;  one  of  them  wrote  the  hymn  now  before  us,  the  other 
was  the  author  of  the  not  less  widely-known,  "Welcome,  wel- 
come, dear  Redeemer."  The  first  of  these  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  his  contemporary  only  by  his  recorded  life  and  writings.  He 
was  an  English  Episcopalian,  born  at  Kingston-on-Hull  in  1725. 
In  1742  he  entered  St.  John's  College  in  Cambridge,  and  was 
graduated  with  honor,  becoming  finally  a  Fellow  of  Pembroke 
Hall.  He  took  orders  in  1754,  received  the  living  of  Aston,  and 
was  one  of  the  chaplains  to  George  III.  As  a  friend  of  Thomas 
Gray  he  edited  that  poet's  works  in  1775,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  he  had  been  for  thirty-two  years  precentor  and  canon  resi- 
dentiary of  York.  Miss  Mitford,  Lord  Jeffrey,  and  Dibdin  have 
dealt  kindly  by  his  memory,  and  Dr.  Johnson  allowed  him  a  place 
among  the  British  poets.  Perhaps  Boswell  borrowed  his  method 
of  biography  in  which  to  immortalize  Johnson,  for  Mr.  Mason 
employed  this  same  gossiping  style  in  his  memoirs  of  Gray. 

In  art  and  literary  criticism  Our  author  stood  high,  and  it  is  pos- 
sible that  his  attainments  were  only  dwarfed  by  comparison  with 
the  almost  gigantic  scholarship  of  his  nearest  friends.  The  death 
of  this  excellent  man  was  occasioned  by  a  hurt  received  in  alight- 
ing from  his  carriage.     This  seemed  of  such  a  trivial  character 


14  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

that  it  was  neglected.  The  limb  thereupon  mortified,  and,  in 
spite  of  every  attention,  the  worthy  precentor  died  on  the  5th  of 
April,  1797.  The  present  hymn — that  by  which  he  is  best  remem- 
bered— will  be  found  at  the  end  of  Volume  I.  of  the  Works  of 
William  Mason,  M.A.,  Precentor  of  York  and  Rector  of  Astont 
which  appeared  in  four  volumes  in  1 8 1 1 . 

The  other  William  Mason  was  born  at  Rotherhithe,  in  171 9, 
and  was  an  associate  of  Whitefield  and  Romaine.  He  succeeded 
Toplady  in  the  editorship  of  the  Gospel  Magazine,  in  1777,  and 
died  of  a  paralytic  stroke,  September  29th,  1791. 

Alas  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed.  — Watts. 

This  hymn  is  found  in  Dr.  Watts' s  works  as  Book  II.,  No.  9, 
of  Hymns  on  Divine  Subjects.  Originally  it  possessed  six  stanzas, 
with  the  title,  "  Godly  Sorrow  arising  from  the  Sufferings  of 
Christ" 

At  the  Soldiers'  Cemetery  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  a  stranger,  it  is 
related,  was  once  seen  planting  a  flower  upon  a  grave.  He  was 
asked:  "Was  your  son  buried  there?"  "No."  "Your 
brother  ?"  "  No. "  "  Any  relative  ?"  "  No. ' '  Then  the 
stranger  laid  down  a  small  board  which  was  in  his  hand  and  said  : 
"  I  will  tell  you.  When  the  war  broke  out  I  lived  in  Illinois.  I 
wanted  to  enlist,  but  I  was  poor.  I  had  a  wife  and  seven  children. 
I  was  drafted,  and  I  had  no  money  to  hire  a  substitute.  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  go.  After  I  was  all  ready  to  start  a  young  man 
came  to  me  and  said  :  '  You  have  a  large  family  which  your  wife 
cannot  take  care  of.  I  will  go  for  you. '  He  did  go  in  my  place, 
and  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  he  was  wounded  and  taken  to 
Nashville.  Here  he  died.  Ever  since  I  have  wished  to  come  and 
see  his  grave.  So  I  have  saved  up  all  the  spare  money  I  could, 
and  came  on  and  found  my  dear  friend's  grave."  He  then  took 
the  head-board  and  fixed  it  into  the  ground  at  the  head  of  the 
grave.  It  bore  the  soldier's  name,  and  underneath  were  the  words, 
"  He  died  for  me." 

The  evangelist  E.  P.  Hammond  ascribes  his  conversion  to  the 
hymn,  "Alas!  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed."  It  was  in  South- 
ington,  Conn. ,  when  he  was  seventeen,  and  not  at  any  time  of  re- 
vival. So  that  he  has  always,  under  God,  regarded  this  hymn  as 
used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  regenerate  his  heart. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  I  5 

Alas  !  what  hourly  dangers  rise. — Steele. 

In  Miss  Steele's  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1760,  this  is  entitled, 
'*  Watchfulness  and  Prayer,  Matt.  26  :  41."     It  has  six  stanzas. 

All  glory,  laud,  and  honor. — Neale,  tr. 

This  is  the  Gloria,  laus  et  honor  of  Theodulphus,  Bishop  of 
Orleans,  who  died  in  the  year  821.  The  translation  was  made  by 
Dr.  John  Mason  Neale  in  1856,  and  is  to  be  found  in  his  Mediceval 
Hymns. 

Clichtoveus  (151 7),  one  of  the  earliest  authorities  on  Latin 
hymnology,  tells  us  that  Theodulph  wrote  this  hymn  in  prison, 
where  Ludovicus  Pius  (Louis  I.,  le  Debonnaire)  had  cast  him. 
The  accusation,  made  by  Theodulph' s  enemies  and  believed  by 
the  king,  was  that  the  bishop  was  in  conspiracy  with  the  royal 
family  against  its  head.  However  true  or  false  the  charge,  it  is 
certain  that  Theodulph  was  imprisoned  at  Anjou,  and  that  on  Palm 
Sunday  he  "  sweetly  sang  before  all  "  this  hymn  from  his  grated 
window.  Another  account  has  it  that  the  sequence  was  chanted 
by  boys  whom  the  bishop  had  trained.  This  variation  does  not 
vitiate  the  fact  that  the  king  released  the  singer,  restored  him  to 
office,  and  appointed  that  hymn  for  the  processional  on  Palm  Sun- 
day.    The  Roman  Missal  recognizes  this  use  by  its  rubric  : 

"  At  the  return  of  the  procession  two  or  four  singers  enter  into  the 
church,  and  standing  behind  the  closed  door,  with  faces  toward  the  pro- 
cession, they  begin,  '  Gloria,  laus  J  etc.,  and  chant  the  first  two  verses. 
The  priest,  with  the  rest  outside  of  the  church,  repeats  them.  Then 
those  who  are  within  chant  the  other  following  verses,  either  in  whole  or 
in  part  as  seems  best,  and  those  without  respond  to  each  couple  of 
verses,  '  Gloria,  laus,'  etc.,  as  at  the  beginning.  Afterward  the  sub- 
deacon  strikes  upon  the  door  with  the  shaft  of  the  cross." 

The  ceremonial  then  proceeds  according  to  the  established  forms. 
In  the  Protestant  churches  during  the  sixteenth  century  this 
hymn  by  Theodulph  was  frequently  sung.  For  further  informa- 
tion on  the  sequences  and  upon  the  life  of  Theodulph,  see  "  The 
Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns. " 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name.  — Perronet. 

It  is  not  precisely  known  where  or  when  Edward  Perronet  was 
born.   He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Vincent  Perronet  [b.  Dec.  22,  1693], 


1 6  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

vicar  of  Shoreham,  in  Kent,  from  1726,  and  a  fast  friend  of  the 
Wesleys.  Charles  and  Edward  Perronet  were  born  at  Shoreham, 
the  latter  on  August  2d,  1721.  In  1746  they  were  preaching  in  the 
Methodist  connection,  and  in  1750  Edward  is  mentioned  in  Charles 
Wesley's  diary.  In  1755,  when  the  question  of  separation  from 
the  Church  of  England  came  up,  the  Perronets  favored  and  the 
Wesleys  opposed  the  measure.  In  1756  Edward  wrote  The  Mitre, 
a  Saiyricall  Poem,  in  three  cantos.  This  enraged  the  Wesleys, 
and  angered  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon  also.  The  poem  was 
anonymous,  but  it  was  traced  to  Perronet  and  suppressed.  How- 
ever, John  Wesley,  by  whose  efforts  it  was  cancelled,  said  in  later 
times  :  "  For  forty  years  I  have  been  in  doubts  concerning  that 
question,  '  What  obedience  is  due  to  heathenish  priests  and  wicked 
infidels  V  " 

Perronet' s  relation  to  Lady  Huntingdon's  society  was  thus 
broken  off,  and  he  ended  his  days  at  Canterbury,  January  2d, 
1792,  as  the  minister  of  a  Dissenting  congregation.  His  last  words 
were  :  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  height  of  His  divinity  !  Glory  to 
God  in  the  depth  of  His  humanity  !  Glory  to  God  in  His  all- 
sufficiency  !     And  into  His  hands  I  commend  my  spirit  I" 

The  famous  hymn  was  written  in  1779,  and  published  in  1780, 
in  the  Gospel  Magazine. 

Some  fifty  years  ago  a  Methodist  local  preacher,  named  William 
Dawson,  was  preaching  in  London  on  the  divine  offices  of  Christ. 
He  was  a  very  extraordinary  character,  even  in  a  denomination 
which  has  furnished  strange  examples  of  originality  and  eccentric 
power.  He  came  from  Yorkshire,  and  was  only  a  plain  farmer, 
yet  his  vivid  and  audacious  imagination  enabled  him  to  sway  the 
largest  audiences,  and  to  avoid  by  its  own  tremendous  momentum 
the  vulgarity  and  irreverence  which  would  have  otherwise  crippled 
his  influence.  "  Billy  Dawson,"  as  he  was  familiarly  styled,  was 
a  man  of  genius,  and  in  this  sermon  on  the  offices  of  Christ  he 
showed  it.  He  had  portrayed  the  Saviour  as  teacher  and  priest, 
and  he  proceeded  to  set  forth  his  glory  as  a  king  in  his  own  right 
over  saints  and  angels. 

Kindling  at  the  thought,  he  drew  the  picture  of  a  coronation 
pageant.  The  great  procession  was  arrayed.  Prophets  and  patri- 
archs, apostles  and  martyrs,  moved  grandly  on.     The  vast  temple 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  17 

was  filled,  and  at  the  climax  of  the  thought  the  preacher  suddenly 
broke  from  his  ordinary  tone,  and  sang,  with  startling  effect : 

"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name, 
Let  angels  prostrate  fall  ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all  !" 

"The  effect,"  says  Christophers,  "was  overwhelming.  The 
crowd  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  sang  the  hymn  with  a  feeling  and 
a  power  which  seemed  to  swell  higher  and  higher  at  every  verse." 
Such  was  the  grand  result  of  Edward  Perronet's  verses. 

In  1 780  the  hymn  had  appeared  without  signature  in  the  Gospel 
Magazine.  Five  years  later  it  was  known  to  be  of  Perronet'  s  com- 
position. It  was  included  in  Occasional  Verses,  Moral  and  Sacred, 
published  in  1785,  which,  though  it  also  bore  no  name,  was  known 
to  be  by  him.  The  first  version  of  the  hymn  contains  eight 
stanzas,  of  which  five  are  substantially  the  same  as  our  usual  form. 
The  concluding  stanza,  however,  has  not  suffered  by  its  amend- 
ment, as  the  original  shape  is  manifestly  inferior  to  the  present  one  : 

"  Let  every  tribe  and  every  tongue 
That  bound  creation's  call, 
Now  shout  in  universal  song, 
The  crowned  Lord  of  all." 

A  part  of  Dr.  Belcher's  account  of  this  hymn  is  worth  quoting  : 

"  We  add  here  another  anecdote  ;  and,  though  it  does  not  directly  bear 
on  Perronet's  hymn,  it  does  on  his  character,  as  on  that  of  the  eminent 
preacher  to  whom  it  likewise  relates. 

"  Mr.  Wesley  had  long  been  desirous  of  hearing  Edward  Perronet 
preach  ;  and  Mr.  Perronet,  aware  of  it,  was  as  resolutely  determined  he 
should  not,  and  therefore  studied  to  avoid  every  occasion  that  would  lead 
to  it.  Mr.  Wesley  was  preaching  in  London  one  evening,  and,  seeing 
Mr.  Perronet  in  the  chapel,  published,  without  asking  his  consent,  that 
he  would  preach  there  the  next  morning  at  five  o'clock,  Mr.  Perronet 
had  too  much  respect  for  the  congregation  to  disturb  their  peace  by  a 
public  remonstrance,  and  too  much  regard  for  Mr.  Wesley  entirely  to 
resist  his  bidding.  The  night  passed  over.  Mr.  Perronet  ascended  the 
pulpit  under  the  impression  that  Mr.  Wesley  would  be  secreted  in  some 
corner  of  the  chapel,  if  he  did  not  show  himself  publicly,  and,  after  sing- 
ing and  prayer,  informed  the  congregation  that  he  appeared  before  them 
contrary  to  his  own  wish  ;  that  he  had  never  been  once  asked,  much  less 
his  consent  gained,  to  preach  ;  that  he  had  done  violence  to  his  feelings., 


1 8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

to  show  his  respect  for  Mr.  Wesley  ;  and,  now  that  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  occupy  the  place  in  which  he  stood,  weak  and  inadequate  as  he 
was  for  the  work  assigned  him,  he  would  pledge  himself  to  furnish  them 
with  the  best  sermon  that  ever  had  been  delivered.  Opening  the  Bible, 
he  proceeded  to  read  our  Lord's  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which  he  con- 
cluded without  a  single  word  of  his  own  by  way  of  note  or  comment.  He 
closed  the  service  with  singing  and  prayer.  No  imitator  has  been  able  to 
produce  equal  effect. 

"  Another  fact  does  bear  on  the  hymn.  In  1795  the  late  Rev.  Dr. 
Bogue  preached  one  of  the  first  sermons  before  the  London  Missionary 
Society.  One  of  Rowland  Hill's  biographers  tells  us  :  '  Mr.  Bogue,  in 
the  course  of  his  sermon,  said  :  "  We  are  called  this  evening  to  the 
funeral  of  Bigotry  ;  and  I  hope  it  will  be  buried  so  deep  as  never  to  rise 
again."  The  whole  vast  body  of  people  manifested  their  concurrence, 
and  could  scarcely  refrain  from  one  general  shout  of  joy.  Such  a  scene, 
perhaps,  was  never  beheld  in  our  world,  and  afforded  a  glorious  earnest 
of  that  nobler  assembly  where  we  shall  meet  all  the  redeemed,  and  before 
the  throne  of  the  Lamb  shall  sing,  as  in  the  last  hymn  of  the  service  : 

'  Crown  him,  crown  him,  crown  him  Lord  of  all !  '  " 

"  Mr.  Jones  adds  :  '  There  is  reason  to  fear  that  there  has  been  a 
resurrection  of  this  enemy  of  the  Church  ;  but  till  the  close  of  life  Mr.  Hill 
often  repeated  the  remark  of  a  favorite  author  :  "  Mr.  Bigotry  fell  down 
and  broke  his  leg.     Would  that  he  had  broken  his  neck  !  "  '" 

Let  us  not  forget  that,  owing  to  the  personal  antipathy  of  the 
Wesleys,  this  hymn  was  at  first  refused  admission  into  the  Meth- 
odist collection.  It  has  now  become  the  English  Te  Deum,  sharing 
with  Bishop  Ken's  doxology  the  spontaneous  approval  of  all 
Christian  hearts.  Dr.  H.  M.  MacGill  has  even  translated  it  into 
Latin  verse,  commencing,  "  Salve,  Jesu  !  forte  nomen  /" 

The  Rev.  E.  P.  Scott  was  a  missionary  in  India.  One  day,  on 
the  street  of  a  village,  he  met  a  very  strange-looking  native,  who 
proved  to  be  from  an  interior  tribe  of  murderous  mountaineers 
who  had  not  received  the  Gospel.  Going  to  his  lodgings  the  good 
man  at  once  prepared  for  a  visit  to  them,  taking,  among  other 
things,  a  violin.  His  friends  urged  that  he  was  exposing  himself 
to  needless  peril,  but  his  only  answer  was,  that  he  "  must  carry 
Jesus  to  them. ' '  After  two  days  of  travel,  he  was  suddenly  con- 
fronted by  members  of  the  tribe  which  he  sought,  who  pointed 
their  spears  at  his  heart.  Expecting  nothing  but  instant  death,  he 
drew  out  the  violin,  shut  his  eyes,  and  commenced  to  play  and 
sing  "  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name."    At  the  stanza,  "  Let 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  19 

every  kindred,  every  tribe/'  he  ventured  to  open  them,  and  found 
an  altogether  different  face  to  affairs.  It  was  the  commencement 
of  a  residence  of  two  years  and  a  half,  and  its  results  were  great. 
The  missionary  told  this  story  on  his  visit  to  America,  whence  he 
returned  to  die  among  the  people  to  whom  "  All  hail  the  power 
of  Jesus'  name  ' '  had  given  him  access. 

Oliver  Holden,  the  author  of  the  tune  "  Coronation,"  to  which 
this  hymn  is  so  inseparably  united,  was  a  carpenter,  whose  love 
of  music  carried  him  into  the  study  and  composition  of  religious 
melodies.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  American  psalmody,  and  his 
tune  has  displaced  the  original  setting  of  ' '  All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name."  William  Shrubsole  wrote  the  tune,  "  Miles  Lane," 
for  the  hymn,  in  the  organ  gallery  of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  ;  and  to  this  setting  it  is  usually 
sung  in  the  Methodist  churches  in  England.  But  "  Coronation" 
is  the  accepted  tune  on  this  side  of  the  water,  and  it  is  not  likely 
to  be  changed.  Of  its  composer  we  know  that  he  established  a 
store  for  the  sale  of  music  ;  that  he  was  a  teacher  of  music  also, 
and  that  he  published  some  works  which  have  been  traced.  These 
were  the  American  Harmony,  1792  ;  and  the  Worcester  Collection, 
c.  1797.  He  was  born  Sept.  18th,  1765,  and  died  at  Charlestown, 
Mass.,  Sept.  4th,  1844. 

All  holy,  ever-living  One. — Hill. 

The  author  of  this  hymn  is  the  distinguished  educator  and 
scholar,  Rev.  Thomas  Hill,  D.D.,  who  is  one  of  the  lights  of  the 
Unitarian  denomination  in  America.  He  was  born  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  January  7th,  181 8,  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1843.  In  1845  ne  completed  his  course  of  theology  in 
the  Divinity  School  at  Cambridge,  and  became  pastor  in  Waltham, 
Mass. ,  where  he  remained  fourteen  years. 

His  natural  fitness  as  an  instructor  then  caused  him  to  be  selected 
to  follow  the  celebrated  Horace  Mann,  in  the  Presidency  of  Anti- 
och  College,  Ohio,  where  he  began  his  labors  in  1859.  Such  was 
the  success  of  Dr.  Hill  in  this  new  position  that,  on  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  War,  he  was  called  to  the  Presidency  of  Harvard. 
Here  he  continued  for  six  years — the  most  difficult  period,  per- 
haps, that  could  have  demanded  his  attention.  In  1870  he  repre- 
sented the  town  of  Waltham  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  in  1873  he 
accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  in  Portland,  Maine,  where  he  now  is. 


20  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Dr.  Hill's  mind  is  scientific  as  well  as  theological.  He  has  been 
the  companion  of  Agassiz,  and  is  the  author  of  numerous  articles 
in  reviews  and  periodicals.  To  him  is  ascribed  the  suggestion, 
made  in  1847-8,  in  the  Philadelphia  City  Item,  that  predictions  of 
the  weather  should  be  compiled  from  telegraphic  reports,  and 
published  in  the  daily  journals.  He  has  also  invented  an  instru- 
ment for  the  mechanical  calculation  of  eclipses  and  occultations, 
for  any  latitude  and  longitude. 

Of  late  years  Dr.  Hill  has  published  many  hymns,  principally 
in  the  New  York  Independent,  and  during  his  lifetime  he  must 
have  composed  several  hundred,  both  originals  and  translations. 
In  these,  so  far  as  they  have  fallen  under  our  eye,  we  find  him 
eminently  spiritual  and  evangelical,  but  somewhat  lacking  in 
fervor,  and  touching  neither  great  heights  nor  great  depths. 

All  is  o'er,  the  pain,  the  sorrow. — J.  Moultrie. 

Rev.  John  Moultrie  was  the  author  of  My  Brother  s  Grave,  and 
Other  Poems,  which  appeared  in  1843.  In  1876  his  scattered  writ- 
ings were  collected  by  Prebendary  Coleridge,  and  the  poet's  place 
in  English  literature  has  been  assured  to  him  by  the  emphatic 
commendation  of  D.  M.  Moir  {A).  Mr.  Moultrie  was  born  in 
London,  England,  December  31st,  1799,  the  descendant  of  a 
family  who  figure  in  our  Revolutionary  history  as  residents  of 
Charleston,  S.  C.  His  education  was  received  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  and  in  1828  he  obtained  the  rectorship  of  Rugby, 
which  he  held  during  his  life.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1874 
he  contracted  a  fatal  disease  at  the  bedside  of  a  parishioner,  and 
died  at  Rugby,  December  26th,  1874. 

The  present  piece  dates  from  1858,  and  the  author's  poem  of  the 
"  Three  Sons"  recalls  the  fact  that  one  of  them,  Gerard  Moultrie 
(born  in  1839),  is  quite  distinguished  as  a  translator  of  Latin 
hymns. 

All  my  heart  this  night  rejoices. — Winkworth,  tr. 

A  celebrated  German  hymn,  the  * '  Warum  sottt'  ich  mich  denn 
grdmen?"  of  Paul  Gerhardt.  Its  date,  according  to  Dr.  Schaff, 
is  1653.  Seiffert  styles  it  a  true  "  anti-melancholicum."  It  has 
twelve  stanzas,  and  is  rendered  by  Miss  C.  Winkworth,  in  Lyra 
Germanica,  II.,  261  ;  "Wherefore  should  I  grieve  and  pine?" 
etc. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  2I 

Paul  Gerhardt  was  born  in  a  little  town  in  Saxony,  called  Grafin- 
hainichen,  March  12th,  1607.  His  father  was  burgomaster,  and 
the  boy  passed  the  early  years  of  his  life  in  a  time  of  war.  He 
was  a  scholar  at  Wittenberg  in  1628.  At  forty- five  he  was  still 
only  a  candidate  for  orders— a  fact  which  strongly  hints  at  the  dis- 
appointments he  must  have  encountered.  In  1651  he  was  a 
private  tutor  in  the  family  of  an  advocate  named  Berthold,  in 
Berlin.  He  was  in  love  with  Berthold' s  daughter  ;  he  had  no 
money,  and  his  condition  was  disheartening  in  the  extreme. 

At  this  period  he  was  an  author,  but  he  had  no  means  with 
which  to  publish  his  productions,  and  the  future  was  apparently 
closed  to  him.  The  great  characteristic,  both  of  his  life  and  his 
verses,  now  appears.  His  unflinching  faith  sustains  him  against 
adversity,  and  he  realizes  at  last  that  God  has  not  deserted  him. 
He  obtains  a  pastorate  at  Mittenwalde  (which  may  indicate  its 
nature,  since  Mittenwalde  is  "Midwood"),  and,  in  1655,  he 
marries  his  Anna  Maria.  In  six  quiet  years  of  this  pastorate  he 
composed  many  hymns,  which  were  at  once  adopted  by  his  fellow- 
countrymen.  They  were  placed  in  the  different  collections,  and 
the  obscure  minister  speedily  took  his  station  near,  if  not  next, 
to  Luther  himself.  The  same  trust,  the  same  cheer,  the  same 
melody,  are  in  Gerhardt' s  that  are  in  the  great  Reformer's  lyrics. 
And  the  present  writer  well  remembers  how,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  he  has  found  Gerhardt' s  hymns  esteemed  by  Germans 
even  above  those  of  the  leader  of  German  hymnody.  They  seem 
to  be  peculiarly  sought  after  by  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  afflicted, 
as  though  they  had  carried  in  their  verses  the  spirit  of  Him  who 
came  to  help  our  infirmities. 

In  this  first  charge,  the  labors  required  of  Gerhardt  were  enor- 
mous. He  had  sermons,  addresses,  baptisms,  marriages,  funerals- 
all  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  ministry.  Add  to  this  that  he  was 
poor  and  exposed  to  the  ugly  speeches  of  the  evil-minded,  and 
that  his  first  child  was  soon  taken  from  him,  and  it  is  clear  that 
his  lot  was  a  sad  one.  But  we  have  more  sorrows  than  these  to 
record.  He  was  beset  by  doubts,  fears,  and  spiritual  anguish.  He 
must  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper  every  Sabbath  ;  and  must  per- 
sonally spend  much  time  with  the  candidates  for  confirmation. 
His  visiting,  his  two  weekly  services  for  the  young,  and  the  work 
thrust  on  him  by  his  connection  with  the  Government,  all  must  be 


2  2  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

included  in  an  estimate  of  his  anxieties  and  labors.  It  was  from 
these  trying  circumstances  that  he  was  removed  to  the  Nicolas 
church,  in  Berlin. 

In  1657,  we  find  him  the  pastor  of  this  great  church,  where  his 
career  was  both  honorable  and  useful.  Here,  however,  he  came 
into  conflict  with  the  Elector,  who  wished  him  to  leave  the  Lu- 
therans, and  enter  the  Reformed  Communion.  He  was  at  this  time 
a  man  of  middle  height,  of  quiet,  firm,  and  cheerful  demeanor, 
and  of  sincere  and  spiritual  piety.  His  sermons  were  full  of  charity 
and  tenderness,  and  his  conduct  was  consistent  and  above  all  re- 
proach. 

In  1667,  Gerhardt  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  post,  under 
circumstances  which  call  for  an  extended  notice.  We  know  him 
as  a  person  familiar  with  much  disappointment  and  many  mis- 
givings. It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  to  find  him  often  a  prey  to 
scruples  and  to  trifling  questions,  such  as  might  be  less  trouble- 
some to  a  more  robust  nature.  He  was  an  ardent  Lutheran,  and 
he  soon  had  occasion  to  prove  his  loyalty.  The  "  Great  Elector" 
of  Brandenburg — Friedrich  Wilhelm  I. — was  then  on  the  throne, 
and  in  1662-3  he  summoned  the  leaders  of  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  churches  to  a  Conference.  The  intention  was  to  secure 
harmony  of  belief,  but  the  doctors  of  divinity,  after  repeated 
efforts,  only  got  farther  apart.  And  Gerhardt,  though  not  an  ex- 
tremist, was  opposed  to  the  harsher  tone  of  his  religious  brethren 
of  the  opposite  school  of  thought. 

In  1664,  the  Elector  had  tired  of  these  unending  debates,  and 
peremptorily  stopped  the  further  sessions  of  the  Council. 

To  this  he  added  the  statement  that  the  different  ministers  were 
not  to  call  each  other's  views  in  question  in  their  public  religious 
services.  In  1665  he  went  further  still,  and  demanded  that  the 
ministers  should  sign  this  edict,  in  order  that  he  might  bind  them 
to  observe  it  strictly.  As  this  was  specially  obnoxious  to  the 
Lutherans,  it  led  to  a  great  excitement,  which  was  not  diminished 
when  the  Berlin  clergy,  with  Gerhardt  at  their  head,  declared  their 
refusal.  Gerhardt  was  sick  at  the  time,  but  he  requested  his 
brethren  to  come  to  his  sick-room,  and  there  exhorted  them  to 
stand  firm  in  their  determination  to  refuse  their  submission. 

One  might  suppose  that  this  would  draw  attention  to  Gerhardt 
as  a  principal  person  among  the  offenders.      It  did,  and  he  was 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  23 

deprived  of  his  position  as  pastor.  But  the  people  of  Berlin  took 
the  loss  of  their  favorite  preacher  very  much  to  heart,  and  numer- 
ous petitions  were  forwarded  to  the  Elector,  requesting  his  restora- 
tion. Those  who  interested  themselves  on  his  behalf  were  as  ear- 
nest as  they  were  influential.  The  burghers,  the  Town  Council, 
the  Estates  of  Brandenburg,  and  even  the  private  influence  of  the 
Electress  herself,  were  invoked  to  this  end  ;  and  presently  the 
Elector  conceded  the  point,  and  reinstated  Gerhardt  in  his  pulpit. 
He  glossed  this  action  by  indicating  that  it  was  done  as  a  recog- 
nition of  the  well-known  conscientiousness  of  the  preacher.  But 
he  accompanied  it  with  the  perplexing  proposition  that  he  relied 
on  Gerhardt  to  do,  without  constraint,  what  he  felt  compelled  to 
extort  by  pledges  from  the  rest. 

Poor  Gerhardt  was  worse  perplexed  now  than  before.  To  him 
such  trust  in  his  honor  was  the  most  effectual  sort  of  constraint, 
and  he  therefore  tried  to  make  the  Elector  understand  that  he 
neither  could  nor  should  consent  to  be  deprived  of  his  freedom 
of  conscience.  His  letters  at  this  time  show  his  scrupulous  desire 
after  rectitude.  "  I  fear,"  he  writes,  "  that  God  in  whose  pres- 
ence I  walk  on  earth,  and  before  whose  judgment-seat  I  must  one 
day  appear,  and  as  my  conscience  hath  spoken  from  my  youth  up, 
and  yet  speaks,  I  can  see  it  no  otherwise  than  that  if  I  should  ac- 
cept my  office  I  should  draw  on  myself  God's  wrath  and  punish- 
ment." 

The  Elector,  therefore,  ordered  some  one  else  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Town  Council  to  the  post  that  Gerhardt  occupied.  The 
preacher  was  transferred  to  the  archdeaconship  of  Llibben,  in  Sax- 
ony. Thus  ended  the  difficulty,  but  not  the  distresses,  of  our 
hymnist.  For  he  was  delayed  by  sickness,  and  did  not  reach  his 
new  field  until  1669.  Here  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
sadness  and  loneliness  and  affliction.  He  had  always  consoled 
himself  with  song  ;  he  now  found  in  this  gift  his  most  precious 
solace.  His  "  small,  Berlin  sort  of  martyrdom,"  as  he  called  it, 
had  at  least  this  added  sorrow,  that  it  was  joined  with  the  loss  of 
three  of  his  five  children,  and  with  his  own  dangerous  illness. 
And  at  Liibben  he  was  lamenting  the  death  of  his  wife,  who  died 
just  before  he  removed  thither.  Only  one  child  remained  to  him, 
and  this  one  was  frequently  and  seriously  sick.  Besides  these 
depressing  facts  he  was  in  a  land  of  strangers.     It  is  plain,  then, 


24  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

that  his  hymns  are  heart-songs  indeed.  He  had  a  great  deal  of 
annoyance,  too,  from  the  Town  Council,  who  were  rude  and  un- 
educated folk,  with  coarse  ways  and  narrow  minds. 

Of  Gerhardt's  hymns  we  may  say  with  Mrs.  Charles,  that  they 
reveal  to  us  one  clad  in  the  true  armor.  That  song  of  trust, 
"  Wach  auf  mein  Herz  und  singe"  ("Awake,  my  heart,  and 
sing"),  sets  the  key  for  all  the  later  hymns.  It  is  one  of  his  three 
oldest  pieces,  having  been  printed  in  1649,  and  so  was  not  written 
"  on  the  altar  stairs  at  Liibben,  after  a  night  of  anguish. " 

The  good  man  died  in  1676,  after  threescore  and  ten  years  of 
Christian  battle,  in  which  he  had  borne  himself  as  a  faithful  sol- 
dier, and  had  endured  hardness  for  conscience'  sake. 

Many  particulars  respecting  his  life  and  character  have  been 
brought  out  by  the  bi-centennial  of  his  death,  observed  in  Ger- 
many in  1876.  The  writings  of  Thomas  Crenius,  his  contem- 
porary, have  been  explored  for  much  interesting  information,  and 
the  Brandenburg  Hymn  Book  of  1658  has  been  found  to  be  one  of 
the  very  oldest  depositories  of  his  pieces. 

At  Liibben,  the  portrait  of  Gerhardt  still  exists.  Under  it  are 
the  words,  "  Theologus  in  cribro  Satanas  versatus" — "  a  theologian 
sifted  in  Satan's  sieve" — [Luke  22  :  31].  It  is  a  pity  that  the 
story  about  the  hymn,  "Commit  thy  way  to  God"  (John  Wes- 
ley's "  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears'')  is  shown  to  be  apocryphal. 
It  was  not  written  "at  a  wayside  inn,"  after  his  "  banishment" 
from  Berlin.  He  was  not  banished  at  all — only  transferred,  as  we 
have  seen.  His  hymn  was  in  print  in  1666,  three  years  before  he 
tendered  his  final  resignation,  and  removed  to  Liibben.  But  it  ex- 
presses his  profound  faith  and  trust  as  perfectly  as  if  its  surround- 
ings were  what  hymnologists  have  agreed  to  state.  Each  stanza 
commences  with  a  word  from  the  German  (Luther's)  version  of 
Ps-  37  '  5>  so  tnat  the  first  word  of  each  stanza,  when  taken  con- 
secutively, drops  into  its  place,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  text. 

Whatever  obscurity  may  hang  over  the  incidents  and  origin  of 
these  glorious  songs  of  praise  and  trust,  it  is  certain  that  they  will 
themselves  remain.  Whether  we  can  identify  them  with  their 
motives,  or  must  leave  them  as  "  a  wandering  voice, "  they  will 
never  cease  to  be  dear  to  Christian  hearts.  The  next  great  achieve- 
ment of  hymnody  should  be  their  adequate  translation  into  Eng- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  25 

lish  verse  ;  though  there  is  already  a  version  by  John  Kelly,  Lon- 
don, 1867. 

All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell.  — Kethe.  (?) 

This  is  the  old  favorite  version  of  the  one  hundredth  Psalm  ; 
and  the  first  British  composition  to  which  the  tune  "  Old  Hun- 
dred "  was  united.  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  were  assisted  in  their 
rendering  of  the  Psalms  of  David  by  H.  Wisdome  and  others. 
Their  work  was  designed,  says  good  old  Fuller,  to  make  the 
Psalms  "  portable  in  men's  memories,  verses  being  twice  as  light 
as  the  same  bulk  of  prose."  But  this  witty  commentator  could 
not  help  adding  that  the  translators  had  "  drank  more  of  Jordan 
than  of  Helicon"  during  their  labors  !  These  verses  were,  how- 
ever, regarded  as  very  nearly  inspired,  and  to  question  the  metre 
or  grammar  was  almost  profanity. 

The  evidence  for  William  Kethe' s  authorship  of  this  hymn  is 
mainly  conjectural.  He  was  an  exile  with  Knox  at  Geneva, 
1555  ;  chaplain  of  the  English  forces  at  Havre,  1563  ;  and  after- 
ward settled  over  the  parish  of  Okeford  in  Dorsetshire.  Twenty- 
five  Psalms  were  originally  added  to  the  old  Psalter  attached  to  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  (1562),  and  all  of  these,  except  the  one 
hundredth,  had  Kethe' s  initials,  "  W.  K."  The  one  hundredth 
had  "  T.  S."  for  Thomas  Sternhold.  On  the  strength  of  the  fact 
that  the  initials  "T.  S."  did  not  reappear,  this  one  hundredth 
Psalm  also  was  claimed  for  Kethe.  In  the  Scottish  Psalter  (1564), 
the  initials  "  W.  K."  are  placed  with  this  version.  A  later  edition 
(1606)  of  the  Psalms  gives  the  initials  of  the  different  writers,  but 
there  are  two  versions  of  this  one  hundredth  Psalm,  and  both  are 
without  initials.  Miller,  therefore,  expresses  the  opinion  that  this 
may  be  Kethe' s.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson  also  speaks  uncertainly 
of  the  authorship,  though  he,  too,  assigns  it  to  Kethe. 

On  the  contrary,  there  is  now  before  the  writer  of  these  notes  a 
copy  of  the  Psalms  in  the  edition  of  1666.  This  gives  the  author- 
ship by  initials,  and  both  versions  of  the  one  hundredth  Psalm  are 
here  accredited  positively  to  "J.  H." —  that  is,  to  Hopkins. 

The  initials  "  W.  K."  are  appended  to  Ps.  104,  107,  112,  122,  and  125. 
"  W.  W."  is  represented  by  Ps.  23,  37,  50,  51,  114,  119,  121,  124,  126, 
127,  130,  133,  134,  and  137. 


26  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"J.  H."  gives  us  Ps.  24,  27,  30,  31,  33,  36,  38,  39,  40,  42,  47,  48,  49, 
50,  51,  52,  55,  56,  57,  53,  61,  62,  63,  64,  65,  67,  69,  70,  71,  72,  75,  76, 
77,  81,  85,  86,  87,  88,  89,  91,  92,  93,  94,  95,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100  (two  ver- 
sions), 108,  146,  and  148. 

"  I.  H."  (evidently  a  different  name  from  "J.  H.")  versified  Ps.  45. 
46,  59,  60,  74,  78,  79,  80,  82,  83,  84,  and  90. 

"  T.  S."  affords  Ps.  1-23  (inclusive),  25,  26,  28,  29,  32,  34,  35,  41,  43, 
44,  53,  66,  68,  73,  103,  120,  123,  and  128. 

"  M."  is  credited  with  Ps.  131  and  132. 

"  N."  furnishes  Ps.  101,  102,  105,  106,  109,  no,  in,  115,  116,  117,  nh, 
129,  135,  136,  139,  140,  141,  142,  143,  144,  145,  147,  149,  and  150. 

There  is  a  "  T.  C."  who  contributed  Ps.  136,  and  an  "  R.  W."  who 
claims  Ps.  125. 

Of  these  initials,  we  know  that  "J.  H."  stood  for  John  Hopkins; 
"T.  S."  for  Thomas  Sternhold  ;  and  "  W.  K."  for  William  Kethe. 
There  is  no  "  H.  W."  for  H.  Wisdome,  but  there  may  be  an  error  by 
which  "  R.  W."  meets  the  case.  "  W.  W."  is  William  Whittingham 
(1524-1589).  "  N."  is  Thomas  Norton,  translator  of  "  Calvin's  Insti- 
tutes," who  died  about  1600.  "  I.  H."  is  possibly — though  scarcely 
probably — the  same  as  "  J.  H.  ;"  indeed,  the  juxtaposition  of  the  two  sets 
of  initials  seems  to  forbid  the  identity.  "  T.  C."  is  also  unknown. 
"  M."  is  John  Marckant,  or,  as  E.  Farr  asserts,  John  Mardley.  Farr 
states  that  in  the  older  edition  of  the  "  Psalms"  the  118th,  131st,  I32d, 
135th,  and  145th  have  the  initial  "  M."  Later  editions,  he  says,  assign 
all  these  to  "  N."  Our  own  gives  the  131st  and  I32d  to  "  M.,"  the 
others  to  "  N." 

Of  John  Hopkins  but  little  is  known.  He  was  graduated  at 
Oxford,  in  1544,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  clergyman  and  school- 
master in  Suffolk.  He  resided  at  one  time  at  Awre,  Gloucester- 
shire. Warton  considered  him — it  was  faint  praise  ! — as  "  rather 
a  better  English  poet  than  Sternhold." 

All  praise  to  thee,  eternal  Lord.  — Tr.  Luther. 

This  excellent  translation  was  published  in  the  Sabbath  Hymn 
Book,  1859,  but  without  any  name  attached  to  it.  In  1523,  Dr. 
Martin  Luther  wrote  a  hymn,  commencing  "  Gelobet  set's/  Du, 
Jesus  Christ, ' '  which  was  a  free  rendering  of  the  hymn  of  the  cel- 
ebrated Notker  Balbulus,  of  St.  Gall,  "  Grates  nunc  omnes  red- 
damus."  The  Latin  hymn  was  composed  in  the  ninth  century, 
and  is  a  sequence  on  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord.  For  the  story  of 
Notker  and  his  development  of  the  "sequences,"  we  refer  the 
reader  to  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


27 


All  things  are  ours,  how  abundant  the  treasure. — Holme. 
Rev.  James  Holme  was  born  in  Orton,  Westmoreland,  Eng- 
land, March  12th,  1801  ;  graduated  at  Cambridge  in  1825,  and 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England.  In  1861,  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother,  Rev.  Thomas  Holme,  he  published  a 
volume  of  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poetry.  The  present  piece  is  entitled 
1 '  For  Time  of  Sickness, ' '  and  contains  five  stanzas. 

Almighty  God,  thy  word  is  cast. — Cawood. 
The  author,  Rev.  John  Cawood,  was  born  at  Matlock,  Derby- 
shire, England,  March  18th,  1775.  He  was  the  son  of  a  poor 
farmer,  who  could  give  him  but  a  meagre  education.  However, 
he  mastered  the  classics,  and  spent  four  years  at  Oxford,  being 
graduated  in  1801.  He  then  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  became  a  "  perpetual  curate,"  in  Bewdley,  Wor- 
cestershire, in  1 8 14  ;  dying  there,  November  7th,  1852.  He  was 
converted  when  very  young,  and  has  written  a  number  of  hymns, 
twenty  having  appeared  in  various  collections.  The  best  known 
of  his  pieces  are  : 

"  Hark  !  what  mean  those  holy  voices," 
"  Hark  !  what  mean  those  lamentations," 

and  the  present  hymn.  This  is  entitled,  "  Hymn  after  Sermon," 
and  is  a  most  appropriate  conclusion  to  the  words  of  a  preacher 
who  was  always  earnest  and  evangelical.  The  text  in  Lyra  B?'itan- 
nica  differs  somewhat  from  that  in  most  of  the  collections  in  com- 
mon use.  But  Cawood's  original  can  scarcely  be  preferred  on  the 
score  of  fitness  and  good  taste,  for  it  is  inferior  to  the  amended 
verses.  His  son  considers  the  date  of  the  hymn  to  be  about  the 
year  181 5,  but  the  manuscript  of  Mr.  Cawood  gives  nothing  which 
settles  the  point. 

Almighty  Lord,  the  sun  shall  fail. — Grant. 
Sir  Robert  Grant  was  born  in  1785,  the  second  son  of  Charles 
Grant,  a  man  eminent  as  a  philanthropist  and  statesman.  He 
was  graduated  at  Magdalen  College,  Cambridge,  in  1806  ;  called  to 
the  bar  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  1807,  and  was  subsequently,  in  1826,  a 
representative  in  Parliament.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Privy 
Council  in  1831  ;  was  Governor  of  Bombay,  1834  ;  and  died  at 
Dapoorie,  Western  India,  July  9th,  1838,  aged  fifty-three. 


28  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Our  author's  hymns  were  published  during  his  lifetime  in  an 
imperfect  form.  In  1839,  his  brother  Charles,  Lord  Glenelg,  re- 
claimed them,  and  issued  the  entire  twelve  lyrics  in  a  corrected 
shape. 

The  historian  Macaulay's  first  speech,  after  he  entered  Parlia- 
ment, was  in  support  of  Sir  Robert  Grant's  bill  to  remove  the  dis- 
abilities of  the  Jews,  April  5th,  1830. 

Along  my  earthly  way. — Edmeston. 

James  Edmeston  was  the  author  of  nearly  two  thousand  hymns, 
of  which  modern  collections  contain  quite  a  fair  proportion.  Born 
at  Wapping,  London,  September  10th,  1791,  he  spent  his  youth 
at  Hackney,  and  was  articled  to  an  architect  in  his  sixteenth  year. 
This  became  his  settled  profession  from  1 8 1 6,  at  which  time  he 
printed  a  small  volume  of  poems.  In  1847  the  best  pieces  were 
collected  in  one  volume.  In  1867  he  was  residing  at  Homerton, 
a  suburb  of  London.  His  death  occurred  in  his  seventy-sixth 
year,  January  7th,  1867. 

Always  with  us,  always  with  us. — Nevin. 

Rev.  Edwin  H.  Nevin,  D.D.,  who  is  now  (1885)  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia,  furnishes  the  following  important  facts  relative  to  his 
hymns  and  himself  :  He  was  born  in  Shippensburg,  Pa.,  May  9th, 
1 8 14  ;  graduated  at  Jefferson  College,  Pa.,  1833  ;  and  in  theology 
at  Princeton  Seminary,  in  1837. 

Dr.  Nevin  has  been  President  of  Franklin  College,  1842  ;  pastor 
at  Mt.  Vernon,  O.  (First  Presbyterian  church),  1845;  at  Cleve- 
land (Plymouth  Congregational  church)  ;  and  from  1854  to  1861 
a  preacher  in  Massachusetts.  In  1870  he  removed  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  became  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  church.  He  has 
lived  in  that  city  ever  since,  having  retired  from  active  duty  of  late 
owing  to  advancing  years. 

"According  to  the  best  of  my  recollection/ '  he  writes,  "the 
hymn  '  Always  with  us  '  was  written  in  1857.  The  hymns  you 
refer  to,  with  many  others,  were  written  chiefly  on  Sabbath  even- 
ings, after  I  had  been  preaching  through  the  day  and  was  somewhat 
wearied  with  my  labors.  I  always  felt  refreshed  when  I  was  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  writing  hymns.  The  exercise  seemed 
to  be  a  means  of  grace  to  my  soul. " 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  29 

Dr.  Nevin  has  composed  a  large  amount  of  poetry,  and  is 
arranging  it  with  a  view  to  an  early  publication.  He  is  also  the 
author  of  The  Minister's  Handbook,  The  Man  of  Faith,  The  City 
of  God,  and  Thoughts  About  Christ.  Recently  he  has  been  elected 
a  member  of  the  Victoria  Institute,  of  Great  Britain,  of  which 
the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  was  President. 

The  present  hymn  is  founded  on  Matt.  28  :  20,  and  is  rivalled 
in  popularity  by  its  author' s  Sunday-school  lyric,  "  I'  ve  read  of  a 
world  of  beauty." 

Amazing  grace  !  how  sweet  the  sound.  — Newton. 

The  title  of  this  piece  in  the  Otney  Hymns,  where  it  is  No.  41  of 
Book  I.,  is  "  Faith's  Review  and  Expectation."  It  has  six  stan- 
zas, and  its  appended  text  is  1  Chron.  17  :  16,  17.  The  Moravian 
Hymn  Book,  1789,  also  includes  it. 

Like  many  others  of  Mr.  Newton's  hymns,  it  is  the  transcript 
of  his  own  experience — an  experience  which  we  have  reserved  to 
be  told  in  full  at  another  place  in  this  volume. 

Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross  ? — Watts. 

This  was  placed  at  the  close  of  a  sermon  on  1  Cor.  16  :  13.  As 
a  sample  of  Dr.  Watts' s  sermonizing  this  discourse  will  bear  notice  : 
1.  He  describes  Christian  courage.  2.  He  represents  the  various 
occasions  for  it.  These  are  :  (a)  Piety  in  the  presence  of  sinners. 
(b)  Courage  before  infidels  and  scoffers,  (c)  The  practice  of  un- 
fashionable virtues,  (d)  Pleading  the  cause  of  the  oppressed. 
(e)  Reproving  sin.  (/)  Works  of  reformation,  (g)  Causes  pecul- 
iar to  the  circumstances  of  persons  ;  as,  for  instance,  when  a  ser- 
vant is  forced  to  tell  the  truth,  (h)  Martyr  faith— i.e.,  Passive  valor 
seen  :  1.  In  bearing  affliction,  and,  2.  In  enduring  persecution. 
The  application  and  peroration  run  into  the  same  thought,  and 
almost  the  same  phraseology,  as  the  hymn. 

The  date  is  1709,  but  in  1721  the  text  has  been  somewhat 
altered,  when  we  find  it  at  the  close  of  this  sermon  on  "  Holy 
Fortitude,  or  Remedies  against  Fear." 

It  is  surprising  how  very  few  "  soldier-songs"  there  are  in  our 
hymn-books.  Here  is  this,  and  then  there  are  :  "I'm  not  ashamed 
to  own  my  Lord, ' '  and  ' '  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus, ' '  and 
"  Onward,  Christian  soldiers,"  and  "  My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard," 


SO  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  "  Brightly  gleams  our  banner,"  and  "Stand  up,  my  soul, 
shake  off  thy  fears, ' '  and  ' '  We  march,  we  march  to  victory, ' '  and 
"  Brethren,  while  we  sojourn  here,"  and  that  is  nearly  or  quite 
the  entire  list.  They  are  all  together  in  Dr.  Robinson's  Laudes 
Domini,  for  the  first  time  in  hymnology.  They  come  from  every 
place  and  all  denominations  of  Christians.  And  it  is  beyond  a 
question  that  these  are  among  the  most  popular,  useful,  and  valued 
lyrics  of  the  Church. 

In  the  Latin  hymnology  there  is  only  one  such  song,  "  Pugnate 
Christi mi/i/es"  ("  Fight  on,  ye  Christian  soldiers"),  and  it  is  the 
production  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  of  that  classic  revival 
which  formed  the  Paris  Breviary.  Our  times  pre-eminently  call 
for  this  style  of  composition.  But  in  those  days  men  seemed  to 
prefer  Notker's  chant,  "  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death,"  and 
marched  into  actual  battle  with  that  on  their  lips. 

And  are  we  yet  alive  ? — C.  Wesley. 
Rev.  Alexander  Clark  relates  that  his  former  colleague,  Rev. 
Thomas  H.  Stockton,  of  Philadelphia,  quoted  this  hymn  in  most 
pathetic  circumstances.  He  was  near  his  end,  and  had  lingered 
on  far  beyond  what  any  of  his  friends  thought  to  be  possible.  He 
had  waked  from  a  sleep  that  those  about  him  feared  was  death 
itself,  and  his  first  words  were  : 

"  And  are  we  yet  alive, 

And  see  each  other's  face  ? 

Glory  and  praise  to  Jesus  give, 

For  his  redeeming  grace  !" 

It  is  the  favorite  Conference  hymn  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
On  both  sides  of  the  water  the  opening  of  Conference  is  rendered 
deeply  impressive  by  the  use  of  this  sacred  song.  It  is  one  of  the 
Hymns  for  Christian  Friends,  and  it  was  published  in  four  stanzas 
in  1749.  John  Wesley  made  some  changes  in  it  for  his  edition  of 
1780. 

And  canst  thou,  sinner,  slight  ? — Hyde. 

Mrs.  Abigail  Bradley  Hyde  was  born  at  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  Sep- 
tember 28th,  1799,  and  changed  her  maiden  name  of  Bradley  for 
that  of  Hyde  in  181 8,  when  she  became  the  wife  of  Rev.  Lavius 
Hyde.  "  She  lived, "  says  Professor  Bird,  "  in  his  various  charges 
at   Salisbury,  Mass.;    Bolton,  Conn.;    Ellington,   Conn.;    and  at 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


31 


Wayland  and  Beckett,  Mass.;  and  again  at  Bolton."  At  Elling- 
ton she  was  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Phoebe  Brown.  On  the  7th  of 
April,  1872,  she  died  at  Andover,  Conn. 

It  was  to  Nettleton's  Village  Hymns,  1824,  and  to  Nason's  Col- 
lection, 1857,  that  the  greater  part  of  her  hymns  were  contributed. 
Her  earliest  venture  in  verse  is  traced  as  far  back  as  the  summer  of 
1822,  when  she  composed  an  "  Address  to  Mr.  Wolff."  This 
gentleman  (Rev.  Joseph  Wolff)  was  a  converted  Israelite  whom 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hyde  met  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Elias  Cornelius,  in 
Salem.  From  this  lengthy  piece,  which  first  appeared  in  the  New 
Haven  Religious  Intelligencer,  two  hymns  were  formed.  These 
were  included  in  the  Andover  Hymns  for  the  Monthly  Concert, 
1823  ;  and  one  of  them,  "  Israel,  thy  mournful  night  is  past," 
was  copied  into  the  English  compilation  of  Josiah  Pratt,  1829.  In 
the  Andover  collection  these  pieces  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Nettleton,  who  read  them  in  Mr.  Hyde's  presence,  and  when  Mr. 
Hyde  stated  the  author's  name,  Dr.  Nettleton  desired  "  more 
from  the  same  source"  for  his  new  book.  She  therefore  sent  him 
seven  other  hymns,  which  have  barely  escaped  oblivion.  Mrs. 
Hyde  was  not  an  eminent  hymn-writer,  but  she  will  not  be  forgot- 
ten while  the  present  hymn  retains  its  place. 

And  dost  thou  say,  ' '  Ask  what  thou  wilt ' '  ? — Newton. 

This  hymn,  long  reckoned  among  the  anonymous,  is  found  in 
the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  $2,  where  it  is  part  of  a  piece  in 
eight  stanzas.  The  text  of  Scripture  is  1  Kings  3  :  5,  and  is  the 
same  which  is  prefixed  to  ' '  Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare, ' ' 
which  our  present  hymn  immediately  follows. 

And  is  there,  Lord  !  a  rest  ? — Palmer. 

This  hymn,  based  on  Rev.  7:17,  was  written  in  1843,  at 
Bath,  Me.  Although  one  of  the  earlier  pieces  of  Dr.  Ray  Palmer, 
it  has  held  its  place  firmly  in  different  collections.  Like  the  other 
hymns,  it  has  been  included  by  its  author  in  his  Poetical  Works, 
New  York,  1876. 

And  is  the  time  approaching  ? — Borthwick. 

An  original  hymn  by  Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  from  Thoughts  for 
Thoughtful  Hours,  1859.     The  author  is  the  descendant  of  an  old 


32  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Scottish  family  who,  in  company  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Eric  Find- 
later,  translated  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Luther.  The.  signature, 
"  H.  L.  L. , ' '  in  The  Family  Treasury,  is  derived  from  this  fact, 
and  it  is  uncertain  to  how  many  of  those  hymns  her  name  be- 
longs. They  first  appeared  in  1854,  and  were  continued  in  four 
series  until  1862. 

Miss  Borthwick  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  in  18 13,  and  the  con- 
fusion between  her  own  work  and  that  of  her  sister  has  been  made 
by  them  with  deliberate  purpose. 

And  will  the  Judge  descend  ? — Doddridge. 

Dr.  Doddridge  entitled  this  hymn,  "  The  Final  Sentence  and 
Misery  of  the  Wicked."  He  placed  as  its  text  Matt.  25  :  41  ;  and 
it  is  in  seven  stanzas. 

The  author  wrote  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  hymns,  in- 
cluding those  for  "  particular  occasions."  They  are  to  be  found 
in  the  third  volume  of  his  '  •  Works, ' '  classified  according  to  the 
books  of  the  Bible,  from  which  their  themes  are  taken. 

And  wilt  thou  hear,  O  Lord  ? — Neale,  tr. 

From  St.  Joseph  of  the  Studium  (ninth  century),  somewhat 
altered  from  Dr.  Neale' s  translation,  of  which  the  first  stanza  is  : 

"  And  wilt  thou  pardon,  Lord, 
A  sinner  such  as  I  ? 
Although  thy  book  his  crimes  record 
Of  such  a  crimson  dye  ?" 

1 '  These  stanzas, ' '  says  Dr.  Neale,  ' '  are  a  Cento  from  the  Canon 
for  the  Monday  of  the  First  Tone  in  the  Paracletice' '  —  a  remark 
which  will  commend  itself  to  those  who  have  some  knowledge  oi 
the  extreme  intricacy  of  Ritualism. 

Joseph  was  a  Sicilian  by  birth  ;  a  voluminous  writer,  and  an 
exile  to  Thessalonica  in  830,  when  the  Mohammedans  overran  his 
native  island.  There  he  became  a  monk,  and  presently  removed 
to  Constantinople.  On  a  persecution  arising,  he  started  for  Rome  ; 
was  afterward  captured  by  pirates,  and  for  several  years  was  a  slave 
in  the  island  of  Crete  ;  did  much  missionary  work  in  his  place  of 
bondage,  and  returned  at  length  to  Rome.  There  he  attached 
himself  to  the  fortunes  of  Ignatius  and  of  Photius,  following  the 
latter  into  exile.     Eventually  he  again  returned  and  devoted  him- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  33 

self  to  the  writing  of  hymns.  Dr.  Neale  frankly  states  that  noth- 
ing further  is  known  of  Joseph  beside  the  fact  of  his  martyrdom  ; 
and  that  his  productions  are  often  marked  by  "  insufferable  tedi- 
ousness,"  "verbiage"  and  "bombast."  In  short,  the  "trans- 
lator" here  and  elsewhere,  in  his  reproductions  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  poets,  gives  us  rather  his  own  work  than  theirs. 

Angels  from  the  realms  of  glory. — Montgomery. 

In  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns  this  is  No.  239,  with  the 
title,  "  Good  Tidings  of  Great  Joy  to  all  People,"  and  contains 
five  stanzas.  It  is  an  excellent  Advent  hymn,  of  which  it  has  been 
said  that,  ' '  for  comprehensiveness,  appropriateness  of  expression, 
force  and  elevation  of  sentiment,  it  may  challenge  comparison  with 
any  hymn  that  was  ever  written,  in  any  language  or  country." 

Angels  holy,  high,  and  lowly. — Blackie. 

Under  the  title  of  "  Benedicite"  this  hymn  appears  in  seven 
stanzas,  among  the  writings  of  Professor  John  Stuart  Blackie.  He 
is  the  son  of  Alexander  Blackie,  an  Aberdeen  banker,  and  was 
born  in  Glasgow,  July  28th,  1809.  He  pursued  a  thorough 
course  of  study  at  Mareschal  College,  Aberdeen,  and  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh.  In  1834  he  was  called  to  the  Scottish  bar. 
He  next,  in  1841,  became  Professor  of  Humanity  at  his  Alma 
Mater,  in  Aberdeen,  and  thence  went,  as  Professor  of  Greek,  to  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  1852.  He  has  written  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  beauty  ;  has  translated  ^Eschylus  with  exceptional  suc- 
cess ;  and  in  i860  published  a  volume  of  Lyrical  Poems.  The 
present  hymn  is  taken  from  Lays  and  Legends  of  Ancient  Greece, 
with  Other  Poems,  which  was  issued  in  1857. 

The  list  of  Professor  Blackie' s  works  is  a  long  one,  and  displays 
his  versatility  and  brilliancy  by  its  very  titles.  Nothing  is  more 
strange  than  to  find  such  a  towering  Saul  among  the  sedate  hymn- 
prophets.  The  personality  of  our  author  is  both  suggestive  and 
interesting.  He  is  intensely  Scotch  in  his  feelings,  and  quite 
combative,  as  well  as  humorous,  in  his  character. 

The  professor  is  enthusiastic  over  music,  especially  songs. 

He  says  :  "  I  sometimes  wish  myself  back  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when 
the  minstrel  was  the  only  teacher,  and  when  singing  was  almost  the  only 
sermon.     And  I  will  tell  you  why  ;  reading  is  a  stupid,  dull  kind  of  thing, 


34  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

but  singing  stirs  up  the  whole  soul.  In  the  best  days  of  the  world  there 
was  no  reading  and  no  books  at  all.  Homer  never  saw  a  book,  never 
could  have  seen  a  book.  I  think  we  see  a  great  deal  too  many  books. 
A  great  number  of  people  become  mere  reading  machines,  having  no  liv- 
ing functions  at  all.  I  would  like  some  time  to  give  you  a  lecture  on  the 
logic  of  education.  It  simply  means  that  you  must  learn  to  use  your  legs, 
your  arms,  your  ears,  your  tongues,  and  your  throats— every  part  of  your 
soul  and  your  body — rather  than  be  crammed  up  with  all  sorts  of  things, 
and  then  measured  with  red  tape  by  a  gentleman  from  London.  Espe- 
cially if  you  wish  to  be  happy,  cultivate  song.  I  am  rather  a  young  old 
boy,  and  I  am  one  of  the  happiest  creatures  under  the  sun  at  this  mo- 
ment ;  and  my  amusement  is  to  sing  songs.  In  railway  coaches,  and 
other  places,  I  see  a  number  smoking  what  they  call  tobacco.  Well, 
whatever  may  be  said  about  that,  it  is  not  an  intellectual  or  a  moral  stim- 
ulant, and  the  flavor  of  it  is  not  at  all  like  the  rose,  or  any  poetic  thing  I 
know.  It  is  essentially  a  vulgar  sort  of  amusement.  My  amusement  is 
to  sing  songs.  At  home  I  am  always  singing  Scotch  songs  ;  and  abroad, 
when  those  wretches  are  smoking,  I  hum  to  myself,  'Scots  whahae,' 
'  A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that,'  and  songs  of  that  kind.  I  advise  you  to  do 
the  same.  Your  soul  will  become  a  singing  bird,  and  then  the  devil  won't 
get  near  it." 

Angels  roll  the  rock  away.  ■ — T.   Scott. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  who  died  about  1776,  wrote  "  Hasten, 
sinner,  to  be  wise,"  and  it  appeared  in  1773  m  n*s  Lyric  Poems, 
etc.  The  present  piece  saw  the  light  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  for 
September,  1775,  headed,  "  The  Resurrection  and  Ascension." 
It  appeared  anonymously,  Miller  says,  and  was  altered  by  Rev. 
Thomas  Gibbons,  D.D.,  in  1784.  It  has  been  assigned  to  the 
year  1769. 

This  Thomas  Scott  was  not  the  commentator,  but  was  co-pastor 
with  Mr.  Baxter  in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Ipswich,  1737.  He 
was  born  at  Norwich,  near  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  in  1733  was  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Lowestoft,  Suf- 
folk. He  succeeded  Mr.  Baxter  in  1740,  and  continued  in  that 
post  until  two  years  before  his  death,  when  he  resigned,  removed 
to  Hupton,  in  Norfolk,  and  occasionally  preached  until  he  was 
called  away  to  heaven.  One  of  his  productions  (he  wrote  several) 
was  a  translation  of  the  book  of  Job  into  English  verse  (1771 — 2d 
ed.  1774).  Dr.  Allibone,  among  a  long  list  of  contemporary 
Thomas  Scotts,  distinguishes  this  one  as  a  "  Dissenting  Arian 
divine  of  Ipswich,  England,  died  1775."  He  was,  in  fact,  a 
''Presbyterian  with  Arian  views."     The  present  hymn  is  much 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  35 

altered  from  the  original,  which  was  in  seven  stanzas,  and  com- 
menced "Trembling  earth  gave  awful  signs."  After  each  stan- 
za was  an  "  Hallelujah  !" 

Angel  voices  ever  singing.  — Pott. 

The  author  of  this  piece  is  Rev.  Francis  Pott,  who  studied  at 
Oxford,  where  he  was  graduated  from  Brasenose  College  in  1854, 
and  took  his  master's  degree  in  1857.  In  1856  he  entered  the 
ministry,  and  was  ordained  in  the  Church  of  England,  1857.  He 
then  was  curate  of  Bishopsworth,  Bristol ;  after  which  he  performed 
the  same  duties  at  Ardingley,  Sussex,  in  1858,  and  was  appointed 
to  Ticehurst  in  1861.  He  is  at  present  the  incumbent  of  Northill, 
Biggleswade,  Bedfordshire.  The  meritorious  hymn  before  us  is 
from  his  collection,  entitled,  Hymns  Fitted  to  the  Order  of  Common 
Prayer,  1861. 

Another  day  is  past  and  gone.— -I.  Williams,  tr. 
Among  the  many  translations  of  the  later  Latin  hymns  executed 
by  Isaac  Williams,  B.D.,  this  may  claim  an  honorable  place.  It 
bears  a  passing  resemblance  to  the  pseudo-Ambrosian  hymn,  Diet 
luce  reddita,  but  it  is  scarcely  close  enough  to  be  accepted  as  a  ver- 
sion. The  Hymni  ad  Vesper  as—  the  Latin  evening  hymns— are 
constructed  on  much  the  same  general  principles,  so  that  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  say  of  which  one  this  is  a  translation. 

Another  six  days'  work  is  done. — J.  Stennett. 
For  more  than  a  century  the  succession  of  Stennetts  enriched 
the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  England.  First,  came 
Rev.  Edward  Stennett,  whose  son,  Joseph,  born  1663,  was  the 
author  of  this  hymn.  His  son,  Joseph,  born  1692,  had  a  son, 
Samuel,  born  1727,  with  whose  son,  Joseph,  this  series  of  clergy- 
men—and  also  the  family  name— ceased.  Two  of  these  Stennetts, 
Samuel  and  his  grandfather,  Joseph,  were  hymn-writers  of  no 
mean  capacity.  But,  as  it  happened,  they  were  Dissenters  from 
the  opinions  of  the  State  Church  ;  and  any  one  who  examines 
English  hymnology  will  soon  find  that  such  are  at  a  discount, 
while  most  Methodists  and  all  Church  of  England  authors,  and 
especially  those  who  are  Ritualists,  have  been  carefully  investigated 
and   edited.     In    point   of  fact,  Christophers,  who   is   himself  a 


36  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Methodist,  and  Prescott,  who  is  an  Episcopalian,  utterly  ignore 
the  existence  of  the  Stennetts. 

Of  Joseph  Stennett,  we  know  that  in  youth  he  pursued  his 
studies  in  nearly  every  branch  of  knowledge,  including  philosophy, 
divinity,  and  Oriental  languages.  He  came  of  a  family  renowned 
for  intellect  and  piety.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  went  to  Lon- 
don, where  for  some  five  years  he  engaged  in  teaching.  He  was 
an  excellent  writer  and  a  brilliant  conversationalist,  attracting  much 
notice  in  literary  and  social  life. 

In  1688  he  married  Susanna,  the  daughter  of  George  Gill,  Esq., 
a  French  merchant,  and  about  this  time  believed  himself  called  to 
the  Gospel  ministry.  He  began  to  preach,  was  favorably  received, 
and  on  March  4th,  1690,  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  congrega- 
tion in  Devonshire  Square,  London.  These  people  were  Seventh- 
Day  Baptists,  and  he  continued  to  serve  them  until  his  death, 
preaching  also  to  other  congregations  on  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
Mr.  Miller,  from  whose  pages  we  condense  part  of  this  informa- 
tion, adds  that  his  family  was  large,  his  compensation  small,  but 
he  refused  all  offers  of  more  lucrative  and  ambitious  positions.  In 
his  later  years  he  received  young  men  into  his  house  to  train  them 
for  the  ministry.  He  died  July  nth,  1713,  in  his  forty-ninth 
year,  and  among  his  last  words  were  :  "  I  rejoice  in  the  God  of 
my  salvation,  who  is  my  strength  and  God." 

This  Sabbath  hymn,  of  fourteen  stanzas,  is  perfectly  fitted  to  the 
use  of  all  Christians,  and  bears  no  apparent  marks  of  its  origin 
among  those  who  observed  the  seventh  day. 

Approach,  my  soul,  the  mercy-seat. — Newton. 
This  piece  appears  among  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  12. 
It  is  entitled  "  The  Effort — in  another  measure,"  and  is  in  six 
stanzas.  The  previous  hymn  is  also  called  "  The  Effort, "  and 
commences,  "Cheer  up,  my  soul,  there  is  a  mercy-seat."  The 
division  of  the  book  in  which  both  of  these  hymns  appear  is  headed, 
"  Seeking,  Pleading  and  Hoping. ' '  Therefore,  we  see  the  author's 
idea  of  a  struggle  to  secure  salvation.  To  this  section  Cowper 
contributed   "  My  former  hopes  are  fled,"  in  which  we  find  the 

pathetic  stanza, 

"  I  see,  or  think  I  see 

A  glimm'ring  from  afar  ; 
A  beam  of  day  that  shines  for  me 
To  save  me  from  despair." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  37 

There  is  a  touching  story  of  a  young  woman  in  a  hospital,  who 
heard  the  Gospel  invitation  given  in  the  words  of  that  beautiful 
offer,  "  Whosoever  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
Her  changed  appearance  attracted  the  chaplain's  notice,  and  she 
gave  as  the  reason  for  her  happiness  that  she  had  "  just  climbed 
up  on  that  ladder  of  '  Whosoever.'  " 

The  influence  of  George  Herbert — a  favorite  poet  with  Mr. 
Newton — can  be  traced  in  this  hymn. 

Arise,  my  soul,  arise.  — C.   Wesley. 

The  date  is  1742,  and  this  piece  is  from  Hymns  and  Sacred 
Poems.  It  is  a  notable  hymn,  and  one  attended  with  many  rich 
experiences.  Out  of  several  incidents  this  one  strikes  us  as  very 
suggestive.  William  Hiskins,  of  Fexham,  Wiltshire,  was  a  man 
who  especially  valued  the  privilege  of  Christian  fellowship.  At 
ninety  years  of  age  he  still  attended  divine  service  regularly.  On 
the  day  of  his  death  he  looked  forward  to  the  evening  preaching 
with  great  anticipation  of  a  happy  occasion.  The  sermon  was 
upon  the  intercession  of  Christ,  and  this  hymn — a  favorite  with 
him — was  given  out  and  sung.  He  sang  the  words,  "  Five  bleed- 
ing wounds  he  bears,"  with  emphasis,  and  it  was  remembered  after- 
ward that  he  seemed  much  affected  by  them.  He  asked  the  pastor 
to  pray  for  his  son-in-law,  then  dangerously  ill  ;  and  when  service 
was  over  he  started  to  visit  him.  It  was  the  last  time  the  old  man 
was  seen  alive.  His  road  lay  by  the  side  of  the  canal,  and  in 
some  manner  he  lost  his  footing  and  fell  in.  In  about  half  an 
hour  he  was  missed,  and,  on  search  being  made,  his  body  was 
found,  but  life  had  departed.  This  was  on  the  23d  of  March, 
1830. 

In  singing  this  hymn,  Rev.  G.  T.  Turner,  of  Australia,  was  con- 
vinced of  sin,  and,  while  uttering  the  words,  "  My  God  is  recon- 
ciled," he  obtained  pardon  and  peace,  giving  himself  ultimately 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

Mr.  G.  J.  Stevenson  gives  the  facts  which  we  now  quote,  and 
which  it  is  due  to  him  for  us  to  copy  exactly  : 

"  Probably  the  most  remarkable,  not  to  say  astonishing,  result  from 
the  use  of  a  hymn  is  the  following  record,  which  has  come  to  hand  from 
the  Rev.  Matthew  Cranswick,  a  Wesleyan  missionary,  formerly  laboring 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  who  has  since  his  communication  personally  cer- 


3 8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

tified  to  the  writer  the  truth  of  the  statement  hereafter  made.  Mr.  Crans- 
wick  observes  :  '  I  feel  it  due  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God  to  inform 
you  of  the  utility  of  one  hymn  in  particular.  No.  202,  commencing, 
"  Arise,  my  soul,  arise,"  etc.  I  have  a  record  of  upward  of  two  hundred 
persons,  young  and  old,  who  received  the  most  direct  evidence  of  the  for- 
giveness of  their  sins  while  singing  that  hymn  [at  different  services  and 
at  various  periods].  The  conversion  of  the  greatest  number  of  these  per- 
sons took  place  while  I  was  a  missionary  abroad.'  " 

But  the  finest  account  given  us  in  connection  with  this  hymn 
has  to  do  with  the  establishment  of  missions  in  South  America. 

When  Richard  Williams  and  Captain  Allen  Gardiner  attempted, 
in  December,  1850,  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  Patagonia,  they  en- 
countered a  series  of  disasters  which  were  simply  heartrending, 
and  which  culminated  in  the  death  of  the  whole  party.  They  had 
nets,  but  found  no  fish  ;  they  lost  their  anchor  and  both  their  small 
boats  at  Picton  Island  ;  of  the  larger  boats,  one  was  wrecked  and 
one  became  unseaworthy  ;  the  natives  were  hostile,  and  were  al- 
ways crying,  "  Yammer  schooner  !" — "  Give  me!"  The  com- 
pany consisted  of  Captain  Allen  Gardiner  and  Dr.  Richard  Wil- 
liams ;  and  of  John  Maidment  and  Joseph  Irwin,  a  carpenter  ;  to- 
gether with  three  Cornish  fishermen,  Pearce,  'Badcock,  and  Bryant. 
All  were  devoted  Christians,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  their  am- 
munition had  been  forgotten  and  left  on  board  the  ship  that  brought 
them,  they  hoped  to  establish  their  mission.  But  disease  set  in. 
Williams  and  Badcock  were  attacked  by  scurvy.  Provisions  grew 
scarce.  They  changed  their  camp  several  times  without  improving 
their  prospects.  They  had  great  difficulty  in  forming  friendly  re- 
lations with  the  Fuegians.  And  at  last  they  were  reduced  to  the 
dire  necessity  of  waiting  for  help  from  England  or  the  Falkland 
Islands.  As  a  matter  of  judgment,  it  would  have  been  better  for 
them  to  have  attempted  to  make  a  voyage  to  the  islands  in  their 
solitary  boat  than  to  wait  on,  hopelessly  ;  but  they  preferred  to 
remain  where  they  were. 

Both  Captain  Gardiner  and  Dr.  Williams  kept  diaries,  which 
were  afterward  found.  From  these  we  learn  the  short,  sad  story  of 
their  terrible  privations  and  suffering,  and  that  Maidment  and  Gar- 
diner were  probably  the  last  survivors.  The  final  entry  is  on  Sep- 
tember 6th,  and  is  in  Captain  Gardiner's  hand  :  "I  neither 
hunger  nor  thirst,  though  five  days  without  food  !  Marvellous 
loving-kindness  to  me  a  sinner  ! ' ' 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  39 

This  hymn  of  Charles  Wesley's  was  the  parting  song  of  John 
Badcock,  the  first  who  died.  Lying  by  Richard  Williams's  side, 
in  the  narrow  and  leaky  cabin  of  the  ' '  Speedwell, ' '  he  asked  his 
companion  to  sing  this  hymn  with  him,  and  in  a  few  minutes  he 
passed  away. 

H.  M.  S.  "  Dido,"  commanded  by  Captain  Moreshead,  reached 
Banner  Cove,  January  19th,  1852,  and  found  the  bodies  of  Cap- 
tain Gardiner  and  Mr.  Maidment  in  the  cabin  which  had  served  as 
their  shelter. 

The  outcome  of  this  self-sacrifice  has  been  the  establishment,  in 
1872,  of  a  permanent  mission  station  at  Ushuwia,  Tierra  del 
Fuego,  with  mission  operations  in  Patagonia  and  among  the 
Araucanian  Indians.  Professor  Christlieb,  in  his  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, 1880,  tells  us  that  some  Pesherehs  of  Fuegia  had  declared 
to  the  missionary,  Mr.  Whaits,  that  they  now  understood  why 
Captain  Gardiner  had  taken  such  trouble  with  them,  and  they 
deeply  regretted  their  indifference  to  him.  R.  Young,  in  Light 
in  Lands  of  Darkness,  1884,  brings  the  story  to  the  latest  date  by 
stating  that  the  Fuegians  are  now  kind  to  all  shipwrecked  crews. 
Admiral  Sir  B.  J.  Sulivan  testified  this  to  the  naturalist  Darwin  in 
1 88 1,  who  replied  that  "  he  could  not  have  believed  that  all  the 
missionaries  in  the  world  could  have  made  the  Fuegians  honest. " 
Thus  the  text,  Ps.  62  :  5-8,  written  by  Gardiner's  party  on  the 
rocks  at  Banner  Cove,  has  had  its  fulfilment. 

Arise,  my  soul,  my  joyful  powers. — Watts. 
John  Gill,  D.D.,  died  at  Camberwell,  Surrey,  in  1771,  repeat- 
ing the  lines  from  Watts,  beginning, 

"  He  raised  me  from  the  deeps  of  sin, 
The  gates  of  gaping  hell, 
And  fixed  my  standing  more  secure 
Than  'twas  before  I  fell." 

They  are  from  this  eighty-second  hymn  of  Book  II.,  entitled 
"Redemption  and  Protection  from  Spiritual  Enemies."  There 
are  six  stanzas.  This  one — the  second — has  been  scarcely  more 
cherished  than  the  third  : 

"  The  arms  of  everlasting  love 
Beneath  my  soul  he  plac'd, 
And  on  the  Rock  of  Ages  set 
My  slippery  footsteps  fast." 


40  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Arise,  O  King  of  grace,  arise  ! — Watts 

The  entire  C.  M.  version  of  Dr.  Watts,  as  he  has  chosen  to 
render  the  132a!  Psalm,  has  nine  stanzas,  with  a  "  Pause."  This 
hymn  begins  with  the  fourth,  and  is  entitled,  "God's  Presence 
the  Glory  of  His  House." 

Arise,  ye  saints,  arise  ! — Kelly. 

This  is  Thomas  Kelly's  hymn,  No.  77  (ed.  of  1809),  witn  tne 
text,  Ps.  18  :  34.     It  Las,  in  the  original,  seven  stanzas. 

Art  thou  weary,  art  thou  languid  ? — Neale,  tr. 

One  of  Dr.  Neale' s  happiest  transfusions.  For  some  high-art 
reason  of  his  own  he  has  entitled  it  :  "  Idiomela,  in  the  Week  of 
the  First  Oblique  Tone,"  explaining  "  idiomela"  to  mean  "  stan- 
zas which  are  their  own  models."  The  original  is  the  Konov  re 
Kai  Kd\iarov  of  St.  Stephen  the  Sabaite. 

Stephen  was  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Sabas,  where  he  was 
placed  by  his  uncle,  St.  John  Damascene.  Here  he  found  St. 
Cosmas,  who  contributed  not  a  little  to  form  his  style — a  thing 
not  difficult,  for  Stephen  entered  the  monastery  as  a  boy  of  ten. 
He  remained  within  these  walls  fifty-nine  years,  and  during  that 
time  his  uncle  was  successful  in  re-establishing  image-worship. 

Dr.  Neale  speaks  of  these  stanzas  as  "  very  sweet ' ' —  which  they 
certainly  are  ;  but  his  own  rendering  is  quite  free.  The  original 
is  of  the  eighth  century.  Stephen  was  born  in  725,  and  died  in 
794,  and  this  is  the  finest  of  his  hymns. 

Miss  Sally  Pratt  McLean  has  used  this  hymn  in  her  story  of 
Cape  Cod  Folks  (p.  300).  It  is  the  duet  which  George  Olver  and 
Benny  Cradlebow  sing  together  as  they  are  mending  the  boat 
just  before  Cradlebow' s  heroic  death.  Captain  Arkell  tells  of  it 
thus  : 

"  By  and  by,  him  and  George  Olver  struck  up  a  song.  I've  heern  'em 
sing  it  before,  them  two.  As  nigh  as  I  calc'late,  it's  about  findin'  rest  in 
Jesus,  and  one  a  askin'  questions,  all  far  and  squar',  to  know  the  way 
and  whether  it's  a  goin'  to  lead  thar  straight  or  not,  and  the  other  an- 
swerin'.  And  he— he  was  a  tinkerin',  'way  up  on  the  foremast.  George 
Olver  and  the  rest  of  us  was  astern,  and  I'll  hear  to  my  dyin'  day  how 
his  voice  came  a  floatin'  down  to  us  thar— chantin'  like  it  was — cl'ar  and 
fearless  and  slow.  So  he  asks,  for  findin'  Jesus,  ef  thar's  any  marks  to 
foller  by  ;  and  George,  he  answers  about  them  bleedin'  nail-prints,  and 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


4-1 


the  great  one  in  his  side.  So  then  that  voice  comes  down  agin,  askin'  if 
thar's  any  crown,  like  other  kings,  to  tell  him  by  ;  and  George,  he  an- 
swers straight  about  that  crown  o'  thorns.  Then  says  that  other  voice, 
floatin'  so  strong  and  cl'ar,  and  if  he  gin  up  all  and  follered,  what  should 
he  have  ?  What  now  ?  So  George,  he  sings  deep  o'  the  trial  and  the  sor- 
rowin'.  But  that  other  voice  never  shook,  a  askin'  and  what  if  he  helt 
to  him  to  the  end,  what  then  should  it  be — what  then  ?  George  Olver 
answers  :  '  Forevermore,  the  sorrowin'  ended — Death  gone  over.'  Then 
he  sings  out,  like  his  mind  was  all  made  up,  '  And  if  he  undertook  it, 
would  he  likely  be  turned  away?'  'And  it's  likelier,'  George  answers 
him,  '  that  heaven  and  earth  shall  pass.'  So  I'll  hear  it  to  my  dyin'  day 
— his  voice  a  floatin'  down  to  me  from  up  above  thar,  askin'  them  ques- 
tions that  nobody  could  ever  answer  like,  so  soon  he  answered  'em  for 
himself." 

Rev.  James  King,  in  Anglican  Itymnology,  1885,  says  : 

"  We  visited  Mar  Saba  a  short  time  ago,  while  making  a  journey 
through  Palestine,  and  found  that  the  monastery  stands  nobly  on  a  lofty 
cliff  overhanging  the  valley  of  the  Kedron,  which  here  forms  a  deep 
chasm.  It  was  founded  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  and  this 
secluded  convent  has  therefore  stood  in  the  midst  of  savage  desolation 
for  fourteen  centuries.  Several  times  in  the  course  of  ages  it  has  been 
plundered,  and  the  inmates  put  to  death  by  Persians,  Moslems,  and  the 
Bedouin  Arabs  ;  and,  therefore,  for  the  sake  of  safety,  the  monastery 
is  surrounded  by  massive  walls,  and  further  guarded  by  two  strong  towers 
near  the  entrance,  which  tend  to  give  the  edifice  the  appearance  of  a  fort- 
ress in  a  commanding  position.  On  being  admitted  inside  the  gate  we 
found  chapels,  chambers,  and  cells  innumerable,  for  the  most  part  cut  out 
of  the  rock,  perched  one  above  the  other,  and  connected  by  rocky  steps 
and  intricate  passages.  The  huge  building  seems  as  if  it  were  clinging 
to  the  face  of  a  steep  precipice,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  man's 
masonry  from  the  natural  rock.  Many  of  the  monks  of  this  tranquil  con- 
vent are  well-known  historical  persons.  St.  Sabas,  the  founder,  died  and 
was  buried  here  in  532.  The  three  sacred  poets  above  mentioned  [St. 
Stephen,  the  Sabaite,  St.  John  Damascene,  and  St.  Cosmas,  of  Jerusalem] 
were  monks  of  Mar  Saba,  in  the  eighth  century. 

"  The  Sabaites  at  present  number  about  forty,  and  their  rule  is  very 
severe,  being  under  a  vow  never  to  eat  animal  food.  They  have  seven 
religious  services  in  twenty-four  hours — five  by  day  and  two  by  night. 
Although  they  seem  severe  in  their  habits,  they  received  us  kindly,  and 
we  were  carefully  conducted  by  a  monk  through  the  whole  monastery. 
We  were  shown  their  gayly-decorated  chapel,  the  tomb  of  St.  Sabas,  the 
tomb  of  St.  John  of  Damascus,  and  a  cave  chapel  containing  thousands 
of  skulls  of  martyred  monks.  We  were  led  to  the  belfry  on  the  roof  of 
their  little  sanctuary,  and  saw  the  bells  which  send  forth  their  beautiful 
chimes,  and  gladden  the  hearts  of  pilgrims,  who,  '  weary  and  languid,' 


42  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

pursue  their  journey  through  the  desolate  wilderness.     The  bells  of  Mar 
Saba  recalled  to  mind  the  soothing  words  : 

'  Far,  far  away,  like  bells  at  evening  pealing, 
The  voice  of  Jesus  sounds  o'er  land  and  sea.' 

"  We  were  then  conducted  to  a  terrace,  from  the  dizzy  height  of  which 
we  looked  down  into  the  deep  gorge  of  the  Kedron,  five  hundred  feet  be- 
low. Every  morning  wolves  and  jackals  assemble  at  the  bottom  of  the 
rocks,  and  are  fed  by  the  monks,  who  cast  down  food  to  the  ravenous 
animals.  Viewed  from  this  terrace,  the  scene  around  and  below  is  one 
of  stern  desolation,  and  a  sight  so  impressive  as  never  to  be  forgotten. 
Mar  Saba  was  much  more  endeared  to  us  when  we  remembered  that  here 
Stephanos,  eleven  centuries  ago,  wrote  the  touching  hymn  : 

"Art  thou  weary,  art  thou  languid, 

Art  thou  sore  distressed? 
'Come  to  me,'  saith  One,  '  and,  coming, 
'  Be  at  rest.'  " 

As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling  streams. — Lyte. 

This  is  given  by  Miller  as  if  from  Rev.  H.  F.  Lyte's  Spirit  of 
the  Psalms,  1834.  G.  J.  Stevenson  credits  it  to  "  Tate  and  Brady's 
New  Version, ' '  and  says  :  "  It  is  a  rendering  true  to  nature,  and 
has  a  musical  ring  to  it."  To  see  the  force  of  this  encomium  one 
only  needs  to  quote  Sternhold  and  Hopkins's  paraphrase  : 

"  Like  as  the  hart  doth  breathe  and  bray 
The  well-springs  to  obtain, 
So  doth  my  soul  desire  alway 
With  thee,  Lord,  to  remain. 
My  soul  doth  thirst,  and  would  draw  near 

The  living  God  of  might  : 
Oh,  when  shall  I  come  and  appear 
In  presence  of  his  sight  !" 

[From  edition  of  1666,  London.] 

It  was  altered  by  Rev.  H.  F.  Lyte,  in  1834,  from  Tate  and 
Brady's  version  (1696)  of  Ps.  42,  and  the  fourth  stanza  was  in- 
serted by  him. 

Of  his  own  version  of  the  Psalms,  Lyte  wrote  that  he  had  "  en- 
deavored to  give  the  spirit  of  each  Psalm  in  such  a  compass  as  the 
public  taste  would  tolerate,  and  to  furnish  sometimes,  when  the 
length  of  the  original  would  admit  of  it,  an  almost  literal  transla- 
tion ;  sometimes  a  kind  of  spiritual  paraphrase,  at  others  even  a 
brief  commentary  on  the  whole  Psalm. ' ' 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  43 

As  pants  the  wearied  hart  for  cooling  springs. — Lowth. 

This  is  Dr.  Robert  Lowth' s  version  of  Ps.  42.  The  altera- 
tions from  the  original,  which  are  only  a  proof  of  the  improvement 
of  the  hymn  by  the  usual  processes  of  time  and  taste,  are  collated 
by  Dr.  Hutchins,  in  his  Annotations  to  the  (Episcopal)  Hymnal. 
The  author  was  born  at  Buriton,  in  Hampshire,  England,  Novem- 
ber 27th,  1 710  ;  educated  at  Winchester  School  and  New  College, 
Oxford  ;  Professor  of  Poetry  at  Oxford,  1741  ;  Prebend  of  Dur- 
ham, 1755  ;  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  1766  ;  translated  to  Oxford 
the  same  year,  and  to  London,  1777.  He  declined  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  Canterbury,  1783,  and  died,  November  3d,  1787. 
His  writings  are  favorably  known  for  their  genius  and  learning, 
and  his  translation  of  Isaiah  is  called  "  the  greatest  of  his  produc- 
tions." He  was  the  second  son  of  Dr.  William  Lowth,  1 661-1732, 
a  man  distinguished  for  his  scholarly  and  theological  attainments, 
and  specially  for  his  Vindication  of  the  Divine  Authority  and  Inspi- 
ration of  the  Scriptures,  1692. 

The  Latin  epitaph  placed  by  Bishop  Lowth  upon  his  daughter's 
tomb  has  such  pathetic  beauty  that  we  give  it  here  : 

"  Cara,  vale  !  ingenio  prwstans,  pietate,  pudore, 
Et  plusquam  nata  nomine  cava,  vale  ! 
Car  a  Mafia,  vale  !    At  veniet  felicius  cevum, 
Quando  iterum  tecum,  sim  modo  dignus,  ero. 
Cara,  redi  ;  lata  turn  dicarn  voce,  paternos 
Eja  !  age  in  amplexus,  cara  Maria,  redO" 

Dear  one,  farewell  !  Thou  wast  known  for  talent  and  virtue  and  good- 
ness : 

Yea,  and  endeared  beyond  the  name  of  daughter,  farewell  ! 

Mary,  thou  dear  one,  farewell  !  But  yet  there  shall  dawn  a  bright  morn- 
ing 

When  I  shall  meet  thee  again — should  I  be  worthy  to  meet  thee  ! 

Dear  one,  return  !     And  then,  with  a  voice  full  of  gladness, 

Rush  to  thy  father's  embrace  !     O  dear  one,  O  Mary,  return  ! 

As  shadows  cast  by  cloud  and  sun.  — Bryant. 

The  life  of  William  Cullen  Bryant  is  an  integral  part  of  Ameri- 
can literature.  His  long,  honorable  career  as  a  journalist  and  citizen 
have  also  identified  him  with  the  best  interests  of  his  native  land. 
In  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  wrote  quite  a  number  of  hymns,  of 
which  this  is  one.     His  religious  views  also  ripened  and  grew  more 


44  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

spiritual  as  he  neared  the  grave.  It  is  only  necessary  that  we 
should  give  the  great  facts  of  his  history,  and  a  list  (not  easily 
accessible)  of  his  hymns. 

William  Cullen  Bryant,  son  of  Peter  Bryant,  M.D.,  was  born 
November  3d,  1794,  at  Cummington,  Mass.  He  died  at  his 
country  home  on  Long  Island,  near  New  York  City,  June  1 2th, 
1878,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year. 

The  immediate  cause  of  Mr.  Bryant's  death  was  a  fall  received 
after  the  exposure  and  fatigue  which  followed  the  delivery  of  an 
oration  in  the  open  air  at  Central  Park. 

The  hymns  to  which  his  name  is  rightly  affixed  are  : 

"  Mighty  One,  before  whose  face." 
"  O  thou  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget." 
"  Our  Father,  to  thy  love  we  owe."     1824. 

["  Father,  to  thy  kind  love  we  owe."] 
"  Deem  not  that  they  are  blest  alone."     1824. 

["  O  deem  not,"  etc.] 
"  O  God,  whose  dread  and  dazzling"  brow."     1824. 
"  Great  God,  the  followers  of  thy  Son."     1824. 
"  Thou  whose  unmeasured  temple  stands." 

["  O  thou  whose  own  vast  temple  stands."] 
"  All  that  in  this  wide  world  we  see." 
"  When  this  song  of  praise  shall  cease." 
"  Lord,  who  ordainest  for  mankind." 
"  All  praise  to  him  of  Nazareth." 

[A  communion  hymn.] 
"  O  North,  with  all  thy  vales  of  green.'" 
"  Almighty  !  hear  thy  children  raise."     1824. 
"  When  he  who  from  the  scourge  of  wrong."     1824. 
"  Ancient  of  days,  except  thou  deign." 
"  Lord,  from  whose  glorious  presence  came." 
"  Look  from  the  sphere  of  endless  day." 
"  As  o'er  the  cradle  of  her  Son." 
"  Whate'er  he  bids,  observe  and  do." 
"  Go  forth,  O  word  of  Christ  !  go  forth  !" 

And  yet,  the  "  poet  "  was  not  a  V  hymnist."  This  latter  word, 
by  the  way,  was  coined  by  Rev.  C.  B.  Pearson,  who  used  it  for  the 
first  time  in  the  Oxford  Essays,  1858. 

As  the  hart  with  eager  looks. — Montgomery. 

This  is  another  of  the  renderings  of  the  4 2d  Psalm.  In  James 
Montgomery's    Original  Hymns   it   is    No.    96,    and    is   entitled 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


45 


"  Longing  for  the  Courts  of  the  Lord's  House."  It  is  there  found 
in  four  stanzas. 

The  word  "  panteth  "  in  the  Hebrew  has  reference  to  the  pecul- 
iar cry  of  the  thirsty  animal,  and  is  only  used  twice  in  the  Bible — 
the  second  instance  being  Joel  i  :  20. 

This  Psalm  was  written  before  David  had  attained  to  his  actual 
kingdom.  He  was  fleeing  before  his  enemies,  and  the  very  words 
of  his  plaintive  song  (Ps.  42  :  6)  show  us  that  he  was  far  from  altar 
and  priests  and  sacrifice.  He  had  been  like  a  deer  chased  by  the 
hounds,  and  the  thought  of  the  tabernacle,  with  its  quiet  and  its 
refreshment,  is  like  that  of  water  to  the  hunted  stag.  It  is  in 
much  the  same  spirit  that  he  is  mentioned  as  longing  for  a  draught 
from  the  well  ' '  beside  the  gate. ' ' 

As  with  gladness  men  of  old. — W.  C.  Dix. 

This  appeared  in  the  first  edition  of  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern, 
and  is  the  composition  of  William  Chatterton  Dix,  son  of  John 
Dix,  surgeon,  Bristol.  Mr.  Dix  was  born  at  Bristol,  June  14th, 
1837.  He  has  contributed  poetry  to  S.  Raphaels  Hymnal,  1861, 
Lyra  Eucharistica,  1864,  Lyra  Messianica,  1864,  and  the  Illus- 
trated Book  of  Poems,  1867,  etc.  The  text  of  this  hymn,  as  re- 
quested by  Mr.  Dix,  can  be  found  in  the  Free  Church  Hymn  Book, 
and  in  the  1875  edition  of  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern.  The 
only  difference  between  that  and  the  version  in  common  use  is 
' '  lowly  bed  "  for  "  manger  bed. ' '  This  hymn  was  written  in 
1856.  The  author  was  trained  to  a  mercantile  life,  and  in  1872 
held  an  appointment  in  a  marine  insurance  office.  The  father  of 
Mr.  Dix  wrote  a  life  of  Chatterton — who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  a  Bristol  boy. 

Ascend  thy  throne,  Almighty  King. — Beddome. 

The  numerous  hymns  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome  were  written 
to  be  sung  at  the  close  of  sermons,  or  of  Scripture  lessons,  or  for 
his  own  pleasure,  and  without  any  design  of  publication.  They 
have  secured  the  commendation  of  Rev.  Robert  Hall,  D.D.,  and 
of  the  poet  Montgomery,  and  are  extensively  employed  in  our 
modern  collections.  They  first  found  their  way  into  public  notice 
through  the  compilation  made  by  Dr.  Rippon,  in  1787,  who 
chose  nearly  fifty  of  them  for  use. 


46  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Ask  ye  what  great  thing  I  know. — Kennedy. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Hall  Kennedy,  D.  D.,  a  canon  of  Ely  Cathedral, 
and  recently  living  in  Cambridge,  England,  was  born  at  Summer 
Hill,  near  Birmingham,  England,  November  6th,  1804  ;  educated 
at  King  Edward's  School,  Birmingham,  and  afterward  at  Shrews- 
bury School  ;  and  was  graduated  at  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge. He  took  many  university  honors,  became  a  Fellow  and 
Classical  Lecturer  in  1828,  and  in  1830  went  to  Harrow  to  as- 
sume an  assistant  mastership.  Thence  he  departed  in  1836,  to 
become  head-master  of  Shrewsbury  School,  and  in  1865  was  ap- 
pointed rector  of  West  Felton,  Shropshire.  Dr.  Kennedy  is  some- 
what celebrated  as  the  author  of  classical  works  for  schools,  and 
as  the  editor  of  Hymnologia  Christiana  and  The  Psalter  of  English 
Verse.  This  Hy?nnologia  Christiana  must  not  be  confounded  with 
Hymnologia  Christiana  Latina,  a  series  of  renderings  of  well-known 
English  hymns  into  Latin  verse,  by  Rev.  Richard  Bingham,  1871, 
a  book  of  laborious  inutility,  produced  in  consequence  of  that 
gentleman's  wakefulness  during  certain  hours  of  every  night.  Dr. 
Kennedy's  volume  consists  of  fifteen  hundred  hymns,  given  with- 
out authors'  names,  and  published  in  1863.  For  this  omission, 
and  for  other  reasons,  it  is  quite  a  disappointing  book.  The  com- 
piler, in  his  preface,  speaks  regretfully  of  the  absence  of  names 
and  dates,  and  says  that  in  a  future  edition  he  should  arrange  his 
work  better. 

Asleep  in  Jesus,  blessed  sleep. — Mackay. 

This  hymn  was  contributed  in  1832  to  The  Amethyst,  an  Edin- 
burgh annual,  by  Margaret  Mackay,  daughter  of  Captain  Robert 
Mackay,  of  Hedgefield,  near  Inverness,  and  wife,  in  1820,  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel William  Mackay,  of  the  Sixty-eighth  Light  Infan- 
try. She  has  written  in  prose  and  verse  with  considerable  success, 
and  her  Family  at  Heather  dale  passed  to  a  third  edition  in  1854. 

This  hymn  originated  in  a  visit  paid  by  the  authoress  to  a  bury- 
ing-ground  in  the  west  of  England.  Dr.  Belcher  reprints  the 
following  account  of  its  origin,  from  her  own  pen  : 

"  '  Sleeping  in  Jesus.' 

"  This  simple  inscription  is  carved  on  a  tombstone  in  the  retired  rural 
burying-ground  of  Pennycross  Chapel,  in  Devonshire.  Distant  only  a 
few  miles  from  a  bustling  and  crowded  seaport  town,  reached  through  a 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  47 

succession  of  those  lovely  green  lanes  for  which  Devonshire  is  so  remark- 
able, the  quiet  aspect  of  Pennycross  comes  soothingly  over  the  mind. 
4  Sleeping  in  Jesus  '  seems  in  keeping  with  all  around. 

"  Here  was  no  elaborate  ornament,  no  unsightly  decay.  The  trim 
gravel  walk  led  to  the  house  of  prayer,  itself  boasting  of  no  architectural 
embellishment  to  distinguish  it  ;  and  a  few  trees  were  planted  irregularly 
to  mark  some  favored  spots." 

At  evening  time  let  there  be  light. — Anon.  1838. 
Professor  Bird  states  that  this  is  "  from  a  small  and  ignoble 
selection,  The  Evergreen,  no  date"  ;  but  that  his  copy  ["  7th 
ed. "]  is  not  later  than  1835  or  thereabouts.  It  is  there  assigned 
to  Montgomery  by  mistake,  as  it  does  not  appear  in  that  poet's 
hymns  or  poems.  As  it  was  copied  by  W.  C.  Wilson  in  his  Book 
0/  General  Psalmody,  1838,  that  year  is  chosen  by  Professor  Bird 
as  the  earliest  certain  date. 

At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we  sing. — R.  Campbell,  tr. 

The  Latin  hymn,  Ad  regias  Agni  dapes,  from  which  this  is 
taken,  is  a  later  (sixth  century)  form  of  Ad  ccenam  Agni providi, 
a  hymn  sometimes  ascribed  to  Ambrose.  The  more  recent  text 
is  that  which  appears  in  the  Roman  and  Paris  Breviaries.  The 
other  was  known  at  Sarum,  and  among  the  early  Anglo-Saxon 
churches  generally  ;  and  is  one  of  the  hymns  honored  by  the 
attention  of  the  great  scholar,  Jacob  Grimm.  Mr.  Campbell 
(who  died  in  1868)  prepared  this  (in  1850),  with  other  transla- 
tions, to  be  used  in  a  hymn-book  for  the  diocese  of  St,  Andrews, 
Scotland.  Several  of  these  were  transferred  anonymously  to 
Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,  and  the  author  has  identified  them 
at  the  request  of  Mr.  Josiah  Miller.  He  was  an  advocate  in 
Edinburgh  ;  was  strongly  inclined  toward  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  entered  its  communion  not  long  before  his  death,  which  took 
place  in  Edinburgh,  December  29th,  1868. 

Another  version  of  this  Latin  hymn  is  Dr.  Neale's  "  The 
Lamb's  high  banquet  called  to  share."  For  further  knowledge 
upon  the  Latin  hymnology,  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and 
their  Hymns." 

At  thy  command,  our  dearest  Lord. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  has  this  as  his  Hymn  19,  Book  III.,  with  the  title, 
"  Glory  in  the  Cross,  or  not  ashamed   of  Christ  crucified."     It 


48  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

has  four  stanzas  in  the  original  form,  and  is  evidently  a  com. 
munion  hymn. 

Author  of  good,  to  thee  I  turn. — Merrick. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  James  Merrick's  Sacred  and  Moral 
Poems,  1789.  It  is  entitled  "  The  Ignorance  of  Man,"  and 
commences,  "  Behold,  yon  new-born  infant  griev'd."  There 
are  eight  stanzas,  of  which  the  present  first  line  is  from  the  fifth. 
The  concluding  quatrain  is  the  famous  stanza  : 

"  Not  to  my  wish,  but  to  my  want, 
Do  thou  thy  gifts  apply  : 
Unask'd,  what  good  thou  knowest,  grant ; 
What  ill,  tho'  ask'd,  deny." 

The  rare  little  book  which  contains  this  piece  is  possessed,  along 
with  a  fine  and  full  list  of  English  hymnologies,  by  the  Ridgway 
branch  of  the  Philadelphia  Library. 

Awake,  and  sing  the  song. — Hammond. 
Rev.  William  Hammond,  in  1745,  published  a  collection  of 
original  poems,  entitled  Psalms,  Hymns  a?id  Spiritual  Songs. 
From  this  the  present  hymn  was  taken.  Some  alterations  appear 
in  its  later  verses  :  one  verse  seems  to  have  been  added  wholly  by 
Madan,  in  1760 — the  one  next  to  the  last.  The  author's  title 
was,  ' '  Before  Singing  of  Hymns,  by  way  of  Introduction. 
Scriptural  allusion  is  made  to  Rev.   15:3. 

Awake,  awake,   O  Zion. — Gough. 
This,  and  the  stirring  hymn,  "Uplift  the  blood-red  banner," 
are   found    in    Benjamin  Gough's  Lyra   Sabbatica,    1865.     It   is 
entitled  "  The  Coming  Millennium. — Isa.  52  :  1." 

Awake,  my  heart,  arise,  my  tongue. — Watts. 
We  find  this  as  Hymn  20,  of  Book  L,  and  it  is  also  printed 
after  a  sermon  on  Isa.    61  :  10.      It  bears    the    title,    "  Spiritual 
Apparel,   namely,   the  Robe  of  Righteousness,   and  Garments  of 
Salvation,"  and  is  in  six  stanzas. 

Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun. — Ken. 
There  are  thirty-two  editions  of  Bishop    Ken's   Manual  from 
1674  to  1799.     The  earliest  to  contain  the  three  hymns  for  which 
he  is  most  noted  is  that  of  1695.     The  present  writer  has  also 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  49 

seen  the  "Morning"  and  "  Evening  "  hymns,  in  ten- syllable 
verses,  in  the  famous  Thumb  Bible.  This  is  a  small  copy  of  the 
Word  of  God  prepared  by  Jeremy  Taylor  for  the  son  of  Princess 
Anne,  who  died  in  1700.  Its  date  is  October  6th,  1693,  and  it 
bears  the  imprimatur  of  "J.  Lancaster. ' '  It  has  been  reprinted 
\n  facsimile  by  Longmans,  London,  1851.  The  prefixed  motto 
speaks  more  for  the  editor's  piety  than  for  his  grammar  : 

"  With  care  and  pains,  out  of  the  Sacred  Book, 
This  little  abstract  I  for  thee  have  took." 

In  this  Child's  Bible,  the  "  Morning  Hymn"  is  given  thus  : 

"  Glory  to  thee,  my  God  ;  who  safe  hast  kept, 
And  me  refresh'd,  while  I  securely  slept. 
Lord,  this  day  guard  me,  lest  I  may  transgress  ; 
And  all  my  undertakings  guide  and  bless. 
And  since  to  thee  my  Vows  I  now  renew, 
Scatter  my  by-past  sins  as  Morning  Dew  ; 
That  so  thy  Glory  may  shine  clear  this  day, 
In  all  I  either  think,  or  do,  or  say.     Amen." 

Rev.  Thomas  Ken,  D.D.,  the  well-known  bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  was  born  in  Hertfordshire,  in  1637,  and  went  to  Win- 
Chester  School  in  his  boyhood.  It  was  for  this  institution  that 
in  after  years  he  prepared  his  Manual  of  Prayers,  to  which,  in 
1695,  he  appended  the  "  Morning,"  "  Midnight,"  and  "  Even- 
ing" hymns.  The  midnight  hymn  commenced  with  the  line, 
"  My  God,  now  I  from  sleep  awake,"  and  it  has  been  considered 
fully  equal  to  the  others. 

Bishop  Ken  used  to  sing  the  morning  hymn  to  his  own  accom- 
paniment on  the  lute.  This  excellent  man  was  raised  to  the 
episcopal  office  in  1684,  and  ministered  to  Charles  the  Second  in 
the  king's  last  moments.  Under  James  the  Second  he  was  im- 
prisoned in  the  Tower  of  London  for  his  refusal  to  sign  the 
Declaration  of  Indulgence.  He  died  in  171 1,  and  his  friends 
buried  him  at  Frome,  in  the  early  morning.  This  had  been  his 
expressed  desire,  and  he  had  wished  to  be  laid  in  his  last  resting- 
place  "  under  the  east  window  of  the  chancel,  just  at  sunrising." 
There,  in  the  midst  of  that  solemn  scene,  and  as  the  daylight 
brightened,  they  sang  his  own  anthem  of  praise,  "  Awake,  my 
soul,  and  with  the  sun." 

So  picturesque  a  subject  could  hardly  escape  the  notice  of  the 


50  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

poets,  and  certainly  no  pen  could  have  touched  it  more  gracefully 
than  that  of  Monckton  Milnes  (Lord  Houghton)  : 

"  Let  other  thoughts,  where'er  I  roam, 

Ne'er  from  my  memory  cancel 
The  coffin-fashioned  tomb  at  Frome 

That  lies  behind  the  chancel  ; 
A  basket-work  where  bars  are  bent, 

Iron  in  place  of  osier, 
And  shapes  above  that  represent 

A  mitre  and  a  crosier. 

"  These  signs  of  him  that  slumbers  there 

The  dignity  betoken  ; 
These  iron  bars  a  heart  declare 

Hard  bent,  but  never  broken  ; 
This  form  portrays  how  souls  like  his, 

Their  pride  and  passion  quelling, 
Preferred  to  earth's  high  palaces 

This  calm  and  narrow  dwelling. 

"  There  with  the  churchyard's  common  dust 

He  loved  his  own  to  mingle  ; 
The  faith  in  which  he  placed  his  trust 

Was  nothing  rare  or  single  ; 
Yet  laid  he  to  the  sacred  wall 

As  close  as  he  was  able, — 
The  blessed  crumbs  might  almost  fall 

Upon  him  from  God's  table. 

"  Who  was  this  father  of  the  Church, 

So  secret  in  his  glory  ? 
In  vain  might  antiquarians  search 

For  record  of  his  story  ; 
But  preciously  tradition  keeps 

The  fame  of  holy  men  ; 
So  there  the  Christian  smiles  or  weeps 

For  love  of  Bishop  Ken. 

"  A  name  his  country  once  forsook, 

But  now  with  joy  inherits, 
Confessor  in  the  Church's  book, 

And  martyr  in  the  Spirit's  ! 
That  dared  with  royal  power  to  cope, 

In  peaceful  faith  persisting, 
A  braver  Becket— who  could  hope 

To  conquer  unresisting." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


51 


Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve. — Doddridge. 
In  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  this  is  No.  296 — "  Pressing  on  in 
the  Christian  Race."     Phil.  3  :  12-14  is  the  text  affixed  to  it. 

Awake,  my  soul,  to  joyful  lays.  — Medley. 

The  materials  for  the  life  of  Mr.  Medley  are  found  in  the 
Baptist  Magazine  for  August,  1799,  and  in  a  memoir  published  by 
his  son,  in  1807.  From  these  we  learn  that  Samuel  Medley,  born 
at  Cheshunt,  Hertfordshire,  June  23d,  1738,  was  first  apprenticed 
to  an  oilman  in  London,  but  disliked  the  business,  and  claimed 
the  privilege,  as  he  had  the  right  to  do,  of  finishing  his  apprentice- 
ship in  the  navy. 

In  1755  he  was  a  midshipman  on  board  of  the  "  Buckingham," 
and  was  transferred  to  the  ' '  Intrepid, ' '  under  Admiral  Boscawen, 
with  whom  he  served  in  the  sea  fight  off  Cape  Lagos,  August  18th, 
1759.  In  this  engagement  Medley  received  a  severe  wound  in 
the  leg.  On  the  return  of  the  fleet  he  was  taken  to  the  house  of 
his  grandfather,  Mr.  Tonge,  who  was  a  pious  man,  and  did  all 
that  was  in  his  power  to  induce  his  grandson  to  lead  a  different 
and  better  life.  One  Sunday  evening  he  remained  with  him  at 
home,  and  read  to  him,  in  the  hope  of  reaching  his  heart,  a  ser- 
mon by  Dr.  Watts;  on  Isa.  42  :  6,  7.  To  the  wounded  sailor  it 
was  a  precise  description  of  his  case,  and  it  resulted  in  opening  his 
blinded  eyes,  and  bringing  him  into  liberty,  like  a  prisoner  from 
his  dungeon.  In  a  word,  he  was  deeply  convicted  of  his  sin  ; 
and  not  long  afterward  he  was  hopefully  converted.  When  he 
was  restored  to  health  he  frequently  heard  Whitefield,  and  in 
December,  1760,  he  joined  Dr.  Gifford's  church  in  Eagle  Street, 
London. 

Though  he  was  assured  of  promotion  in  the  navy,  he  resigned 
from  the  service,  and  opened  a  school  near  Seven  Dials.  In  1762 
he  married,  and  removed  his  school  to  King  Street,  Soho.  His 
pastor  now  encouraged  him  to  preach  ;  and,  with  this  support 
from  Dr.  Gifford,  he  made  his  first  attempt  in  1766.  His  educa- 
tion was  good,  and  his  ability  justified  the  trial.  In  1767  he 
became  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church,  at  Watford,  Hertfordshire, 
and  there  remained  until  1772,  when  he  removed  to  Liverpool. 
Here  he  was  very  successful,  especially  with  the  sailors.  His  con- 
gregation became  so  large  that  a  new  edifice  was  erected  in  the  year 


52  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

1790,  and  in  this  Mr.  Medley  continued,  with  active  usefulness, 
until  1798.  At  that  time  he  was  overtaken  by  illness  while  on  a 
missionary  tour,  and  jaundice,  in  connection  with  the  effects  of  his 
old  wound,  soon  caused  his  death.  His  latest  words  expressed 
his  confident  trust  in  the  goodness  of  God,  and  the  phrases  which 
he  employed  had  singular  fitness  when  we  remember  that  they  fell 
from  the  lips  of  a  man  who  was  heartily  in  love  with  his  old  pro- 
fession, and  who  never  forgot  that  he  had  been  a  sailor. 

When  near  his  death,  he  said  :  "lam  thinking  on  the  laws  of 
gravitation  :  the  nearer  a  body  approaches  to  his  centre,  with  the 
more  force  it  is  impelled  ;  and  the  nearer  I  approach  my  dissolu- 
tion, with  greater  velocity  I  move  toward  it."  A  friend  who  stood 
by  said  :  ' '  Sir,  Christ  is  your  centre.  V  *  '  Yes,  yes, ' '  he  said, 
"  he  is,  he  is."  Later,  he  added  :"I  am  now  a  poor,  shattered 
bark,  just  about  to  gain  the  blissful  harbor,  and,  oh,  how  sweet 
will  be  the  port  after  the  storm  !"  On  another  occasion  he 
exclaimed  :  "  Dying  is  sweet  work,  sweet  work  !  My  heavenly 
Father  !  I  am  looking  up  to  my  dear  Jesus,  my  God,  my  portion, 
my  all  in  all  !"  And  then  he  continued  :  "  Glory  !  glory  ! 
Home  !  home  !"     And  so  he  departed  in  peace,  July  17th,  1799. 

These  hymns  of  Mr.  Medley  are  not  remarkable  for  their  poetry  so 
much  as  for  their  piety.  By  this  they  have  been  preserved  in  the 
books  and  in  the  services  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  pieces 
were  originally  printed  on  "  broadsides,"  and  from  these  loose 
pages  they  have  been  put  into  more  permanent  shape.  Thirty-six 
were  issued  between  1786  and  1790.  In  1789,  a  small  volume 
was  published.  In  1794  another  appeared.  He  must  have  com- 
posed a  very  large  number  of  hymns  when  all  are  reckoned  up. 

Dr.  Nicholas  Murray,  when  pastor  at  Elizabethtown,  began  a 
book  of  records,  designed  for  the  benefit  of  himself  and  subse- 
quent pastors.  Among  the  incidents  and  accounts  of  persons 
and  scenes  is  one  relating  to  a  man  who  never  appeared  to  be 
moved  by  any  hymn  except,  "  Awake,  my  soul,  to  joyful  lays." 
This  person  was  a  man  of  the  purest  zeal,  though  of  the  most 
moderate  knowledge,  and  occasionally  of  an  injudicious  turn.  '  Yet 
he  earned  this  praise  from  ' '  a  profane  scoffer  "  :  "If  there  is  a 
Christian  upon  earth  it  is  Uncle  Nehemiah. " 

When  the  poet  Carpani  asked  his  friend  Handel  how  he  came 
to  write  his  church  music  in  so  cheerful  a  strain,  Handel  replied, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  53 

•'  I  cannot  make  it  otherwise  ;  I  write  according  to  the  thoughts 
I  feel.  When  I  think  upon  God,  my  heart  is  so  full  of  joy  that 
the  notes  leap  and  dance,  as  it  were,  from  my  pen  ;  and  since 
God  has  given  me  a  cheerful  heart,  it  will  be  pardoned  me  that  I 
serve  him  with  a  cheerful  spirit/' 

Awake,  my  soul,  to  meet  the  day. — Doddridge. 
Dr.  Doddridge  made  this  as  a"  morning  hymn."  He  rose 
habitually  at  five  o'clock,  and  used  these  seven  stanzas  as  his 
morning  devotion.  As  he  reached  the  sixth  stanza  he  left  his  bed. 
The  date  is  1755,  and  the  present  Methodist  collection  still 
exhorts  its  constituency  to  the  practice  of  an  almost  forgotten 
virtue,  by  retaining  this  hymn  in  its  pages. 

Awake  our  souls  !  away  our  fears. — Watts. 
This  is  No.  48  of  Book  I.  in  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns,  with  the  text, 
Isa.  40  :  28-31,   and  the  title,  "The  Christian  Race."     It   has 
five  stanzas. 

Awake,  ye  saints,  awake. — Cotterill. 

The  authorship  of  this  hymn  is  ascribed  to  Rev.  Thomas  Cot- 
terill, on  the  ground  that  he  wrote  the  most  of  what  is  its  present 
form.  In  Caleb  Evans's  Collection,  fifth  edition,  1786,  it  appears 
in  five  stanzas,  commencing,  "  Awake,  our  drowsy  souls." 

Rippon  has  it  with  the  same  text  and  the  same  title  :  "A 
Hymn  for  the  Lord's  Day  Morning."  Evans  credits  it  to  "  D," 
that  is,  Dr.  Doddridge,  but  Dobell,  who  reprints  it  in  six  stanzas, 
has  assigned  it  to  "  Scott."  It  was  altered  about  the  year  18 10 
by  Cotterill,  for  his  Sheffield  collection.  The  original  has  been 
discovered  in  manuscript,  in  the  library  of  Yale  College,  where  it 
now  is.  Professor  F.  M.  Bird  has  given  much  care  to  the  biog- 
raphy and  hymns  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Scott,  and  has  elaborately 
annotated  this  manuscript  volume  in  the  columns  of  the  New 
York  Independent.  In  the  version  before  us  (that  in  Laudes 
Domini)  the  two  opening  stanzas  are  the  work  of  Thomas  Cotterill, 
and  the  third  is  the  unchanged  composition  of  Miss  Scott. 

Rev.  Thomas  Cotterill  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, who  was  born  at  Cannock,  Staffordshire,  December  1st,  1779. 
He  was  graduated  from  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  in  1801, 
and  became  a  Fellow  there.     In  1803  (some  say  1806)  he  entered 


54  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

on  his  parochial  duties  at  Tutbury,  whence  he  removed  in  about 
two  years'  time  to  the  Staffordshire  potteries,  where  he  labored 
among  a  very  low  class  of  people  for  nine  years.  Then,  in  1817, 
he  became  perpetual  curate  of  St.  Paul's,  Sheffield.  There  he 
taught  a  small  school,  and  spent  the  rest  of  his  life. 

This  residence  in  Sheffield  brought  him  into  association  with  the 
poet  Montgomery,  who  has  left  us  a  very  odd  hint  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  and  his  friend  amended  some  of  the  hymns  of  the 
Church.  "  Good  Mr.  Cotterill  and  I,"  says  the  bard,  "  bestowed 
a  great  deal  of  labor  and  care  upon  the  compilation  of  that  book, 
clipping  and  interlining  and  remodelling  hymns  of  all  sorts,  as 
we  thought  we  could  correct  the  sentiment  or  improve  the  expres- 
sion." The  work  to  which  reference  is  here  made  is  Mr.  Cot- 
terill's  collection  of  hymns  which,  in  1819,  had  reached  its  ninth 
edition.  It  contained  one  hundred  and  fifty  Psalms  and  three 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  hymns  ;  and  when  it  first  appeared,  it 
created  no  small  stir  in  the  diocese.  The  case  was  actually  made  a 
legal  question,  and  taken  regularly  into  court ;  but  it  was  settled 
by  the  mediation  of  the  archbishop,  who  revised  Cotterill's  selec- 
tions, and  added  several  of  his  own.  Under  this  emendation  the 
number  of  hymns  was  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  forty-six.  In 
its  former  shape  we  know  that  Montgomery  was  represented  by 
fifty  pieces,  and  Cotterill  by  thirty-two.  How  many  of  these  dis- 
appeared it  is  impossible  now  to  say  with  certainty,  as  Cotterill 
gave  no  names  of  authors,  and  was  absolutely  independent  in  the 
alteration  of  text  and  sentiment. 

After  a  short  illness,  Mr.  Cotterill  died,  December  29th,  1823. 
Montgomery  was  seven  years  his  senior,  and  his  grief  found 
expression  in  the  well-known  hymn,  "  Friend  after  friend 
departs.  "  Mrs.  Cotterill  and  her  five  children  were  left  to  sorrow 
likewise;  but  the  author  of  the  "Family  Prayers,"  though  he 
ceased  from  his  earthly  labors,  was  not,  nor  is  likely  to  be,  forgotten 
by  others  beside  his  immediate  friends. 

Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound. — Occom. 

There  is  a  small  collection  of  hymns,  originally  published  at 

Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  and  whose  sixth  edition  is  dated  Albany,  1804. 

It  is  the  work  of  "  Joshua  Smith,  Samson  Ockum,  and  others." 

In  it  is  the  first  form  of  this   hymn,  beginning  "  Waked  by  the 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


55 


Gospel's  joyful  sound."  There  are  eight  stanzas,  and  their 
modern  shape  is  due  either  to  the  supervising  care  of  Rev.  Asahel 
Nettleton,  the  evangelist,  in  1824,  or  to  that  of  Daniel  Dodge,  in 
his  Selection,  1808. 

There  are  several  reasons  why  an  American  work  on  hymnology 
should  contain  a  full  notice  of  this  hymn — the  most  imperative 
being  that  the  author  was  a  converted  Indian.  The  name  is 
variously  spelled,  being  ' '  Ockum  ' '  on  the  page  of  the  collection 
before  us  ;  '  *  Occum  ' '  in  the  account  by  Belcher,  and  ' '  Occom' ' 
in  the  book  of  Professor  Briggs. 

He  was  born  about  the  year  1723,  at  Mohegan,  near  Norwich, 
Conn.,  and  was  awakened  and  converted  under  the  preaching  of 
George  Whitefield,  Gilbert  Tennent,  and  their  associates  in  1739— 
40.  He  then  was  instructed  in  that  school  of  Mr.  Wheelock,  at 
Lebanon,  which  was  afterward  incorporated  with  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege. By  the  help  of  the  ' '  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in 
New  England,"  he  next  continued  his  studies  with  Rev.  Benjamin 
Pomeroy,  of  Hebron,  and  acquired  altogether  a  good  knowledge 
of  English,  considerable  Latin  and  Greek,  and  a  modicum  of 
Hebrew. 

Like  so  many  others  abruptly  taken  from  the  apathy  of  igno- 
rance, and  plunged  into  the  energy  of  knowledge,  his  health  failed, 
and  a  college  career  became  impracticable.  He  then  taught  a 
school  in  New  Haven,  and  in  1748  removed  to  the  far  limits  of 
Long  Island,  where  he  preached  and  labored  among  the  Montauks, 
a  hardy  and  gallant  remnant  of  his  people,  whose  last  surviving 
representative  passed  away  in  1885.  Here  he  accomplished  much 
good,  and  in  view  of  the  success  of  his  preaching  he  was  licensed 
by  the  Windham  County  Association,  and  finally  ordained,  August 
30th,  1759,  by  tne  Suffolk  Presbytery  of  Long  Island.  The 
recent  elaborate  volume  of  Professor  C.  A.  Briggs  on  American 
Presbyterianism  helps  us  to  the  further  knowledge  that  in  November, 
1 76 1,  Eleazar  Wheelock,  of  Lebanon,  and  David  Bostwick,  of 
New  York,  applied  to  the  society  in  Scotland  for  the  ' '  Propagation 
of  Christian  Knowledge,"  asking  aid  to  prosecute  the  work  among 
the  Oneida  Indians  in  New  York,  and  naming  Occom  as  a  suit- 
able missionary'.  Many  of  these  converted  Indians  were  in  the 
Continental  army,  and  suffered  death  or  imprisonment.  Others 
were  victims  of  disease  and  hardship  at  home.     That  decimating 


56  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

process  was  already  beginning  which  has  ended  so  disastrously 
with  a  Century  of  Dishonor. 

Occom  was  supported  by  the  society  through  an  appropriation 
of  ^20,  and  in  1766  he  went  abroad  with  Mr.  Nathaniel  Whitaker 
to  raise  funds  for  Mr.  Wheelock's  Indian  school.  Great  interest 
was  excited  in  England  by  the  advent  of  the  first  Indian  preacher, 
and  j^io,ooo  were  secured,  which  formed  the  financial  foundation 
of  Dartmouth  College. 

Nor  was  Occom  the  only  convert  among  the  Indians  whose  acts 
are  recorded.  For,  in  1766,  Rev.  Charles  Beatty  and  Rev.  George 
Duffield  (afterward  chaplain  with  Bishop  White  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  and  whose  imprimatur  is  on  the  first  American  Bible) 
proceeded  on  a  missionary  tour  to  the  West.  They  were  attended 
by  one  Joseph  Peepy,  a  Christian  Indian,  and,  being  at  Fort  Pitt 
over  Sabbath,  Mr.  Beatty  preached  in  the  fort,  and  Mr.  Duffield 
held  service  in  a  "  collection  of  houses,"  thus  conducting  religious 
worship  for  the  first  time  in  what  was  destined  to  be  Pittsburgh. 

When  Occom  returned  from  England,  he  was  noted  as  a  fluent 
extempore  speaker  ;  as  a  fairly  strong  and  cultivated  sermonizer, 
and  especially  as  a  person  of  genuine  evangelistic  gifts.  He  was 
attracted,  with  other  Mohegans,  to  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  by  the 
prospect  of  an  excellent  location  on  the  Brotherton  tract,  and 
there  labored  as  a  minister  until  his  death,  in  July,  1792.  In 
James  Fenimore  Cooper's  Leather -Stocking  Tales,  the  fading 
glories  of  the  tribe  of  Mohegans  (or  Mohicans)  have  been  caught 
and  preserved. 

De  Forest's  History  of  the  Indians  of  Connecticut,  and  similar 
monographs,  contain  a  little  additional  information.  We  are  told 
that  he  had  great  influence  with  his  people  ;  that  he  was  not 
entirely  free  from  the  baneful  touch  of  strong  drink,  and  that  he 
wrote  the  present  hymn,  dated  1 760,  and  (possibly,  but  not  prob- 
ably) another,  beginning,  "  Now  the  shades  of  night  are  gone" 
(1770). 

At  the  funeral  of  this  singular  man  (of  whom  De  Forest  gives  a 
portrait)  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland,  missionary  to  the  Six  Nations, 
preached  a  sermon,  and  three  hundred  Indians  attended  his  body 
to  the  grave.  His  hymn  was  in  common  use  in  England  in  1809, 
and  in  18 14  it  was  translated  into  Welsh,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Thomas,   of  Peckham,    London.      In    consequence    it    has   had 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


57 


frequent  employment  among  the  people  of  Wales  during  revivals 
of  religion. 

Away  from  earth  my  spirit  turns. — Palmer. 
Rev.  Dr.  Ray  Palmer  wrote  this  hymn  in  1833,  in  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  and  based  it  on  John  6:51.  It  is  one  of  a  number  of 
pieces  contributed  about  this  date  by  Dr.  Palmer  to  Lowell  Mason's 
Union  Hymns.  It  has  been  the  author's  invariable  rule  to  receive 
nothing  by  way  of  compensation  for  his  hymns,  but  he  has  made 
it  a  condition  that  the  phraseology  shall  not  be  altered  by  the 
editor.  The  facts  just  stated  were  given  by  Dr.  Palmer  during  a 
personal  interview,  but  there  seems  some  doubt  whether  in  this, 
as  in  other  instances,  the  venerable  poet's  memory  has  not  erred 
respecting  the  earliest  location  of  hymns  from  his  pen.  At  all 
events,  there  are  conflicting  statements  about  several  of  them, 
which  we  find  it  impossible  to  reconcile. 

Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne. — Watts. 
As  Toplady  altered  the  hymns  of  Wesley,  so,  in  this  instance, 
John  Wesley  has  altered  the  hymn  of  Isaac  Watts.  This  piece 
was  published  in  171 9,  and  originally  began,  "  Sing  to  the  Lord 
with  joyful  voice/'  The  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts  note  it  as  Book  I., 
No.  43  ;  it  is  more  usually  found,  however,  as  the  second  part, 
L.M.,  of  Psalm  100.  The  alteration  by  Wesley  consisted  mainly 
in  beginning  the  hymn  with  the  second  stanza, 

"  Nations  attend  before  his  throne, 
With  solemn  fear,  with  sacred  joy." 

For  this,  in  1741,  he  substituted  the  words  as  we  now  have  them. 
It  is  to  him,  also,  that  the  grand  concluding  stanza  is  due. 

A  notable  incident  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  hymn 
was  its  use  at  the  time  when  Commodore  Perry's  fleet  was  anchored 
off  Japan  in  1853-4.  Divine  service  was  held  on  the  flagship, 
and  the  chaplain,  in  plain  sight  of  thousands  upon  the  shore,  gave 
out  this  hymn  to  be  sung.  The  marine  band  struck  up  the  notes 
of  "  Old  Hundred,"  and  the  natives  of  the  empire  where 
Christian  civilization  was  to  have  such  power  beheld  the  religious 
worship  of  the  nation  which  was  knocking  at  their  gates. 

Another  incident  occurred  in  the  life  of  the  late  Dr.  Dempster, 
of  Garrett  Biblical  Institute,  111.  He  and  his  friends  were  on  their 
way  to  South  America,  where  his  wife  and  his  two  companions 


58  ENGLISH  HYMNS, 

were  to  be  missionaries  with  himself.  On  their  voyage  they  were 
chased  for  three  days  by  a  piratical  craft  which  refused  to  exchange 
signals  with  them.  As  the  ships  drew  nearer  together,  the  crew 
and  passengers  of  Dr.  Dempster's  vessel  went  on  deck  and  joined 
in  the  singing  of  this  hymn.  They  then  knelt  down  in  prayer  and 
awaited  what  appeared  to  be  their  doom.  But,  to  their  surprise 
and  joy,  the  other  ship  changed  her  course  and  left  them.  And 
this  they  attributed  to  the  unexpected  style  of  passive  resistance 
which  was  offered. 

Before  the  heavens  were  spread  abroad. — Watts. 
We  find  this  as  Hymn  2,  Book  I.,  of  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns,  with 
the  title,  "  The  Deity  and  Humanity  of  Christ,"  and  the  texts  of 
Scripture,  John  1  :  13,  14  ;  Col.  1  :  16,  and  Eph.  3  :  9,  10.      It 
has  six  stanzas. 

Before  the  throne  of  God. — Bancroft. 
Mrs.  Charitie  Lees  (Smith)  Bancroft  is  the  daughter  of  Rev. 
Sidney  Smith,  D.  D.,  rector  of  Drumragh,  County  Tyrone,  Ireland. 
She  was  born  at  Bloomfield,  Merrion,  County  Dublin,  June  21st, 
1 84 1,  and  married  Arthur  E.  Bancroft  in  1869.  Her  hymns  have 
found  favor  in  various  quarters.  They  are  in  Lyra  Sacra  Hiber- 
nica,  Lyra  Britannica,  RyWs  Spiritual  Songs,  Times  of  Refreshing, 
and  elsewhere.  Her  hymn,  M  Heavenly  Anticipations,"  is  a 
favorite  in  England.     It  begins, 

"  Oh  for  the  robes  of  whiteness, 
Oh  for  the  tearless  eyes  ! 
Oh  for  the  glorious  brightness 
Of  the  unclouded  skies  !" 

This  hymn,  as  well  as  "  Thy  way  is  best,  my  Father,"  and 
"  O  Man  of  Sorrows  !  hast  thou  given  to  me,"  are  found  in  Lyra 
Hibernica  (second  edition,  1879). 

Be  still,  my  heart,  these  anxious  cares. — Newton. 

With  the  title,  "Why  art  thou  cast  down?"  and  in  seven 
stanzas,  this  hymn  is  found  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  40. 

The  Rev.  Andrew  Duncan,  minister  of  Craill,  in  Fifeshire,  was 
imprisoned  in  Blackness  Castle  by  order  of  James  VI.,  and  after- 
ward banished  from  the  kingdom.  He  was  a  man  of  great  piety, 
and   proceeded   to   Berwick,  where  he  settled   with  his  wife   and 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  59 

several  children.  Though  he  was  reduced  to  absolute  want  he 
was  not  dismayed.  One  night  the  children  cried  for  bread,  and 
Mrs.  Duncan  was  much  depressed  because  there  was  none  to  give 
them,  and  they  were  weeping.  Mr.  Duncan,  however,  both  prayed 
and  encouraged  them  until  at  last  he  got  them  all  to  bed.  Com- 
forting his  wife  as  best  he  could,  the  poor  man  exhorted  her  to 
trust  God,  saying  that  God  would  even  rain  down  bread  for  his 
own  people.  That  very  night,  though  they  were  strangers  in  the 
town,  a  man  brought  a  sackful  of  provisions,  and  went  away  with- 
out explanation  or  telling  his  name.  In  the  bag  were  flour,  loaves 
of  bread,  and  other  articles,  with  a  ^20  note.  Bringing  the  whole 
to  his  wife,  the  poor  man  said  :  "  See  what  a  good  Master  I 
serve  I"     Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  in  Mr.  Duncan's  career. 

Begin,  my  tongue,  some  heavenly  theme.  — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  placed  this  as  the  sixty-ninth  hymn  of  his  second 
book.  It  is  entitled  "  The  Faithfulness  of  God  in  the  Promises," 
and  has  nine  stanzas.  One  of  these  is  the  object  of  a  rather  cap- 
tious criticism  which  has  been  lately  revived.  It  is  one  of  the 
grandest  stanzas  that  Dr.  Watts  ever  wrote  : 

"  His  very  word  of  grace  is  strong 
As  that  which  built  the  skies  ; 
The  voice  that  rolls  the  stars  along 
Speaks  all  the  promises." 

Fault  has  been  found  with  the  use  of  very  instead  of  every.  The 
objection  dates  as  far  back  as  to  Dr.  David  Nelson,  the  opponent 
of  infidelity,  with  whom  this  hymn  was  an  especial  favorite.  He 
was  exceedingly  severe  on  what  he  regarded  as  tampering  with  Dr. 
Watts' s  original  lines,  in  putting  very  for  every  •  and  he  charac- 
terized such  emendations  as  the  ' '  scalping  and  tomahawking ' '  of 
hymns. 

But  Dr.  Nelson  was  not  well  informed,  for  his  favorite  author 
really  wrote  in  that  favorite  hymn,  "His  very  word  of  grace  is 
strong."  We  so  find  it  in  the  earliest  editions  of  Watts  ;  in  Rip- 
pon's  Watts,  1805  ;  in  Winchell's  Watts,  1832,  and,  indeed,  in 
whatever  republications  assume  to  follow  the  exact  text.  Dr. 
David  Guy,  who,  in  1774,  published  A  Compleat  Index  to  Watts, 
gives  the  first  lines  of  all  stanzas,  and  in  this  one  he  gives  very  and 
not  every. 


60  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Indeed,  it  is  possible  to  find  every  only  when  we  come  to  William 
Gadsby's  collection,  who,  in  November,  1838,  dates  his  preface 
from  Manchester.  In  this  he  says  :  "  There  are  others,  espe- 
cially among  Dr.  Watts' s  and  Rippon's,  which  give  as  legal  a 
sound  as  if  they  had  been  forged  at  a  certain  foundry  " —  which 
is  a  quite  unnecessary  fling.  He  proposes,  therefore,  ' '  a  selec- 
tion of  hymns  in  one  book,  free  from  Arminianism  and  sound  in 
the  faith."  So  he  inserts  "one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  hymns 
of  his  own  composition,"  in  order  to  this  laudable  end,  and  adds  : 
"  It  will  be  seen  that  I  have  sometimes  taken  a  line  from  another 
author  ;  but  for  this,  not  professing  perfection,  I  shall  offer  no 
apology."  (!)  Thus  Mr.  Gadsby,  by  his  own  showing,  was  not 
above  "  scalping  and  tomahawking"  Watts  ;  though  Dr.  Nelson 
erred  as  to  the  original  word,  and  the  sin  belongs  at  Watts' s  own 
door. 

Behold  a  stranger  at  the  door.  — Grigg. 

From  Joseph  Grigg' s  pamphlet,  containing  nineteen  hymns, 
came  this  and  the  equally  popular,  "  Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be." 
The  date  is  1765,  and  the  present  hymn  is  one  of  those  "on 
divine  subjects." 

Behold,  the  Bridegroom  cometh. — G.  Moultrie. 

Rev.  Gerard  Moultrie  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Moultrie. 
He  was  educated  at  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  where  he  became 
B.A.,  1852,  and  M.A.,  1856.  He  was  ordained  as  deacon  in 
1853,  and  as  priest  in  1858.  He  acted  as  third  master  of  Shrews- 
bury School  from  1852  to  1855,  and  was  head-master  of  the  Royal 
Kepler  Grammar  School  from  1855  to  1864,  during  which  time 
he  was  also  chaplain  to  the  Dowager  Marchioness  of  Londonderry. 
From  1864  to  1869  he  was  incumbent  of  Barrow-Gurney,  Bristol. 
He  was  appointed  vicar  of  Southleigh  in  1869,  and  warden  of  St. 
James's  College,  Southleigh,  1873.  He  isat  present  at  Southleigh 
Vicarage,  Witney  (1885). 

In  1864  he  began  to  translate  and  compose  hymns,  and  has 
written  many  separate  hymns,  processionals  and  sermons.  He  is 
the  author  of  Hymns  and  Lyrics,  1864.  In  1867  he  was  associated 
with  Dr.  Littledale  in  the  editorship  of  The  People's  Hymnal,  which 
contains  thirty-five  of  his  pieces,  most  of  them  being  original,  but 
a  few  are  translations.     Some  are  Riven  with  a  reference  to  his 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  61 

Hymns  and  Lyrics  ;  others  with  the  signature  "  M."  ;  others  with 
the  initials  of  his  nom  de  plume,  '*  D.  P. "  (for  ' '  Desiderius  Pastor1 ' ), 
and  one  is  signed  "  The  Primer." 

Behold  the  glories  of  the  Lamb.  — Watts. 

Dr.  Isaac  Watts  was  the  grandson  of  a  naval  commander,  Mr. 
Thomas  Watts,  who  blew  up  his  ship  during  the  Dutch  War  in 
1656,  and  perished  on  board  of  her.  His  father,  Isaac  Watts, 
Senior,  maintained  the  traditions  of  his  family  in  reference  to  this 
courage  and  vigor  of  conduct.  He  was  a  deacon  in  the  Congre- 
gational church  at  Southampton,  and  lived  through  the  stormy 
days  of  nonconformity.  His  pastor  had  been  ejected  in  1662  ; 
had  been  allowed  to  preach  again  in  1672  by  the  Declaration  of 
Indulgence,  and  on  its  recall,  in  1674,  was  exposed  to  more  per- 
secution than  ever. 

Just  at  this  time — July  17th,  1674 — was  born  Isaac  Watts,  the 
hymn-writer.  The  pastor  and  his  deacon  were  both  shut  into  pris- 
on, and  Watts' s  mother,  with  her  infant,  often  sat  on  the  stone 
near  the  gate.  In  1683  his  father  was  again  imprisoned  for  six 
months,  and  on  his  release  was  forced  by  prudential  considera- 
tions to  remain  away  from  his  home,  and  "  live  privately  in  Lon- 
don for  two  years. ' ' 

Meanwhile  he  had  gone  on  with  his  studies,  and  when  William 
of  Orange  came  over,  in  1688,  a  brighter  era  was  begun.  He 
soon  had  the  opportunity  of  a  free  education  if  he  would  give  up 
nonconformity  ;  but  he  was  a  stanch  little  Dissenter,  and  de- 
clined Dr.  John  Speed's  offer.  He  left  that  benevolent  physician 
behind  him,  and  took  his  way  to  London.  There  he  carried  on 
his  studies  in  the  school  of  Mr.  Thomas  Rowe,  and  continued 
until  1694  under  his  instruction. 

It  has  escaped  general  notice  that  the  wife  of  this  gentleman 
was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Rowe — the  Elizabeth  Singer  (born  September 
nth,  1674)  who  jilted  our  poet.  She  died  at  Frome,  February 
20th,  1737,  and  Dr.  Watts  published  her  Devout  Exercises  of  the 
Heart 'in  1739. 

In  1700 — when  she  was  twenty-six — Miss  Singer  had  married 
Mr.  Rowe.  He  was  born  in  1657,  and  died  in  1705.  Watts 
has  addressed  him  in  an  ode  on  "  Free  Philosophy,"  in  the 
Hotcb  Lyricce,  in  which  he  says  : 


62  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  I  love  thy  gentle  influence,  Rowe, 

Thy  gentle  influence,  like  the  sun, 
Only  dissolves  the  frozen  snow, 
Then  bids  our  thoughts  like  rivers  flow, 

And  chuse  the  channels  where  they  run. 
Thoughts  should  be  free  as  fire  or  wind  ; 
The  pinions  of  a  single  mind 

Will  through  all  nature  fly  ; 
But  who  can  drag  up  to  the  poles 
Long  fetter' d  ranks  of  leaden  souls  ?" 

As  a  result  of  this  education  we  have  Dr.  Watts' s  own  works  on 
mental  philosophy. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how,  as  Dr.  Beman  aptly  puts  it, 
"  Watts  struck  out  a  path  for  himself."  His  earliest  hymns  were 
occasioned  by  his  dislike  of  the  verses  sung  in  the  meeting-house 
at  Southampton.  John  Mason,  his  prototype  —  as  Caedmon  was 
John  Milton's — belongs  in  1683  ;  Tate  and  Brady  were  authorized 
in  1696,  and  Dr.  John  Patrick  is  Watts's  contemporary  in  1694. 
Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons — himself  a  hymn-writer  of  some  repute — 
published  Dr.  Watts' s  Memoirs  in  1780,  and  considers  this  pres- 
ent hymn  the  first  which  was  prepared. 

In  1696,  the  young  student  became  a  tutor  to  Sir  John  Har- 
topp's  children,  at  Newington.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  episode 
in  his  career  we  should  not  have  known  of  the  "  little  busy  bee  ;" 
of  the  dogs  that  "  delight  to  bark  and  bite  ;"  of  the  "  voice  of  the 
sluggard  ;"  and  of  that  exquisite  cradle-song,  "  Hush,  my  dear, 
lie  still  and  slumber. "  His  love  for  these  children  gave  us  the 
Divine  and  Moral  Songs. 

The  place  and  date  of  Watts's  first  sermon  were  Mark  Lane, 
London,  July  17th,  1698.  After  this  period  he  preached  with 
frequency,  and  in  February,  1699,  he  was  selected  to  be  Dr. 
Chauncey's  assistant  in  Mark  Lane.  But  he  had  no  more  than 
commenced  his  work  as  a  clergyman  before  physical  infirmity 
began  to  lay  him  aside  at  intervals,  and  in  1703  he  was  disabled 
for  four  years  together.  He  had  long  been  urged  to  make  his 
poetry  public,  and  consequently,  in  1705,  he  sent  Horce  Lyricce 
to  the  press.  It  was  successful,  and  he  followed  it  with  the  Hymns, 
July,  1 707,  in  three  books.  Dr.  Hatfield  has  been  at  the  pains  to 
pursue  this  line  of  inquiry  more  fully  than  any  hymnologist  in 
England  or  America,  and  his  bibliographical  notes  on  Watts's  pub- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  63 

lications  are  valuable,  and  much  more  extensive  than  our  own 
space  permits  us  to  emulate. 

With  various  distressing  alternations  of  health  and  sickness,  we 
find  Dr.  Watts  still  continuing  his  pastorate.  In  171 3,  after  one 
of  these  attacks  of  fever  and  neuralgia,  Sir  Thomas  Abney  took  the 
forlorn  bachelor  to  his  own  home.  He  said,  years  afterward,  to 
Lady  Huntingdon  :  "  This  day  thirty  years  I  came  hither  to  the 
house  of  my  good  friend,  Sir  Thomas  Abney,  intending  to  spend 
but  one  single  week  under  his  friendly  roof,  and  I  have  extended 
my  visit  to  the  length  of  exactly  thirty  years."  It  was  a  home  in 
the  suburbs  and  was  much  frequented  by  the  best  society  of  the 
day. 

The  Psalms  followed  the  Hymns,  in  171 9.  In  the  original  pref- 
ace he  admits  an  indebtedness  for  ideas,  and  even  expressions,  to 
Denham,  Milbourne,  and  Tate  and  Brady.  From  Dr.  John 
Patrick  he  takes  most,  and  there  are  occasional  but  unacknowl- 
edged traces  of  John  Mason.  In  spite  of  genuine  opposition  of  the 
real  unflinching  kind,  this  venture  also  was  a  success,  so  much  so 
that  no  person  can  make  a  successful  hymn-book  to-day — at  least 
for  American  Christians — which  does  not  show  a  very  large  propor- 
tion of  Watts  in  its  composition.  Neither  ridicule  nor  resistance 
has  any  avail  against  the  time-honored  affection  of  the  Church  for 
the  "  little  doctor." 

In  the  Lenox  Library,  New  York  City,  and  under  the  fostering 
care  of  Dr.  S.  Austin  Allibone,  can  be  found  a  collection — nearly 
or  quite  complete — of  the  republications  of  Watts' s  Psalms  in 
America.  Franklin's  edition  of  the  Hymns,  1741  ;  Joel  Barlow's 
amendments  to  the  Psalms,  1785;  and  Dr.  Dwight's  improve- 
ments to  both,  1800,  are  features  of  American  psalmody — not 
to  name  other  less  known  or  less  influential  collections,  like  Win- 
chell's,  Worcester's,  or  Beman's. 

Let  us  also  credit  Dr.  Watts  with  having  done  away — so  says  Dr. 
Caleb  Evans,  of  Bristol — with  the  barbarous  practice  of  "  lining 
out ' '  the  hymn.  An  equally  mighty  innovation  —  that  of  the 
modern  shape  of  the  pulpit — was  effected  by  Dr.  John  M.  Mason, 
of  New  York,  a  century  later. 

During  these  years  Dr.  Watts  still  kept  up  a  connection  with 
his  London  charge,  though  Mr.  Price  had  long  been  his  associate. 
He  took  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  Whitefield,  and  in  that  of 


64  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Lady  Huntingdon  and  her  friends.  Dr.  Doddridge  was  always 
within  the  range  of  his  sympathy.  And  having  now  reached 
Luther's  position  in  his  old  age,  and  being  the  conceded  patriarch 
and  leader  of  his  brethren,  he  died  peacefully,  November  25th, 
1748,  aged  seventy-five. 

In  person  he  was  a  thin,  spare  man,  scarcely  more  than  five  feet 
in  height.  "  His  forehead  was  low,  his  cheek-bones  rather  prom- 
inent, his  eyes  small  and  gray,  and  his  face,  in  repose,  of  a  heavy 
aspect.*'  His  voice  was  excellent,  and  his  rhetoric  polished  and 
graceful. 

The  present  hymn  is  the  first  number  in  his  first  book.  It  has 
eight  stanzas,  and  is  based  on  Rev.  5  :  6,  8,  9-12  ;  with  the  title, 
* '  A  New  Song  of  Praise  to  the  Lamb  that  was  Slain. ' ' 

Behold,  the  mountain  of  the  Lord.  — Bruce. 

This  is  one  of  the  pieces  which  were  written  by  Michael  Bruce, 
and  appropriated  by  that  "heartless  literary  robber,"  Rev.  John 
Logan.  It  is  an  almost  literal  paraphrase  of  Isa.  2  :  1-5.  The 
controversy  as  to  the  authorship  of  Bruce' s  poems  is  given  at 
length  elsewhere.  This  hymn  was  included  in  the  Scotch  Para- 
phrases, in  1 78 1. 

Behold,  the  Saviour  of  mankind.  — Samuel  Wesley,  Sr. 

This  hymn,  written  by  the  father  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley, 
was  one  of  the  few  things  rescued  when  the  author's  parsonage 
was  burned,  for  the  second  time,  August  24th,  1709.  Four  leaves 
of  music  have  been  kept  as  a  precious  memento  of  that  occasion. 
They  bear  fire-marks  on  their  edges,  and  Charles  Wesley,  Jr.,  has 
written  on  one  of  them  :  "  The  words  by  my  grandfather,  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Wesley.  Probably  the  music  was  adapted  by  Henry  Pur- 
cell  or  Dr.  Blow. ' '  The  hymn  has  six  stanzas,  and  bears  the  title, 
"  A  Hymn  on  the  Passion  :  the  words  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel 
Wesley,  rector  of  Epworth,  in  the  diocese  of  Lincoln."  The 
author  was  born  in  November,  1662,  and  was  graduated,  1688,  at 
Exeter  College,  Oxford,  where  he  had  supported  himself  by  his  own 
exertions  for  five  years.  He  married  Miss  Annesley  in  1689,  and 
their  family  consisted  ultimately  of  nineteen  children,  of  whom 
Samuel,  John  and  Charles  attained  to  wide  reputation.  Mr.  Wes- 
ley was  appointed  rector  of  Epworth,  in  1726,  and  there  continued, 
preaching,  praying  and  writing,  until  his  death,  April  25  th,  1735. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  65 

One  can  get  no  better  picture  of  that  life  than  Christophers  has 
given,  in  his  Epworth  Singers.  The  rector,  with  his  wife  and 
child,  was  "passing  rich  on  [fifty]  pounds  a  year. ' '  He  was 
quite  too  energetic  for  his  own  good  ;  very  much  in  haste  ;  not 
allowing  his  ideas  time  to  simmer  slowly,  but  always  keeping 
them  at  boiling-point.  It  was  very  characteristic  of  a  man  of  this 
sort  to  lay  his  hand  on  Charles's  head,  and  say  :  "  Be  steady  ! 
The  Christian  faith  will  surely  revive  in  this  kingdom  ;  you  shall 
see  it,  though  I  shall  not. ' ' 

Behold,  the  throne  of  grace.  — Newton. 

We  find  this  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  33,  where  it 
follows  the  well-known  hymn,  "Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  pre- 
pare." It  is  entitled,  "Another,"  that  is,  another  on  the  same 
theme,  1  Kings  3  :  5,  which  inspired  the  previous  hymn.  The 
keynote  is  that  "  Ask  what  I  shall  give  thee,"  of  which  Matthew 
Henry  furnishes  a  true  exposition  when  he  says  that  whatever  God 
sends  down  to  us  in  a  promise  we  ought  to  send  back  to  him  in  a 
prayer.      The  original  of  this  piece  extends  to  eight  stanzas. 

Mr.  Newton  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  power  and  efficacy  of 
prayer.  It  delighted  him  to  have  an  opportunity  to  impress  the 
truth  that  we  should  live  by  faith  and  that  all  our  affairs  should  be 
regarded  in  the  light  of  God's  will.  He  once  commented  in  his 
pulpit  in  London  upon  a  small  placard  put  up  at  St.  Mary  Wool- 
noth's  (his  own  church),  which  read  as  follows  :  "  A  young  man, 
having  come  to  the  possession  of  a  considerable  fortune,  desires 
the  prayers  of  the  congregation,  that  he  may  be  preserved  from  the 
snares  to  which  it  exposes  him."  "  If  this  man  had  lost  a  fort- 
une," said  Newton,  "  the  world  would  not  have  wondered  to  see 
him  put  up  such  a  bill,  but  this  man  has  been  better  taught." 

Behold,  the  western  evening  light  ! — Peabody. 
The  Rev.  William  Bourne  Oliver  Peabody  was  born  in  Exeter, 
N.  H.,  July  9th,  1799,  and  pursued  his  studies,  at  first,  in  his 
native  town.  He  entered  Harvard  College  when  only  fourteen, 
years  of  age,  and  was  graduated  there  in  181 7.  He  then  took  a 
theological  course  in  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School,  and  began 
to  preach  in  1819.  In  1820  we  find  him  in  his  first  and  only 
settlement,  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death,    May  28th,  1847.      His  horticultural  taste  was  highly  cul- 


66  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

tivated,  and  it  is  to  him,  more  than  to  almost  any  other  person, 
that  Springfield  owes  her  fine  cemetery.  He  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  his  twin  brother,  Rev.  O.  W.  B.  Peabody,  whose  life  he 
wrote,  and  whose  writings  he  edited.  The  Springfield  Collection 
of  psalms  and  hymns  was  Dr.  Peabody' s  work,  in  1835.  He 
had  already  (1823)  printed  a  couple  of  dozen  hymns  in  a  little 
collection  for  the  Sunday-school. 

The  Record  of  Unitarian  Worthies  says  of  Dr.  Peabody  that  he 
fulfilled  the  maxim  of  Lord  Bacon  :  ' '  Certainly  it  is  heaven  upon 
earth  to  have  a  man's  mind  move  in  charity,  rest  in  providence, 
and  turn  upon  the  poles  of  truth. " 

Behold  what  wondrous  grace. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  has  this  hymn,  in  six  stanzas,  at  the  close  of  a  sermon 
upon  1  John  3:1,  with  Gal.  6:6.      It  is  the  sixty-fifth  hymn  of 
his  first  book,  with  the  title,  "  Adoption." 

Beneath  our  feet  and  o'er  our  head. — Heber. 
The  second  stanza  of  the  four-line  form  of  this  hymn  is  omitted 
by  Laudes  Domini  and  other  recent  books.      It  runs  thus  : 

"  Their  names  are  graven  on  the  stone, 
Their  bones  are  in  the  clay  ; 
And  ere  another  day  is  done, 
Ourselves  may  be  as  they." 

It  appeared  in  Hymns  Written  and  Adapted  to  the  Weekly  Service  of 
the  Church,  1827,  with  the  title,  "At  a  Funeral."  Perhaps  no 
lines  have  been  more  often  quoted  than 

"  The  earth  rings  hollow  from  below, 
And  warns  thee  of  her  dead  !" 
There  is  such  an  aroma  of  Watts  about  them  that  they  are  fre- 
quently credited  to  him. 

Behold,  where  in  a  mortal  form.  — Enfield. 
The  life  of  William  Enfield  furnishes  few  matters  of  interest. 
He  was  born  at  Sudbury,  Suffolk,  England,  March  29th,  1741. 
His  parents  were  poor.  His  efforts  to  secure  an  education  cost 
him  a  hard  struggle,  and  introduced  him  to  the  favorable  notice 
•of  Mr.  Hexall,  a  Dissenting  clergyman,  who  encouraged  him  to 
study  for  the  ministry.  He  therefore  pursued  a  regular  course  of 
instruction  at  Daventry,  from  1758  to  1763,  and  almost  immedi- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  67 

ately  took  charge  of  the  congregation  at  Benn's  Garden,  Liver- 
pool. In  1767  he  married  Miss  Mary  Holland,  of  Liverpool,  and 
shortly  afterward  became  Professor  of  Belles-Leltres  in  the  Unitarian 
College,  at  Warrington.  His  next  remove  was  to  the  "  Octagon 
Congregation,"  at  Norwich,  where  he  died,  November  3d,  1797. 

He  deserves  to  be  remembered  for  his  Speaker,  once  a  popular 
school-book  on  elocution.  Dr.  Aitkin,  his  friend,  prepared  a 
notice  of  him  for  the  Biographical  Dictionary.  Mr.  Enfield  also 
edited  a  collection  of  hymns  (the  Warrington  Collection,  1772) 
which  contained  some  of  T.  Scott's  verses,  and  in  the  edition  of 
1802  some  of  his  own  are  included. 

The  present  hymn  was  originally  written,  "  Behold,  where  in 
the  Friend  of  man, ' '  and  was  altered  to  its  present  form  by  an 
unknown  hand. 

Beyond  the  starry  skies. — Fanch,  altered. 
The  original  is  probably  the  hymn,  "  Beyond  the  glittering, 
starry  skies,"  which  was  the  joint  production  of  the  brothers 
Berridge,  early  Wesleyans — the  elder  one  a  preacher  of  great  ability 
and  eccentricity,  and  the  other  a  humble  porter.  The  clergyman, 
Christophers  tells  us,  called  on  his  brother  to  take  a  letter  for  him. 
The  porter  replied  that  he  could  not  go,  as  he  was  making  a  hymn. 
"  That's  my  business,"  said  the  elder,  "  you  take  the  letter,  and 
I'  11  finish  the  hymn. ' '  On  his  return,  the  hymn  was  not  quite 
ready,  the  preacher  being  staggered  at  the  last  stanza.  "  Oh,  I 
have  that,"  cried  the  porter,  and  added  the  four  lines  : 

"  They  brought  his  chariot  from  above 
To  bear  him  to  his  throne, 
Clapp'd  their  triumphant  wings  and  cried. 
The  glorious  work  is  done." 

This  hymn  is  also  claimed  for  the  Rev.  James  Fanch,  of  Rom- 
sey,  England,  and  the  Rev.  Daniel  Turner,  of  Abingdon,  Eng- 
land. It  appears  in  Dr.  Turner's  Sacred  and  Moral  Poems,  i8mo, 
1794  ;  and,  in  that  work,  has  over  twenty  stanzas.  Thus  it  would 
seem  to  be  the  enlargement  of  the  first  draft  by  the  brothers  Ber- 
ridge. We  have  it  also  quite  at  length  in  Lord  Sel  borne' s  Book  of 
Praise.  Dr.  Turner  communicated  it  to  Dr.  Rippon,  in  1791 
(see  Rippon's  Baptist  Annual  Pegisler,  vol.  3,  p.  471)-  He  in- 
formed   Dr.    Rippon  that  the   greater   part   of   the   twenty-eight 


68  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

stanzas  were  of  his  own  composition.      But  the  piece  has  been  very 
much  altered  in  nearly  every  collection  that  has  printed  it. 

Beyond  the  smiling  and  the  weeping.  — Bonar. 
Dr.  Bonar  gave  to  this  hymn  the  title,  "  A  Little  While."  It  is 
in  his  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope  (first  series,  1857),  and  has  six 
stanzas.  Nothing  can  be  lovelier  than  this  little  lyric.  Already  to 
some  of  us  it  has  tender  and  dear  associations  ;  but  it  is  scarcely 
old  enough  to  have  an  extended  history.  Dr.  Bonar  wrote  to 
Rev.  W.  F.  Stevenson  that  some  of  his  hymns  had  been  written 
at  Edinburgh,  and  some  in  the  railway  carriages  when  he  was 
travelling,  and  that  he  had  never  recorded  place  or  time. 

Bless,  O  my  soul  !  the  living  God. — Watts. 
This  is  Ps.  103,  1st  part,  L.  M.,  vs.  1-7,  "  Blessing  God  for  his 
Goodness  to  Soul  and  Body,"  and  is  in  eight  stanzas. 

Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God.  — Humphreys. 

Joseph  Humphreys,  son  of  Rev.  Asher  Humphreys,  rector  of 
Barton,  Hertfordshire,  and  finally  of  Burford,  was  born  at  Bur- 
ford,  Oxfordshire,  October  28th,  1720.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was 
sent  to  grammar  school  at  Fairford,  Gloucestershire,  and  on  the 
death  of  his  father,  in  1732,  he  was  placed  (being  only  twelve  !) 
in  a  "  theological  school  "  in  London.  In  1738  he  was  converted 
to  the  views  of  the  Wesleys,  -and  began  to  preach  at  the  Foundry, 
London  ;  and  at  Bristol,  and  elsewhere.  This  was  too  much  for 
the  patience  of  the  divinity  school,  which  proceeded  to  expel  him 
for  irregular  conduct,  the  sentence  being  dated  (somewhat  ironi- 
cally) on  December  25th,  1739.  This  was  their  comment  on 
(i  glad  tidings,"  and  on  "  peace  on  earth,  good- will  to  men." 

Humphreys  agreed  with  Cennick,  after  a  time,  more  than  with 
the  Wesleys,  and  so  separated  from  them  in  April,  1741.  Subse- 
quently he  published  his  testimony  against  their  doctrine  of  perfec- 
tion, and  was  instrumental  (January,  1743)  in  organizing  the  first 
society  of  Calvinistic  Methodists  in  Wales,  near  Cardiff.  His 
hymns  were  printed  at  the  end  of  Cennick's  volume,  in  1743. 

Wesley's  diary  (April  3d,  1746)  bears  witness  that  he  "spentan 
agreeable  hour  with  our  old  fellow-laborer,  Mr.  Humphreys.  I 
found  him"  (he  adds)  "  open  and  friendly,  but  rigorously  tena- 
cious of  the  unconditional  decrees." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  69 

Mr.  Humphreys  preached  many  years  at  Bristol,  and  has  been 
commemorated  in  the  Centenary  Memorial  oi  the  Bristol  Tabernacle, 
a  copy  of  which  is  in  our  possession.  These  centennial  services 
were  held  November  25th,  1853.  He  is  there  called  "  a  prudent 
and  zealous  man."  We  get  but  a  glimpse  of  him  in  John  Wesley's 
journal  (September  9th,  1790),  where  he  is  mentioned  as  a  friend 
of  Mr.  Whitefield's  who  renounced  that  gentleman,  and  became  a 
Presbyterian,  and  at  last  "  received  Episcopal  ordination."  "  He 
then,"  continues  Wesley,  with  some  acerbity,  "  scoffed  at  inward 
religion,  and,  when  reminded  of  his  own  '  Experience  '  [published 
at  Bristol,  in  1742],  replied,  '  That  was  one  of  the  foolish  things 
which  I  wrote  in  the  times  of  my  madness.'  "  It  has  been 
suggested  that  Wesley  was  taking  these  facts  upon  hearsay,  and 
that  they  need  to  be  received  with  some  allowance.  Gadsby — a 
tolerably  accurate  hymnologist — says  that  Humphreys  "  died  in 
London,  and  was  buried  in  the  Moravian  Cemetery  at  Chelsea. ' ' 
In  this  statement  he  is  supported  by  Dr.  Belcher. 

This  hymn  is  one  of  six  appended  to  Cennick's  Sacred  Hymns, 
Part II.  (1743),  all  of  which  have  the  remark:  "These  were 
done  by  Mr.  Joseph  Humphreys."  Rippon  (1787)  follows  Mar- 
tin Madan  (1760)  in  the  arrangement  of  the  refrain  to  the  stanzas. 
This  is  taken  "  from  the  latter  half  of  the  first  stanza  of  the 
original, ' '  and  this  text  has  ever  since  been  adopted. 

Blessed  city,  heavenly  Salem. — Benson,  tr. 

This  rendering,  by  Rev.  Edward  W.  Benson,  D.D.,  the  pres- 
ent Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  is  the  close  translation  of  that  beau- 
tiful Latin  hymn,  "  Urbs  beata  Hirusalem"  for  which  see  "  The 
Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

The  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Primate  of  all  Eng- 
land, who  in  the  order  of  precedence  comes  next  to  the  Royal 
Family,  is  Edward  White  Benson.  He  was  born  near  Birming- 
ham, in  1829.  His  education  was  received  at  King  Edward's 
School,  Birmingham,  and  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  Here 
he  was  graduated  in  1852,  and  was  afterward  Scholar  and  Fellow. 
In  his  University  career  he  showed  distinguished  ability,  and  ap- 
pears to  have  always  been  a  man  with  a  marvellous  power  of  stand- 
ing well  all  around.  At  first  he  was  an  assistant  master  at  Rugby  ; 
then  head-master  at  Wellington  College,  from  its  origin  in  1858 


70  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

down  to  the  year  1872.  At  this  latter  date  he  was  appointed 
Canon  Residentiary,  and  Chancellor  of  Lincoln  Cathedral.  For 
some  years  previous  he  had  been  a  prebendary  of  the  same  establish- 
ment. His  peculiar  qualities  as  an  irenic  can  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  a  special  preacher  at  Cambridge,  1864-71  ;  and 
at  Oxford,  1875-6.  For  several  years  he  was  examining  chaplain 
to  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  He  was  nominated  by  the  Crown 
(December,  1876,)  at  the  instance  of  Lord  Beaconsfield,  to  the 
(new)  episcopate  of  Truro,  with  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  Truro, 
for  a  cathedral.  The  diocese  consists  of  the  County  of  Cornwall, 
and  of  the  Scilly  Isles,  with  five  parishes  in  Devonshire.  The 
bishop  at  once  began  the  erection  of  a  cathedral  at  Truro,  to  cost, 
without  the  furnishing,  fully  ^90,000,  most  of  which  amount  he 
had  himself  secured.  In  December,  1882,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Mr.  Gladstone,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Archbishopric  of 
Canterbury,  made  vacant,  December  3d,  1882,  by  the  death  of 
Dr.  Tait.  Dr.  Benson  is  a  contributor  to  the  Speaker  s  Commentary. 
He  has  written  some  volumes  of  sermons,  but  the  singular  feature 
of  his  career  appears  to  be  the  manner  in  which  he  has  been 
chosen,  by  opposite  parties,  to  places  of  high  distinction.  This 
argues  the  possession  of  either  the  very  noblest  and  most  exalted 
character,  to  which  each  alike  bow  down,  or  else  it  proves  that  he 
possesses  the  keenest  possible  sense  of  intrigue  and  political  manage- 
ment. There  is  no  middle  ground  to  be  taken.  And  we  must 
either  believe  that  men  of  the  shrewdness  of  DTsraeli  and  Glad- 
stone were  overreached  on  their  own  ground,  or  else  that  Dr.  Ben- 
son's  talents,  piety,  and  skill,  in  the  administration  of  affairs,  com- 
mended him  in  a  marked  degree  to  these  two  great  political  op- 
ponents. We  prefer  to  rank  him  thus  honorably,  and  to  believe 
that  this  comparatively  unknown  hymnist  is  a  fit  and  true  translator 
for  the  ' '  Urbs  beaia  Hirusaleni  '  of  the  old  Latin  poet. 

Blessed  fountain,  full  of  grace.  — Kelly. 
In  Kelly's  hymns  (edition  of  1809)  this  is  No.  278,  and  is  in  six 
stanzas,  being  founded  upon  the  text,  Zech.  13  :  I. 

Blessed  Saviour,  thee  I  love. — G.  Duffield. 
This  hymn  was  composed  after  a  Thanksgiving  service  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,    Bloomfield,    Essex  County,  N.  J.,  of 
which  Dr.  Duffield  was  then  the  pastor.      The  date  is  about  1851* 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


71 


It  was  not  intended  as  a  sacramental  hymn,  but  its  success  for  this 
use  was  predicted  by  the  late  Asa  D.  Smith,  D.  D.,  who,  however, 
criticised  the  refrain.  This  was,  "Ever  let  my  idol  be, "  etc. 
The  author  at  once  changed  it  to  its  present  form,  and  the  hymn, 
in  a  pure  text,  has  been  generally  employed  ever  since  its  publica- 
tion. The  tune  in  7s,  61,  called  "  Duffteld,"  was  written  by  L. 
W.  Bacon,  D.D.,  in  1866,  to  accompany  the  words. 

The  hymn  first  appeared  in  Darius  E.  Jones's  Temple  Melodies, 
1 85 1,  and  is  there  entitled  "  For  Preparatory  Lecture."  To  this 
collection  Dr.  Asa  D.  Smith  and  Dr.  Dufneld  contributed  several 
original  hymns.  Dr.  Duffield  wrote,  "Parted  for  some  anxious 
days."  This  is  "  a  family  hymn,"  in  five  six-line  stanzas.  An- 
other piece,  * '  Slowly  in  sadness  and  in  tears, "  is  a  funeral  hymn 
in  six  stanzas.     This  contains  some  excellent  lines  : 

"  Fair  rose  his  sun  of  life — few  such 
Indeed  !  to  set  at  noon. 
His  Master  must  have  loved  him  much, 
To  call  him  home  so  soon." 

"  Blessed  Saviour,  thee  I  love"  has  an  additional  stanza  to 
those  in  common  use  : 

"  Since  the  day  I  called  thee  mine, 
Since  the  answer,  '  I  am  thine,' 
Sweetly  have  I  walked  between 
Waters  still  and  pastures  green. 
Soft  thine  hand  upon  my  brow, 
I  the  sheep, — the  shepherd,  thou." 

Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power.  — Bonar. 
This  hymn  has  been  adopted  by  the  Hymnal  of  the  Canada  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  thus  has  come  into  use  in  America. 

Blest  are  the  sons  of  peace. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  gives  this  as  Ps.  133,  S.  M.,  "  Communion  of  Saints  ; 
or,  Love  and  Worship  in  a  Family."     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Blest  are  the  souls  that  hear  and  know.  — Watts. 
We  have  this  hymn  as  Ps.  89,  3d  part,  C.  M.,  vv.  15,  etc.,  "  A 
Blessed  Gospel.  "     It  possesses  three  stanzas. 

Blest  be  the  dear  uniting  love.  — C.  Wesley. 
The  original  title  of  this  hymn  was  "  At  Parting,"  and  it  first 
appeared  in  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1 74  2.     There  were  some 


72  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

slight  changes  made  in  the  text,  as  we  find  from  comparison  with 
the  collection  published  in  1780,  by  John  Wesley. 

Mr.  John  B.  Gough,  the  temperance  lecturer,  has  made  use  of 
this  hymn  in  his  autobiography.     He  says  : 

"  I  was  twelve  years  of  age,  and  my  father  being  unable  to  furnish  the 
premium  necessary  to  my  learning  a  trade,  and  having  no  prospect  for 
me  other  than  to  be  a  gentleman's  servant,  made  an  agreement  with  a 
family  of  our  village,  who  were  about  emigrating  to  America,  that  they, 
in  the  consideration  of  the  sum  of  ten  guineas  paid  by  him,  should  take 
me  with  them,  teach  me  a  trade,  and  provide  for  me  until  I  was  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  After  much  hesitation,  my  mother,  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  yielded  to  this  arrangement.  I,  boy-like,  felt  in  high  glee  at  the 
prospect  before  me.  My  little  arrangements  having  been  completed,  on 
the  4th  of  June,  1839,  I  took,  as  I  then  supposed,  a  last  view  of  my  native 
village.  The  evening  I  was  about  to  depart,  a  neighbor  invited  me  to 
take  tea  at  her  house,  which  I  accepted.  My  mother  remarked  to  me 
afterward,  '  I  wish  you  had  taken  tea  with  your  mother,  John  ; '  and  this 
little  circumstance  was  a  source  of  much  pain  to  me  in  after  years.  The 
parting  from  my  beloved  parents  was  bitter.  My  poor  mother  folded  me 
to  her  bosom,  then  she  would  hold  me  off  at  arm's  length,  and  gaze 
fondly  on  my  face,  through  her  tearful  eyes,  reading,  as  only  a  mother 
could,  the  book  of  futurity  to  me.  She  hung  up,  on  the  accustomed  peg, 
my  old  cap  and  jacket,  and  my  school-bag,  and  there  they  remained  until 
years  after  she  quitted  the  house.  At  length  the  parting  words  were 
spoken,  and  I  left  the  home  of  my  childhood,  perhaps  forever.  A  touch- 
ing scene  it  was,  as  I  went  through  the  village  toward  the  coach-office 
that  evening.  As  I  passed  through  the  streets  many  a  kind  hand  waved 
a  farewell,  and  not  a  few  familiar  voices  sounded  out  a  hearty  '  God  bless 
you.'  On  the  10th  of  June,  everything  being  arranged,  we  sailed  from 
the  Thames,  in  the  ship  '  Helen.'  Passing  Dover,  we  arrived  off  Sand- 
gate,  when  it  fell  a  dead  calm,  and  the  ship's  anchors  were  dropped.  I 
afforded  some  amusement  to  those  around  me  by  the  eagerness  with 
which  I  seized  a  telescope,  and  the  positiveness  with  which  I  averred  that 
I  saw  my  old  home.  During  that  day,  boat  after  boat  came  off  to  us 
from  the  shore,  and  friends  of  the  family  I  was  with  paid  them  visits,  but 
I  was  unnoticed  ;  my  relatives  did  not  come.  After  long  and  weary 
watching,  I  saw  a  man  standing  up  in  a  boat,  with  a  white  band  round  his 
hat.  '  That's  he  !  That's  my  father  !  '  I  shouted.  He  soon  got  on  deck 
and  almost  smothered  me  with  his  kisses— from  which  I  somewhat  shrank, 
as  his  beard  made  very  decided  impressions  on  my  smooth  skin.  I  heard 
that  my  mother  and  sister  had  gone  to  a  place  of  worship,  at  some  dis- 
tance from  Sandgate,  which  I  regretted  much.  When  evening  came  on, 
our  visitors  from  the  shore  repaired  to  their  boats,  which,  when  a  few 
yards  from  the  ship,  formed  in  a  half  circle.  Our  friends  stood  up  in 
them,  and  o'er  the  calm  waters  floated  our  blended  voices,  as  we  sang, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  73 

"  l  Blest  be  the  dear  uniting  love, 
Which  will  not  let  us  part  ; 
Our  bodies  may  far  hence  remove, 
We  still  are  one  in  heart.' 

Boat  after  boat  then  vanished  in  the  gloomy  distance,  and  I  went  to  bed. 
About  midnight  I  heard  my  name  called,  and  going  on  deck  I  there  found 
my  beloved  mother  and  sister,  who,  hearing  on  their  return  that  I  was  in 
the  offing,  had  paid  half  a  guinea  (money  hardly  earned  and  with  difficulty 
procured,  yet  cheerfully  expended)  to  a  boatman  to  row  them  to  the  ship. 
They  spent  an  hour  with  me  (and  oh,  how  short  it  seemed  !),  then  de- 
parted with  many  tears." 

Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds. — Fawcett. 

This  hymn  was  written  by  Rev.  John  Fawcett,  D.  D. ,  an  English 
Baptist,  who  was  born  at  Lidget  Green,  in  Yorkshire,  January  6th 
(O.  S.,  i.e.  17th,  as  we  reckon),  1739,  anc^  wno  died  July  25th, 
1817,  aged  seventy-seven,  having  spent  nearly  sixty  years  in  the 
ministry.  In  1782  he  published  a  small  volume  of  hymns.  It  was 
in  1772,  after  a  few  years  spent  in  pastoral  work,  that  he  was  called 
to  London  to  succeed  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gill.  His  farewell  sermon 
had  been  preached  near  Wainsgate,  in  Yorkshire  ;  six  or  seven 
wagons  stood  loaded  with  his  furniture  and  books,  and  all  was 
ready  for  departure  ;  but  his  loving  people  were  not  ready.  They 
gathered  about  him,  and  "  men,  women,  and  children  clung 
around  him  and  his  family  in  perfect  agony  of  soul."  Finally, 
overwhelmed  with  the  sorrow  of  those  they  were  leaving,  Dr. 
Fawcett  and  his  wife  sat  down  on  one  of  the  packing-cases,  and 
wept  bitterly.  Looking  up,  Mrs.  Fawcett  said  :  "  Oh,  John, 
John,  I  cannot  bear  this  !  I  know  not  how  to  go  I"  "  Nor  I 
either,"  said  the  good  man;  "nor  will  we  go.  Unload  the 
wagons,  and  put  everything  in  the  place  where  it  was  before. " 
This  determination  was  hailed  with  tears  of  joy  by  those  around, 
and  a  letter  was  at  once  sent  to  London,  explaining  the  case.  Dr. 
Fawcett  then  resolutely  returned  to  his  work  on  a  salary  of  some- 
thing less  than  two  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  this  hymn  is  said 
to  have  been  written  to  commemorate  the  event. 

Few  hymns  have  had  sweeter  associations  than  this.  When  Mr. 
Coffing,  a  missionary  at  Aintab,  in  Armenia,  set  out  in  i860  to 
explore  the  Taurus  Mountains,  he  was  to  penetrate  an  entirely  new 
and  dangerous  field,  fully  a  hundred  miles  northwest  of  Marash. 
This  fact  was  so  keenly  felt  by  the  inhabitants  of  Aintab  that  they 


74  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

gathered  to  the  number  of  fifteen  hundred,  on  the  sides  of  the 
road,  and  bade  farewell  to  the  missionary  and  his  family  in  the 
Armenian  words  of  this  hymn. 

Mr.  Moody  relates  that,  in  his  early  experience  as  a  Sunday- 
school  superintendent,  he  had  a  class  of  girls  whom  he  gave  into 
the  charge  of  a  teacher,  a  gentleman,  who,  as  he  thought,  would 
interest  and  keep  them  quiet.  In  those  days  he  himself  thought 
a  great  deal  about  "  sowing,"  and  not  much  about  "  reaping," 
and  this  teacher  evidently  shared  the  ideas  of  his  superintendent. 
But  one  day  he  came  into  Mr.  Moody's  store  quite  disheartened 
and  sad.  He  had  suffered  from  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  and 
was  ordered  away  from  the  bleak  winds  of  Lake  Michigan.  It 
was  probably  only  to  reach  home  and  die,  and  he  felt  that  he  had 
not  made  any  true  effort  to  save  the  souls  of  his  class.  His 
despair  over  this  result  induced  Mr.  Moody  to  propose  that  they 
should  go  together  and  visit  each  of  the  young  ladies.  They  took 
a  carriage,  and  began  their  work,  the  teacher,  in  his  feebleness, 
saying  what  he  could  to  each  one.  As  far  as  his  strength  would 
allow  the  visiting  was  continued,  until  after  about  ten  days  of  this 
direct  and  faithful  effort,  every  one  had  yielded  her  heart  to  Christ. 
And  when  at  length  this  was  accomplished,  they  were  all  gathered 
for  a  farewell  meeting  at  the  teacher's  house — the  most  affecting 
meeting  Mr.  Moody  declares  that  he  ever  attended.  It  was  then 
that  they  endeavored  to  sing  this  hymn,  but  their  hearts  were  full, 
and  their  voices  failed. 

The  next  day  the  teacher  was  to  depart  for  his  home,  and  to 
the  speedy  prospect  of  certain  death.  As  if  by  common  consent, 
every  member  of  the  class  and  the  superintendent  assembled  for  a 
final  good-by  at  the  railroad  station.  Many  gathered  about  them 
as  the  last  words  were  said,  and  the  faithful  teacher,  happy  in  the 
thought  of  what  he  had  been  permitted  to  see,  but  pale  and  feeble 
from  his  illness,  stood  on  the  platform  of  the  car,  pointing  upward 
as  the  train  moved  away. 

Dr.  Belcher's  description  of  the  last  public  service  conducted  by 
Dr.  Fawcett  may  well  be  copied  in  full,  to  close  this  account. 
He  says  : 

"  Let  us  take  our  last  look  at  this  excellent  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  has  ascended  the  pulpit  at  an  Association  in  Yorkshire.  A  thousand 
eyes  are  fixed  on  him  in  love  and  admiration,  and  all  present  express 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  75 

their  conviction,  by  nods  and  smiles,  that  a  spiritual  feast  has  been  pro- 
vided for  them.  As  a  good  soldier  of  Christ,  he  has  endured  hardness 
for  far  more  than  half  a  century.  His  praise  has  been  in  all  the  churches  ; 
his  ministry  has  been  greatly  prized  through  the  whole  of  that  populous 
district,  and  his  usefulness  has  been  honored  at  home  and  abroad,  in  the 
cottage  and  in  the  palace  itself.  He  has  now  come  to  bear  his  dying  tes- 
timony to  the  doctrines  of  the  cross,  and  to  bid  farewell  to  the  ministers 
and  friends  with  whom  he  has  been  so  long  associated.  Many  of  them 
have  a  strong  presentiment  that  they  shall  see  his  face  no  more,  and  are 
prepared  to  receive  his  message  as  from  the  lips  of  a  man  who  has  finished 
his  course  and  now  stands  at  the  entrance  of  heaven.  As  he  rises  in  the 
pulpit,  a  death-like  silence  overspreads  the  crowded  congregation,  and  all 
ears  are  opened  to  catch  the  words  of  inspiration.  With  a  tremulous 
voice,  and  with  deep  emotion,  he  reads  the  text,  '  I  am  this  day  going  the 
way  of  all  the  earth,'  Josh.  23  :  14  ;  and,  long  before  he  finishes  his  dis- 
course, the  place  becomes  a  Bochim — the  house  of  God — the  gate  of 
heaven.  The  sermon,  which  was  committed  to  the  press  by  the  agency 
of  its  hearers,  yet  exists  as  a  monument  to  his  love  of  truth,  his  holy 
affection,  and  his  zeal  for  the  extension  of  the  doctrines  of  sovereign 
mercy." 

Blest  Comforter  divine.  — Sigourney. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Huntley  Sigourney' s  biography  belongs  more  par- 
ticularly to  American  literature  than  to  these  pages.  She  was 
born  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  September  1st,  1791,  and  in  her  nine- 
teenth year  opened,  with  her  friend,  Miss  Ann  Maria  Hyde,  a 
school  for  young  ladies  at  Norwich,  afterward,  in  18 14,  removing 
to  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  continuing  her  work  as  a  teacher.  A 
year  later  she  issued  her  first  volumes  of  poems.  In  18 19,  she 
married  Mr.  Charles  Sigourney,  of  Hartford,  who  died  December 
30th,  1854.  Mrs.  Sigourney' s  life  was  full  of  love  and  good  works, 
and  she  survived  him  until  June  10th,  1865,  when  she,  too,  passed 
away. 

In  hymnology  we  trace  her  work  first  in  Nettleton's  Village 
Hymns,  1824,  where  this  and  other  hymns  appear  without  designa- 
tion, except  the  initial  "  H."  She  also  contributed  to  Leonard 
Bacon's  Supplement  to  Dwight 's  Collection,  1833,  and  to  the  Con- 
necticut Collection,  1845. 

Blest  feast  of  love  divine.  — Denny. 
Sir  Edward  Denny's  Miscellaneous  Hymns  (1839)  contains  this 
hymn,   commencing,  "Sweet  feast  of  love  divine."     It  is  based 
on  the  Scripture  truth  found  in  Luke  22  :  19,  and  Solomon's  Song 


76  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

5:1.  In  view  of  the  very  apparent  change  that  has  been  made  in 
this  first  line,  Sir  Edward's  language  in  the  preface  to  his  collected 
Hynuis  and  Poems  (3d  edition,  1870)  merits  our  notice.  It  is  his 
request  that 

"  Should  any  of  these  poems  or  hymns  be  deemed  worthy  of  a  place  in 
any  future  collections,  they  may  be  left  as  they  are,  without  alteration  or 
abridgment  [his  italics].  And  also  (inasmuch  as  here  and  there  I  have 
revised  them  myself,  I  trust  for  the  better),  I  should  wish  that  they  may 
be  copied  from  this,  rather  than  from  any  previous  collection  wherein  they 
are  found" 

The  present  piece  has  six  stanzas. 

Blest  is  the  man  whose  softening  heart. — Barbauld. 
This  hymn  is  by  Mrs.  Anna  Laetitia  Barbauld.  It  is  founded 
upon  the  forty-first  Psalm,  and  suggests  a  delicacy  and  considera- 
tion in  even  the  administering  of  help  to  the  weak  and  the  poor, 
An  interesting  comment  is  found  among  the  writings  of  the  Tal- 
mudists,  upon  the  verse  Isa.  59  :  17.  This  they  rendered,  "  He 
put  on  charity  as  a  coat  of  mail,"  that  is,  coin  was  joined  to  coin 
in  the  long  account  as  scale  to  scale  in  a  soldier's  armor.  It 
was  Rabbi  Jochanan  who  used  to  devise  methods  of  giving  alms 
by  which  he  was  enabled  to  spare  the  feelings  of  any  one  who  was 
in  need.  Thus  he  would  say  to  one  whom  he  desired  to  help  :  "  I 
hear  that  you  have  quite  a  fortune  coming  to  you  ;  so  take  this 
money,  and  repay  it  when  you  inherit  your  property. ' ' 

Blest  Jesus,  when  my  soaring  thoughts. — Heginbotham. 
Ottiwell  Heginbotham,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was  in  all  prob- 
ability the  son  of  a  man  of  the  same  name,  a  person  of  consider- 
able wealth,  who  was  one  of  the  early  followers  of  the  Wesleys. 
The  hymnist  himself  was  born  in  1744,  and  became  a  student  at 
Daventry,  where  he  showed  ability  and  scholarship  of  no  ordinary 
kind.  He  was  placed  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Caleb  Ash- 
worth,  and  in  his  nineteenth  year  we  find  him  ordained  as  pastor 
at  Sudbury,  November  20th,  1765.  The  church  was  divided  in 
sentiment,  and  Mr.  Heginbotham  took  this  so  much  to  heart  that 
his  health  failed,  and  he  died  of  consumption  in  1768,  being 
scarcely  twenty-four  years  of  age.  His  twenty-five  hymns  were 
privately  printed  in  1799,  and  are  characterized  by  gentleness  and 
sweetness,  without  much  strength. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  77 

Blest  Trinity,  from  mortal  sight.  — Baker,  ir. 

Rev.  Sir  Henry  Williams  Baker,  Bart.,  was  born  in  London, 
May  27th,  182 1.  His  father  was  Sir  Henry  Loraine  Baker, 
second  baronet,  and  a  vice-admiral  of  the  Royal  Navy.  The  son 
was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  where  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1844.  In  1 85 1,  he  was  appointed  to  the  vicarage  of 
Monkland,  Herefordshire.  He  is  one  of  the  "  forty  clergymen  " 
who  prepared  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern  (1861),  and  had  the 
honor  to  be  their  chairman.  His  own  hymns  are  excellent.  He 
died  February  nth,  1877,  at  Monkland. 

This  is  a  translation  from  the  "  0  luce  qua  tua  tales,"  of  the 
Paris  Breviary. 

Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow.  — C.  Wesley. 
This  is  No.  3  of  Charles  Wesley's  Hymns  for  the  New  Year, 
1750.  It  is  based  on  Lev.  25  :  25.  Its  title  is  "The  Year  of 
Jubilee. "  Toplady  has  sometimes  been  credited  with  the  author- 
ship, but,  as  he  was  only  born  in  1 740,  this  is  manifestly  incorrect. 
The  date  of  the  publication  of  the  seven  hymns,  of  which  this  is 
one,  has  been  much  disputed  ;  and,  by  way  of  example,  we  will 
give  the  dates  favored  by  some  of  the  authorities.  Rev.  James 
King's  date  is  1743  ;  Professor  Bird's,  1756  ;  Mr.  Nutter's,  1750; 
Dr.  Hatfield's,  1750;  Mr.  Creamer's,  1755  ;  Rev.  W.  F.Steven- 
son's, 1750.  This  will  also  be  a  sufficient  demonstration  of  the 
method  which  we  have  ourselves  employed.  We  take  the  oppor- 
tunity to  add  that  Mr.  W.  T.  Brooke,  157  Richmond  Road, 
Hackney,  London  E.,  has  discovered  John  Wesley's  earliest 
hymn-book.  It  was  printed  at  Charles-Town  [S.  C]  in  1737,  by 
Lewis  Timothy,  and  contains  seventy  hymns.  This  volume  ante- 
dates all  others  by  a  year. 

Bread  of  heaven,  on  thee  we  feed. — Conder. 
This  hymn  appeared  in  1824,  in  the  collection  of  Josiah  Con- 
der's  pieces,  which   he  entitled,  The  Star  of  the  East,  and  other 
Poems.     It  is  founded  on  John  6  .-32,  "  My  Father  giveth  you 
the  true  bread  from  heaven." 

Bread  of  the  world  in  mercy  broken. — Heber. 
This  hymn  is  from  Hymns  Written  and  Adapted  to  the  Church 
Service  of  the  Year  (1827.)     This  collection  was  published  by  Mrs. 


78  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Heber,  after  her  husband's  death.     There  are  but  two  stanzas  to 
the  hymn. 

Break  thou  the  bread  of  life.  — Lathbury. 

A  ' '  Study  Song ' '  for  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific 
Circle,  written  in  the  summer  of  1880. 

This  is  a  very  lovely  little  lyric,  especially  when  taken  in  con 
nection  with  Mr.  Sherwin's  music.  The  encomium  of  Professor 
W.  C.  Wilkinson  upon  Miss  Lathbury' s  verse  (in  The  l?idependent, 
September,  1885)  is  well  deserved.  She  has  truly  become  the 
11  lyrist  of  Chautauqua  " — Dr.  John  H.  Vincent's  great  "  Summer 
University,"  whose  "  Chautauqua  "  ideas  are  a  power  in  the  land. 

Brethren,  while  we  sojourn  here. — Swain. 
This  piece,  frequently  entered  among  the  "anonymous,"  has 
been   identified  as  the  production   of   Joseph  Swain,  an  English 
Baptist.     It  is  taken  from  the  author's  Walworth  Hymns,  1792. 

Bride  of  the  Lamb,  awake.  — Denny. 
We  find  this  piece  in  Sir  E.  Denny's  Millennial  Hymns,  with  the 
title,  "  The  Church  Cheered  with  the  Hope  of  her  Lord's  Return, " 
and  the  text,  Solomon's  Song  2  :  14.     It  has  seven  stanzas.     The 
author  adds  to  this  hymn  the  following  note  : 

"  Sent  of  Jesus,  even  as  He  was  sent  of  the  Father,  and  while  seeking 
to  be  worthy  of  the  name  put  upon  her,  may  she  remember  that  it  is  not 
of  herself  the  Bride  is  to  speak,  but  her  object,  her  subject,  her  delight, 
her  hope,  her  only  resting-place  is  her  Beloved — the  Bridegroom  of  her 
heart. — Lady  Powerscourt' 's  Letters." 

Brief  life  is  here  our  portion. — Neale,  tr. 
This  portion  of   "  Jerusalem  the    Golden  *'  is  the  "  Hie  breve 
vivitur,"   etc.,  of  Bernard    of   Cluny.      Dr.  Neale's   hymn   is,  in 
effect,  an  original  composition.      Bernard's  famous  poem  is  treated 
at  large  in  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

Brightest  and  best  of  the  sons  of  the  morning.  — Heber. 
Bishop  Heber's  hymns  were,  for  the  most  part,  composed 
shortly  after  his  marriage,  in  1809,  and  were  first  published  in  the 
Christian  Observer,  in  1811-12.  The  prefatory  note  to  the  series 
states  that  the  author  intended  them  for  "  the  Sundays  and  prin- 
cipal holy  days  of  the  year,  connected  in  some  degree  with  their 
particular  Collects  and  Gospels,  and  designed  to  be  sung  between 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  79 

the  Nicene  Creed  and  the  sermon. ' '  The  idea  is  derived  from  the 
Roman  liturgy,  and  Mr.  Heber  (then  rector  of  Hodnet)  further 
adds,  that  in  these  lyrics  ' '  no  fulsome  or  indecorous  language  has 
been  knowingly  adopted  ;  no  erotic  addresses  to  Him  whom  no 
unclean  lips  can  approach  ;  no  allegory,  ill-understood  and  worse 
applied. ' '  This  design  was  never  completely  executed,  but  the 
present  hymn  is  intended  for  Epiphany.     The  date  is  181 1. 

When  the  author  became  bishop  of  Calcutta  he  spent  Christmas, 
1824,  at  Meerut,  where,  on  December  19th,  he  dedicated  a  church. 
At  this  service  he  records  that  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing 
this  hymn,  and  that  for  St.  Stephen' s  day,  ' '  sung  better  than  he 
ever  heard  them  before. ' ' 

Brightly  gleams  our  banner. — Potter. 
This  gentleman's  name  is  given  by  Mr.  Miller  as  "  Thomas  J. 
Potter,"  and  by  Thring  as  "  T.  J.  Potter."  The  authority  for 
calling  him  "  Thomas  Joseph  Potter  "  does  not  appear.  He  was 
born  in  1827,  and  died  in  1873,  and  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt 
that  he  is  the  "  Thomas  Johnson  Potter"  who  was  graduated  at 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  B.A.,  1850,  and  M.A.,  1853.  We 
only  know  further  that  he  is  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  has 
written  several  books  between  i860  and  1866.  The  hymn  is  in 
the  People  s  Hymnal,  1867. 

By  Christ  redeemed,  in  Christ  restored. — Rawson. 
Mr.  George  Rawson,  the ' '  Leeds  Layman, ' '  contributed  twenty- 
seven  hymns  to  the  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  the  Baptist  Denomination, 
1858,  of  which  this  is  one.      It  is  dated  1857. 

By  cool  Siloam's  shady  rill. — Heber. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  181 2.     The  title  is  "  Christ  a  Pattern 
for  Children, ' '  Luke  2  :  40. 

By  faith  in  Christ  I  walk  with  God. — Newton. 
In  the  Olney  Hymns,  i^jg,  this  is  Book  L,  No.  4,     It  is  based 
on  Gen.  5  :  24. 

Call  Jehovah  thy  salvation.  — Montgomery. 
This  is  from  the  Original  Hymns,  Hymn  145,  "  God's  Merciful 
Guardianship  of  His  People."     It  is  based  on  Ps.  91,  and  contains 
five  stanzas.     The  date  is  1822. 


80  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Calm  me,  my  God,  and  keep  me  calm. — Bonar. 
The  title  of  this  quiet  and  beautiful  song  is  "  The  Inner  Calm. " 
It  is  found  in  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope  (first   series,  1857),  and 
has  eight  stanzas. 

Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night. — Sears. 
This,  which  is  called  by  its  author  "  A  Christmas  Song, "  is  often 
assigned  to  the  date  1851.  In  reality,  it  was  first  published  in  the 
Boston  Observer,  in  1834  ;  then  recast  and  republished  in  the 
Christian  Register,  in  1835,  and  eventually  appeared  in  the  Monthly 
Magazine,  Vol.  XXXV.  It  has  five  double  stanzas,  and  is  given 
in  full  in  Dr.  Putnam's  Singers  and  Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith. 
By  this,  and  by  the  hymn,  "  It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear," 
Rev.  E.  H.  Sears  has  established  his  claim  to  be  one  of  the  great 
hymn-writers  of  the  United  States,  for  these  two  pieces  are  univer- 
sally accepted.  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes  considers  it  one  of  the  finest 
and  most  beautiful  poems  ever  written.  It  is  known  as  "  Sears's 
first  Christmas  hymn." 

Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters. — Hanaford. 

Mrs.  Phcebe  A.  Hanaford  was  born  on  Nantucket  Island,  May 
6th,  1829.  Her  father,  Captain  George  W.  Coffin,  was  a  descend- 
ant of  Tristram  Coffin,  earliest  of  the  name  in  this  country.  On 
the  mother's  side,  Mrs.  Hanaford  boasts  of  her  descent  from  Peter 
Folger,  grandfather  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Our  authoress  studied  in  the  public  and  private  schools  of  Nan- 
tucket, and  was  trained,  in  Latin  and  the  higher  mathematics,  by 
an  Episcopalian  clergyman.  She  began  teaching  when  only 'six- 
teen, was  married  at  twenty,  and  has  a  son  and  a  daughter.  In 
her  short  autobiography  she  does  not  give  her  husband's  name. 
After  a  year's  previous  preaching  in  the  place,  she  was  ordained  as 
pastor  of  the  Universalist  Church,  at  Hingham,  Mass.  This  was 
in  1868,  and  in  1869  she  also  had  the  charge  of  the  neighboring 
parish  of  Waltham.  In  1870  she  resigned,  and  was  installed  as 
pastor  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  to  which  place  she  has  lately  (1883) 
returned. 

In  1874  she  removed  to  Jersey  City,  taking  charge  of  the 
11  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,"  on  the  Heights.  She  claims 
to  be  the  first  woman  who  ever  offered  an  ordaining  prayer,  and 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  8 1 

who  has  exchanged  pulpits  with  her  own  son — both  being  settled 
pastors.  Additionally,  she  is  proud  of  being  the  first  woman  to 
officiate  at  the  marriage  of  her  own  daughter,  and  the  first  woman 
regularly  ordained  in  Massachusetts,  or  New  England.  Also,  she 
was  the  first  woman  to  serve  as  chaplain  of  the  Connecticut  Legis- 
lature, which  she  did  in  1870  and  1872.  The  remarkable  list  of 
this  iconoclastic  lady's  actions  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  she,  "  a 
woman-minister,"  gave  the  charge  at  the  ordination  of  "  a  man- 
minister,"  he  being  Rev.  W.  G.  Haskell,  of  Marblehead,  Mass. 
Nor  do  we  care  to  diminish  aught  of  her  satisfaction  in  having  been 
the  first  woman  to  attend  a  Masonic  Festival,  and  to  respond,  by 
invitation,  to  a  toast.  This  trenchant  "  woman-minister  "  (her 
own  term,  by  the  way)  has  been  as  active  with  her  pen  as  with  her 
tongue.  Anti-Slavery  pamphlets  have  been  her  recreation,  and 
prose  and  verse  of  all  kinds  have  been  her  delight.  Her  Life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  reached  a  sale  of  twenty  thousand.  The  list  of 
her  works  is  long,  and  we  must  honestly  add  that  the  books  which 
she  has  prepared  have  been  good.  Her  poetry  is  found  in  From 
Shore  to  Shore,  and  in  the  same  year  with  that  publication  (1871) 
she  published  a  Life  of  Charles  Dickens ;  Other  poems  remain  un- 
gathered,  in  various  periodicals  —  among  which  is  the  present 
hymn.      It  does  not  appear  in  her  book  of  poems. 

Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord. — Hammond.  (?) 

William  Hammond's  hymns  were  published  at  London,  1745, 
under  the  title,  Psalms,  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs.  It  is  to  his 
pen  that  Professor  Bird  assigns  this  hymn.  We  take  the  liberty  of 
showing  how  little  positiveness  there  can  be  in  such  a  statement. 

Dr.  Hatfield  (who  was  aided  byD.  Sedgwick)  gives  it  to  "  John 
Cennick,  1745,  altered  by  Rowland  Hill  " — who,  by  the  way,  was 
greatly  addicted  to  the  alteration  of  other  persons'  verses.  Drs. 
Hitchcock,  Eddy,  and  Schaff — assisted  by  Professor  Bird — attribute 
it,  in  a  confusion  of  punctuation,  as  follows  :  "  Rev.  Rowland 
Hill.  (1744-1833.)  1783,  v.  1.  George  Rawson.  (1807-)  1857. 
ab.  and  much  alt."  The  present  ascription  to  Hammond  is  the 
designation  in  Laudes  Domini,  and  we  offer  it  as  the  latest, 
but  the  query,  which  is  our  own  addition,  appears  to  be  necessary 
to  complete  the  sense.  The  hymn  is  not  the  same,,  in  many  books, 
after  one  has  passed  the  first  few  lines. 


82  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Whatever  may  be  the  authorship,  the  thought  of  the  hymn  is 
undoubtedly  that  of  Ps.  55  :  22,  which  teaches  us  (in  the  Hebrew) 
that  we  are  to  cast  on  the  Lord  ' '  that  which  he  hath  given  us. ' ' 
Our  "burden"  is  our  "gift;"  and,  if  we  so  consider  it,  it 
becomes  a  blessing. 

Chief  of  sinners  though  I  be.  — McComb. 
William  McComb  was  born  at  Coleraine,  County  Londonderry, 
Ireland,  in  1793.  His  business,  for  many  years,  was  that  of  a 
bookseller  in  Belfast.  In  1867  he  had  retired  from  trade.  After 
some  other  previous  publications,  Mr.  McComb' s  poetry  was  col- 
lected into  one  handsome  volume  in  1864. 

Children  of  light,  arise  and  shine.  —  Denny. 
This   hymn    is  from   the  Miscellaneous  Hymns  of   Sir  Edward 
Denny,  1839,  and  bears  the  title,  "  Looking  unto  Jesus  ;"  John 
14  :  1.     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Children  of  the  heavenly  King.  — John  Cennick. 
Whatever  may  have  been  Cennick' s  peculiarities  of  religious 
doctrine,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  his  genuine  piety.  This  hymn, 
dear  to  all  Christians,  and  preserved  without  the  omission  of  a 
stanza,  in  every  collection  which  is  able  to  afford  the  space,  is  tes- 
timony sufficient.  He  began  with  Wesley,  changed  to  Whitefield, 
and  ended  in  the  ranks  of  the  Moravians.  But,  as  Christophers 
happily  says  :  "he  has  again  joined  those  with  whom  he  began  his 
Methodist  itinerancy.  .  .  .  Those  early  poets  of  Methodism  sing 
together  now."     The  date  of  this  composition  is  1742. 

Chosen  not  for  good  in  me. — McCheyne. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Murray  McCheyne  was  one  of  the  loftiest  and 
most  spiritually-minded  Christians  of  his  generation.  He  was  born 
in  Edinburgh,  May  21st,  1813  ;  studied  at  the  High  School  and 
University  of  his  native  city,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  July,  1835. 
After  some  years'  service  in  Stirlingshire,  he  was,  on  November 
24th,  1836,  set  over  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Dun- 
dee, and  in  1839  accompanied  a  deputation  from  the  General 
Assembly  (Presbyterian)  to  Palestine  on  a  "  Mission  of  Inquiry  to 
the  Jews.  "     He  died,  after  a  brief  illness,  March  25th,  1843. 

The  story  of  McCheyne's  conversion  is  an  apt  commentary 
upon  his  hymn.     The  death  of  his  brother,  some  eight  or  nine 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  83 

years  older  than  himself,  awakened  him  to  a  sense  of  his  condition 
in  the  sight  of  God.  This  brother,  a  man  of  unusual  abilities,  fell 
into  a  deep  melancholy,  which  was  partly  the  cause  and  partly  the 
consequence  of  his  disease.  Each  influence  apparently  aggravated 
the  other,  though  doubtless  the  mind  was  earliest  affected  by  the 
body.  He  continued  in  this  state  of  awful  gloom,  wasting  away 
gradually  under  the  mental  and  physical  strain,  until  a  few  days 
before  his  death.  He  then,  for  the  first  time,  obtained  peace  and 
hope,  and  died,  July  8th,  1831,  with  the  blessing  of  a  perfect  trust 
in  Christ.  Robert  McCheyne  was  consequently  impressed  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  and  when  his  brother  David  was  taken,  it 
appeared  as  though  the  divine  voice  never  ceased  its  appeal  to  his 
soul. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  those  days  was  such  as  to  sound 
strangely  now  in  the  ears  of  any  fervent  Christian.  The  students 
of  the  Divinity  Hall,  under  Drs.  Chalmers  and  Welsh  (1831- 
1836),  it  is  to  be  feared,  were  sometimes  very  far  from  spiritual- 
mindedness.  It  is  reported  by  McCheyne's  biographer  that  they 
often  ' '  broke  the  Sabbath,  danced,  and  played  cards. ' '  But  Mc- 
Cheyne himself,  reading  Henry  Martyn's  memoir  and  Legh  Rich- 
mond's life,  and  recording  in  his  journal  his  profound  desire  after 
holiness,  came  at  length  into  the  freedom  of  the  truth.  There 
were  students  in  the  Divinity  Hall  who  devoted  themselves  to  the 
poor  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  with  such  as  these  McCheyne  went  out 
to  work  and  pray. 

It  is  interesting  also  for  us  to  learn  that  McCheyne  was  anxious 
to  speak  as  directly  to  his  hearers  as  possible,  and  therefore  wrote 
his  discourses  carefully,  conned  them  over  before  entering  the  pul- 
pit, and  then  delivered  their  substance,  without  notes,  and  without 
the  slavish  effort  of  verbatim  recitation.  Once,  however,  when  he 
was  upon  his  road  to  Dunipace,  he  lost  his  sermons,  and,  being 
compelled  to  preach,  he  did  so  with  a  fluency  that  never  afterward 
forsook  him.  But  he  did  not  rely  upon  this  discovery  in  order  to 
slight  his  preparation  for  the  pulpit. 

When  McCheyne  returned  from  the  Holy  Land  he  reached 
Dundee  on  a  Thursday  afternoon.  This  being  the  evening  of  the 
weekly  meeting  at  St.  Peter's,  he  hurried  at  once  to  the  church,  and 
was  met  by  a  great  assemblage  of  his  devoted  people,  and  of  his 
brother  ministers.     It  was  a  night  to  be  long  remembered.     He 


84  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

gave  out  the  sixty-sixth  Psalm  to  be  sung,  and  then,  refusing  to 
utter  one  word  about  himself  or  his  journey,  he  took  i  Cor.  2  :  1,  4 
as  his  text,  and  so  broke  the  bread  of  life  after  Paul's  manner. 
Again  and  again  on  the  way  home,  he  had  to  pause  and  shake  hands, 
and  even  pray,  with  those  who  would  not  leave  until  he  told  them 
more  about  "this  way."  At  length,  completely  exhausted,  he 
reached  his  house,  and  there,  to  those  about  him,  he  expressed 
himself  in  the  most  devout  gratitude  for  God's  goodness.  "  To 
thy  name,  O  Lord,"  he  said,  "  to  thy  name,  O  Lord,  be  all  the 
glory." 

His  disease  was  simply  the  burning  out  of  his  physical  system  by 
his  zealous  labor.  It  baffled  all  the  physicians  ;  but  he  was  ready 
to  go,  and  before  he  died  he  exclaimed  :  "  My  soul  is  escaped  as 
a  bird  out  of  the  snare  of  the  fowler  ;  the  snare  is  broken,  and  I 
am  escaped. ' ' 

The  hymn  before  us  is  a  portion  of  the  longer  piece,  ' '  When 
this  passing  world  is  done,"  which  contains  nine  six-line  stanzas, 
and  the  date  is,  conjecturally,  1837. 

Christ  above  all  glory  seated. — Woodford,  tr.  (?) 
This  hymn  has  been  attributed  to  James  Russell  Woodford,  as 
a  translation.  It  certainly  resembles,  faintly,  the  Ambrosian 
hymn,  "  Christe,  rex  cceli  domine,"  and  it  has  a  trifling  likeness  to 
the  Paris  Breviary  hymn,  "  Christe,  qui  sedes  Olympo."  But  in 
neither  case  is  it  a  translation — or  even  a  close  paraphrase.  The 
date  "  1863  (?)  "  is  assigned,  by  H.  P.  Main,  to  a  slightly 
different  form  of  this  piece. 

Christ  for  the  world  we  sing.  — Wolcott. 

The  author  of  this  hymn  is  a  Congregational  clergyman,  Rev. 
Samuel  Wolcott,  D.D.  He  was  born  at  South  Windsor,  Conn., 
July  2d,  1813.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  in  1833,  and 
of  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  in  1837.  In  1840-42,  he  was 
a  missionary  in  Syria.  Since  then  he  has  been  a  pastor,  and  has 
had  charge  of  churches  in  Longmeadow,  Mass.  (where  he  resides 
at  the  present  writing)  ;  in  Belchertown,  Mass.  ;  Providence,  R.  I.; 
Chicago,  111.  ;  and  Cleveland,  O.  He  has  now  retired  from  active 
work.  Among  other  useful  labors,  he  compiled  the  elaborate 
Wolcott  Memorial — a  record  of  that  family  in  America. 

Dr.  Wolcott's  account  of  his  earliest  attempt  to  compose  hymns 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  85 

merits  a  full  recital.  He  began  his  work  in  this  direction,  it  ap- 
pears, as  late  in  life  as  Prudentius  or  Chaucer,  and  with  as  little 
training  for  it  as  "  Piers  Ploughman.  " 

"  In  the  year  1868,  Rev.  Darius  E.  Jones  requested  me  to  mark  for  him 
the  published  hymns  which  I  would  use  in  a  new  collection.  After  a 
partial  performance  of  this  service,  near  the  close  of  the  year,  the  query 
arose  in  my  mind,  '  Can  I  not  write  a  hymn  ?'  I  was  then  in  my  fifty- 
sixth  year,  had  never  put  two  rhymes  together,  and  had  taken  it  for 
granted  that  I  was  as  incompetent  to  write  a  hymn,  or  even  a  stanza,  as 
to  work  a  miracle.  However,  I  resolved  that  I  would  try  to  write  a  hymn 
of  five  stanzas,  and  proceeded  to  plan  it  precisely  as  I  would  plan  a  ser- 
mon. I  said,  the  first  stanza  shall  be  a  recognition  of  God  the  Father  ; 
the  second,  a  recognition  of  Christ  the  Redeemer  ;  the  third,  a  prayer  to 
God  the  Father  ;  the  fourth,  a  prayer  to  Christ  the  Redeemer,  and  the 
fifth  shall  blend  the  two  in  one  address.  All  this,  you  understand,  with- 
out any  train  of  thought  in  my  mind  ;  and  a  more  perfect  recipe  for  wooden 
stanzas  it  would  be  difficult  to  frame.  I  went  to  work  to  fill  out  my  plan, 
and  the  result  was  the  hymn  as  it  now  stands,  ■  Father !  I  own  thy  voice.' 

"  I  cannot  express  to  you  my  surprise  when  I  found  that  I  had  written 
what  could  actually  be  sung.  I  sent  the  hymn  to  Mr.  Jones,  who  was  so 
much  pleased  with  it  that  he  composed  a  tune  for  it,  and  inserted  both  in 
his  Songs  for  the  New  Life  (Chicago,  1869).  I  have  not  seen  the  hymn  in 
any  other  collection,  but  I  retain  a  natural  predilection  for  it. 

"  I  soon  tried  my  hand  again.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions of  Ohio  met  in  one  of  our  churches,  with  their  motto,  in  evergreen 
letters,  over  the  pulpit  :  '  Christ  for  the  World,  and  the  World  for  Christ.' 
This  suggested  the  hymn,  '  Christ  for  the  world  we  sing.'  " 

Dr.  Wolcott  writes  that  it  was  on  his  way  home  from  this  service, 
in  1869,  walking  alone  through  the  streets,  that  he  "  put  together 
the  four  stanzas,  of  the  hymn.  "     Each  stanza  began, 

"  Christ  for  the  world  we  sing, 
The  world  to  Christ  we  bring.'* 

Altogether,  he  has  composed  more  than  two  hundred  hymns,  many 
of  which  are  still  unpublished. 

Christ  is  born,  tell  forth  his  fame. — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  Dr.  Neale' s  translation  of  the  Xpi&rds  yevvdrai, 
6o£;a(?aT€  of  St.  Cosmas,  a.d.  760.  It  appeared  first  in  the 
Hymns  of  ihe  Eastern  Church,  where  it  is  given  in  full  as  the  render- 
ing of  Ode  I.,  in  the  Canon  for  Christmas  Day,  and  is  in  four 
stanzas.  St.  Cosmas  of  Jerusalem  is  placed  by  Dr.  Neale  in  the 
second  rank  of  Greek  ecclesiastical  poets.      He  was  early  left  an 


86  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

orphan,  adopted  by  the  father  of  St.  John  Damascenus,  and  grew 
up  with  that  poet  in  a  life-long  friendship.  St.  Cosmas  was  a 
Sabaite  monk,  and  was  consecrated  as  bishop  of  Maiuma,  near 
Gaza,  in  Palestine,  under  the  patriarchate  of  John  of  Jerusalem. 
His  poetical  compositions  resemble  those  of  Adam  of  St.  Victor  in 
their  fondness  for  types  and  imagery.  He  wrote  in  a  contracted 
and  difficult  style,  and  his  hymns  are  hard  to  be  understood.  Dr. 
Neale  has  adopted,  with  these  and  other  sacred  verses,  the  prin- 
ciple of  Bishop  Heber,  who  held  that  it  was  better — he  referred, 
however,  to  the  Latin  hymns — "  to  pillage  than  to  translate." 

Christ  is  made  the  sure  foundation.  — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  the  Angular e  fundamentum,  a   portion    of   the    hymn, 
1 '  Urbs  beata  Hirusalem. ' '     Dr.  Neale  has  rendered  it  as, 

Blessed  city,  heavenly  Salem, 
Vision  dear  of  peace  and  love," 

and  of  that  translation  this  is  the  second  part. 

There  are  several  other  versions.     One,  by  Archbishop  Benson, 

commences, 

"  Blessed  city,  heavenly  Salem, 
Peaceful  vision  dim  descried." 

There  is  still  a  third,  with  the  same  initial  line,  in  the  Hymnal 

Noted,  1 87 1, 

"  Blessed  city,  heavenly  Salem, 
Land  of  glory,  land  of  rest." 

The  authorship  of  the  Latin  original  is  unknown,  but  it  is  re- 
ferred, conjecturally,  to  the  eighth  century.  See  "  The  Latin 
Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns"  for  further  information  on  the 
subject. 

Christ  is  coming  !  let  creation.  — Macduff. 

Rev.  John  Ross  Macduff,  D.  D.,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was 
born  in  the  year  18 18,  at  Bonhard,  Perthshire,  Scotland.  His 
education  was  obtained  at  the  High  School,  Edinburgh,  and  at 
the  University  of  the  same  ancient  town.  For  three  years  he 
studied  under  the  celebrated  Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers,  whose  influ- 
ence determined  him  to  devote  his  life  to  the  Gospel  ministry.  It 
did  not,  however,  carry  him  into  disestablishment,  for  he  was 
licensed  in  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  in  1842,  and  re- 
ceived the  parish  of  Kettins,  Forfarshire.     Thence  he  was  trans- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  87 

ferred  to  the  church  of  St.  Madoes,  in  Perthshire,  from  which  he 
was  again,  in  1856,  removed  to  Glasgow,  where  he  was  given  the 
pastorate  of  a  handsome  new  edifice  and  a  large  congregation  at 
Sandyford.  Here  he  continued  for  fifteen  years,  declining  mean- 
while the  offer  of  an  appointment  by  the  Crown  to  the  cathedral 
church  in  Glasgow,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Principal  Mac- 
Farlan.  In  1871,  Dr.  Macduff  gave  up  his  pastoral  duties 
altogether,  and  surrendered  his  parish  in  order  to  spend  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  in  literary  labor. 

He  has  been  remarkably  successful  as  an  author  of  religious 
works,  and  his  Faithful  Promiser,  Morning  and  Night  Watches, 
and  The  Mind  and  Words  of  Jesus,  have  had  a  very  great  circula- 
tion. Some  of  his  hymns  were  published  as  early  as  1853.  They 
have  been  gathered  up  in  his  Gates  of  Praise,  issued  in  1875. 

The  title  of  the  present  piece  is  "  Second  Advent,"  and  the 
text  of  Scripture  affixed  to  it  by  the  author  is  Rev.  22  :  20.  The 
date  is   1853. 

Christ  is  our  corner-stone.  — Chandler,  tr. 
This,  like  "  Christ  is  made  our  sure  foundation,"  is  the  Angu- 
lare  fundamentum,  from  the  famous  heaven-hymn,  "  Urbs  beata 
Hirusalem."  It  is  from  John  Chandler's  Hymns  of  the  Primitive 
Church,  1837.  For  the  Latin  hymn  itself,  see  "  The  Latin 
Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns. " 

Christ  is  risen  !  Christ  is  risen  ! — A.  T.  Gurney. 
This  hymn  appeared  in  Mr.  Gurney' s  Book  of  Praise,  1862, 
which  contained  147  of  his  own  hymns.  The  author,  Archer 
Thompson  Gurney,  was  born  in  1820,  and  is  an  English  gentle- 
man who  has  had  a  varied  and  peculiar  history.  He  received  a 
good  education,  but  is  not  recorded  as  having  been  graduated  from 
any  of  the  great  universities.  Following  his  inclination  for  the 
study  of  law,  he  became  (and  still  is)  a  barrister  of  the  Middle 
Temple.  But  he  changed  from  the  court-bar  to  the  pulpit,  and 
was  made  deacon  in  1849,  priest  in  1850,  and  assumed  the  curacy 
of  Holy  Trinity,  Exeter,  1849-51.  His  subsequent  history  is 
briefly  comprehended  in  the  following  exact  statement,  which 
shows  on  its  very  face  that  Mr.  Gurney  is  an  unusual  character. 
He  has  been  curate  of  St.  Mary,  Crown  Street,  Soho,  1851-53  ; 
senior  curate  of  Buckingham,    1854-8  ;    chaplain  to    the  Court 


88  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Church  {Cour  des  Coches),  Paris,  1858-71  ;  evangelical  lecturer 
of  Holy  Trinity,  Westminster,  1872-4  ;  curate  of  Holy  Trinity 
Chapel,  Brighton,  1874-5  ;  curate-in-charge  of  St.  Andrew's  (iron 
church),  Hastings,  1877-8  ;  assisted  at  St.  Katherine's  Hospital, 
Regent's  Park,  1879-80  ;  curate-in-charge  of  Rhyader,  Radnor, 
1880-81  ;  curate-in-charge  of  Llangunider,  Breconshire,  Wales, 
1882,  where  (but  for  the  natural  uncertainty  induced  by  this 
record)  we  should  suppose  him  to  be  still  residing  at  the  rectory. 

Mr.  Gurney  has  written  much — frequently  in  poetry,  sometimes 
in  drama,  and  occasionally  in  controversy  from  the  Ritualistic 
standpoint.  One  of  his  works  was,  Reasons  for  Living  and  Dying 
in  the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  England.  Orby  Shipley  in- 
cluded ten  of  his  pieces  in  the  Lyra  Messianica,  a  very  High  Church 
collection.     This  is  not  one  of  them. 

An  American  work  on  authors,  written  and  published  over 
twenty-five  years  ago,  gives  us  this  racy  description  of  the  man  as 
he  then  was  : 

"  Mr.  Archer  Gurney  is  another  specimen  of  that  small  tribe  of  verse- 
mongers which  have  the  same  proportion  to  poets  that  monkeys  have  to 
men  ;  like  that  chattering  tribe,  their  gibbering  and  antics  are  sometimes 
diverting,  but  there  is  something  painful  and  revolting  to  our  feelings  in 
the  absurd  resemblance  they  bear  to  the  superior  race.  Mr.  Gurney  has 
published  two  volumes,  the  first,  an  apish  resemblance  to  '  Lalla  Rookh,' 
entitled  '  Love's  Legends,'  and  the  other  a  curious  drama,  called  Charles  I.; 
the  latter  is,  perhaps,  the  funniest  specimen  of  a  tragedy  on  record. 
While  Talfourd's  tragedies  are  pretty,  Gurney's  are  funny  ;  it  was  sug- 
gested by  the  author  of  '  Orion  '  [sic]  that  there  was  a  striking  resem- 
blance between  the  hero  and  the  poet,  in  the  fact  of  both  having  no  head  ; 
be  this  as  it  may,  Mr.  Archer  Gurney  might  just  as  well  have  been  with- 
out his  head,  seeing  the  little  use  he  has  made  of  it  in  this  curious  drama. 
Two  out  of  three  of  the  scenes  end  thus,  in  the  very  middle  :  '  The  scene 
closes  in  great  confusion — exeunt  confusedly.'  An  act  is  generally 
brought  to  its  termination  in  this  ingenious  manner  :  '  A  great  uproar,  the 
curtain  falls  amid  wild  confusion.'  This  terrific  confusion  and  disorder 
are  the  only  evidences  we  have  of  Mr.  Archer  Gurney's  head.  We  ought 
to  add,  as  another  proof  of  this  young  bardling's  genius,  that  at  the  dis- 
solution of  Parliament  he  rushes  about,  as  a  sort  of  clown,  contesting  im- 
possible elections  ;  now  he  suddenly  appears  as  the  antagonist  of  Lord 
Morpeth,  for  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  but  on  the  day  before  election 
he  forgets  all  about  it,  and  rides  home  on  the  outside  of  the  mail  ;  he  then 
throws  a  somerset,  and  comes  plump  down  at  Lambeth,  where  he  threatens 
to  annihilate  Mr.  Hawes,  but  he  don't  altogether  do  that,  for  on  the  close 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  89 

of  the  poll,  the  numbers  are  somewhat  in  this  fashion— Hawes,  6097  ; 
Gurney,  1.  This  solitary  voter  turns  out  to  be  Mr.  Hawes  himself,  it 
being  customary  for  each  candidate  to  vote  for  his  antagonist.  Mr.  Gur- 
ney's  last  political  feat  was  to  accompany  his  friend,  Mr.  Ernest  Jones, 
to  a  Chartist  meeting,  where  he  disturbed  the  harmony  of  that  rational 
class  of  beings  by  undertaking  to  prove  them  all  wrong,  and  consequently 
engaging  to  convert  them  all  into  loyal  and  contented  citizens.  The  argu- 
ment was  closed  by  their  ejecting  the  eloquent  Tory  head  over  heels 
through  a  window  into  the  street,  minus  his  hat  and  coat  ;  it  is  rumored 
that  Mr.  Fergus  O'Connor  was  seen  the  next  day  in  a  far  superior  cover 
to  where  [sic]  his  brains  ought  to  be,  and  also  in  a  better  surtout.  It  is 
shrewdly  suspected  that  he,  like  the  Romans  of  old,  wore  his  vanquished 
enemy's  armor  as  optima  spolia." 

The  writer's  Latin,  as  well  as  his  English,  will  safely  bear  filing 
and  polishing,  but  his  graphic  method  is  very  much  to  our  purpose. 

Christ,  of  all  my  hopes  the  ground.  — Wardlaw. 
Rev.  Ralph  Wardlaw  was  born  at  Dalkeith,  Mid-Lothian,  De- 
cember 2  2d,  1779,  and  entered  the  University  of  Glasgow  at  twelve 
years  of  age.  He  then  united  with  the  Seceders'  Church,  and 
joined  the  Congregationalists,  under  the  brothers  Haldane.  In 
1803,  he  was  ordained  to  the  pastorate  of  a  chapel  in  Albion 
Street,  Glasgow.  In  181 1,  he  was  chosen  Professor  of  Divinity, 
in  the  (Congregational)  Glasgow  Theological  Academy,  and  died 
in  that  city,  December  17th,  1853.  Dr.  Wardlaw  edited  a  vol- 
ume of  hymns  for  the  use  of  the  Scottish  CongTegationalists,  in 
which  several  of  his  original  pieces  were  included.  While  he  re- 
ceives no  mention  from  Anglican  hymnologists,  this  hymn,  and 
"  Lift  up  to  God  the  voice  of  praise,"  will  show  that  he  merits  it. 
The  present  hymn  has  two  parts  and  thirteen  stanzas,  and  its  date 
is  1 8 1 7. 

Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  again. — Winkworth,  tr. 
We  have  here  Miss  Winkworth 's  rendering  of  the  "  Chrisius  ist 
erstanden"  of  Michael  Weisse.  It  is  an  Easter  hymn,  from  the 
first  hymn-book  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  1531.  This  religious 
sect,  called  by  their  enemies  Piccards,  i.e.,  Beghards,  allied  them- 
selves in  Reformation  times  with  Luther.  Their  four  great  doc- 
trines were:  1.  Taking  the  eucharist  "in  both  kinds,"  that  is, 
bread  and  cup  ;  2.  Prohibition  of  temporal  authority  to  the  clergy  ; 
3.    Preaching  of  God's  word  free  to  every  man  ;  4.    Public  crimes 


90  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

to  be  surely  punished.  These  points  were  debated  with  the  Coun- 
cil of  Constance  for  fifty  days.  In  modern  times  they  are  the 
Moravians,  Count  Zinzendorf  having  revived  their  tenets  and  cus- 
toms. Weisse,  like  Luther,  translated  much  from  the  Latin,  and 
enriched  German  hymnology  from  the  mediaeval  breviaries.  He 
also  wrote  some  fifteen  or  seventeen  original  hymns  ;  and  possibly 
more,  which  have  not  been  identified.  He  was  born  at  Neisse,  in 
Silesia,  and  was  pastor  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  at  Landskron 
and  Fulneck,  in  Bohemia.      He  died  in  1540. 

It  is  Kiibler's  opinion  that  both  Weisse  and  Luther  (in  his  Easter 
hymn,  Christ  lag,  etc.)  availed  themselves  of  some  older  piece  be- 
ginning with  this  first  line.  The  present  hymn  may  have  arisen 
from  a  Latin  sequence  :  ' '  Mors  et  vita  duello  conflixere  mirando  ; 
dux  vitce  mortuus  regnat  vivus, ' '  which  has  afforded  much  comfort 
to  the  dying. 

The  date  of  Miss  Winkworth's  translation  is  1858. 

Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day. — Anon,  1708. 

There  are  three  hymns  with  this  first  line.  One  is  by  Charles 
Wesley,  1739  : 

"  Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day, 
Sons  of  men  and  angels  say." 

Another  is  by  Miss  Jane  E.  Leeson  : 

"  Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day  ; 

Christians,  haste  your  vows  to  pay," 

which  is  a  translation  of  the  ' '  Viciimce  paschali  laudes, '  *  a  well- 
known  sequence,  sometimes  attributed  to  Notker  of  St.  Gall,  but 
probably  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century.  The  third  is  the 
present  hymn  : 

"  Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day, 
Our  triumphant  holy  day." 

It  may  easily  have  been  the  suggestion  from  which  Wesley's 
lyric  came.  It  was  appended  to  the  New  Version  of  the  Psalms, 
in  1796,  but  had  previously  appeared  in  C.  Evans's  Collection  (5th 
edition,  1786),  and  in  the  Compleat  Psahnodist  of  John  Arnold, 
1749.  In  the  earliest  form  to  which  it  has  been  traced,  it  begins, 
"  Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to-day."  In  Evans's  collection  it  is  called 
M  The  Resurrection  Hymn,"  and  has  but  three  stanzas  ;  and  the 
"  Gloria,"  which  makes  the  fourth,  is  undoubtedly  the  work  of 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


9* 


Charles  Wesley,  for  it  is  found  in  his  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems. 
The  oldest  book  in  which  it  has  been  discovered  is  the  Lyra 
Davidica,  1708. 

Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day. — C.  Wesley. 

From  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1739,  this  piece  is  taken. 
The  tune  "  Georgia/'  adapted  to  this  in  the  Church  of  England 
psalmody,  is  itself  an  adaptation  of  Handel's  "  See  the  Conquer- 
ing Hero  Comes." 

This  hymn  afforded  great  comfort  to  Thomas  Lacy,  an  earnest 
English  Methodist.  On  Easter  morning  he  repeated  the  first 
stanza  to  his  sister,  though  with  a  faltering  voice.  He  was  told 
that  he  was  near  death.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  I  have  a  pleasant 
prospect  before  me. ' '     And  so  he  passed  away  in  peace. 

Christ,  whose  glory  fills  the  skies.  — C.  Wesley. 

This  hymn  has  received  the  praise  of  Montgomery,  as  being 
one  of  the  loveliest  which  Charles  Wesley  composed.  It  bears  a 
close  resemblance  to  that  of  Ennodius,  Bishop  of  Pavia,  "  Christe 
lumen  perpeiuum"  which  will  be  found,  in  an  American  trans- 
lation, as,  "  O  Christ,  the  eternal  light." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  composition  is  properly  ac- 
credited to  Wesley,  although  it  has  been  printed  in  some  editions 
of  Toplady's  works,  as  if  belonging  to  him  ;  and  something  similar 
to  it  can  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Sir  Robert  Grant.  In  a  ser- 
mon on  the  "Christian  Inheritance,"  Rev.  Morley  Punshon, 
D.D.,  quotes  the  lines  as  if  written  by  Grant.  But  the  claim  put 
forward  in  behalf  of  Toplady  is  effectually  disposed  of,  when  we 
find  that  the  same  year,  1740,  witnessed  his  birth  as  well  as  the 
publication  of  the  hymn.  For  it  appears  in  the  Hymns  and  Sacred 
Poems  of  Wesley,  1740,  where  it  is  entitled  "  A  Morning  Hymn," 
and  is  in  three  stanzas.  Charles  Wesley  wrote  two  pieces  with  this 
same  first  line.  The  one  now  before  us  had  formerly  a  stanza 
prefixed  to  it  commencing,  "  Oh,  disclose  thy  lovely  face,"  but 
that  was  no  part  of  it,  and  has  disappeared. 

Very  beautiful  are  the  comments  upon  the  promise,  "  I  will 
make  thy  windows  of  agates,"  which  we  find  in  the  volume,  Bible 
Teachings  in  Nature,  by  Hugh  Macmillan. 

"  '  I  will  make  thy  windows  of  agates  ;  '  not  bright  and  transparent, 
for  our  weak  eyes,  dimmed  with  pain  and  weeping,  cannot  bear  the  strong 


92  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

sunshine  ;  not  dark  and  opaque,  for  the  soul  climbing  up  and  straining 
to  look  out  and  see  the  light  behind  the  cloud — the  beauty  beyond  the 
shadow — and  baffled  in  its  efforts,  would  fall  back  upon  itself,  morbid 
and  despairing.  They  are  windows  of  agates — neither  transparent  nor 
opaque — but  mercifully  tempered  by  Him  who  best  knows  the  require- 
ments of  each  individual  case,  and  who  in  all  our  afflictions  is  afflicted. 
How  soft  and  subdued  is  the  light  they  admit,  inexpressibly  soothing  to 
the  soul  which  affliction  has  made  tender  !  Through  the  smoked  glass 
the  most  delicate  eye  can  look  long  without  shrinking  upon  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness.  There  is  no  garishness  jarring  with  the  sorrow,  no  daz- 
zling lustre  scorching  and  bewildering  the  soul,  but  a  mild,  moonlight 
radiance,  exquisitely  harmonizing  with  the  loneliness  and  darkness  within." 

Christian,  dost  thou  see  them.  — Neale,  tr. 
This  translation  (1862)  is  from  the  hymn  Ov  yap  fi\t7t£i? 
rovS  raparrovrai  of  St.  Andrew  of  Crete.  Dr.  Neale  calls  it 
the  "  Stichera  for  the  Second  Week  of  the  Grand  Fast."  St. 
Andrew  was  born  at  Damascus  about  660  ;  became  a  monk  in 
Jerusalem  ;  and,  going  on  church  business  to  Constantinople,  was 
there  made  a  deacon.  He  was  Archbishop  of  Crete,  in  the  reign 
of  Philip  Bardanes,  just  about  the  time  (711-714)  when  Africa 
had  been  subdued  by  the  Saracens.  He  died  in  the  island  of 
Hierissus,  near  Mitylene,  a.d.  J32.  His  hymns  are  still  sung  in 
the  Greek  Church. 

Christian,  seek  not  yet  repose.  — C.  Elliott. 
There  are  six  stanzas  to  this  hymn,  which  was  first  published  by 
Miss  Charlotte  Elliott,  in  1839.  It  is  the  Wednesday  morning 
hymn,  in  Hymns  for  a  Week,  by  the  late  Charlotte  Elliott,  London, 
forty-first  thousand,  no  date.  The  first  edition  of  these  hymns 
was  issued,  however,  in  1839.  This  one  is  founded  on  the  words, 
"  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation." 

Christians,  awake,  salute  the  morn. — Byrom. 
The  personal  appearance  of  John  Byrom  was  remarkable.  He 
was  extremely  tall,  carried  a  stick  with  a  crook-top,  and  wore  "  a 
curious  low-polled,  slouched  hat,  from  under  the  long-peaked 
front  brim  of  which  his  benignant  face  bent  forward  a  cautiously 
inquisitive  kind  of  look,  as  if  he  were  in  the  habit  of  prying  into 
everything,  without  caring  to  let  everything  enter  deeply  into  him." 
In  his  journal  for  February  7th,  1739,  ^1S  ta^  person  has  recorded 
that  he  had  "  walked  with  John  Wesley  and  another  young  fel- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  93 

low,  from  Mr.  Bray's  to  Islington."  He  was  then  about  forty- 
eight  years  of  age,  the  son  of  a  linen-draper,  and  born  at  Man- 
chester in  1691.  He  was  a  lover  of  the  mystics — which  is  no 
blame  to  him  now,  though  it  was  then.  Jacob  Bohme  and 
Madame  Guyon  and  Fenelon  are  different  names  to  us  than  to  the 
people  of  his  time.  He  was  also  a  Cambridge  man,  while  the 
Wesleys  and  the  most  of  their  friends  were  Oxonians.  So  it  came 
about  that  this  incipient  close  association  did  not  last  long,  though 
the  friendship  continued  firm  to  the  end.  Byrom  was  too  much 
of  a  dilettante,  too  little  inclined  to  the  awful  seriousness  of  early 
Methodism,  and  while  he  was  always  kindly,  and  even  affectionate, 
toward  John  Wesley,  the  connection  between  them  was  never  really 
intimate.  The  Cambridge  scholar  preferred  to  write  his  pastorals 
on  "  Colin  and  Phcebe, "  for  the  Spectator  ;  to  glide  into  verse  in 
praise  of  "  Careless  Content/'  and  to  invent  a  system  of  stenog- 
raphy. He  occasionally  wrote  hymns  for  recreation.  Otherwise, 
his  rule  was,  as  he  himself  says,  to  be  quiet  and  happy,  and  let 
the  world  go  : 

"  I  am  content,  I  do  not  care, 

Wag  as  it  will  the  world  for  me  !" 

But  there  was  one  thing  in  which  he  is  of  more  than  casual  im- 
portance to  hymnology.  Although  he  composed  verses  of  his  own, 
neat  and  smooth  in  character,  and  his  translations  of  hymns  from 
some  of  the  French  mystics  are  notably  fine,  yet  it  is  as  the  ste- 
nographer that  he  is  to  be  remembered.  For  he  taught  his  system 
of  short-hand  to  the  Wesleys,  and  they  used  it  for  their  journals. 
The  greater  part  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns  were  dashed  down,  in 
this  brief  fashion,  as  they  arose  in  his  mind.  Byrom 's  taste  aided 
his  friends,  too,  in  the  publication  of  their  first  volume  of  religious 
poetry. 

Nothing  can  better  illustrate  Byrom 's  characteristics  than  his 
famous  epigram,  written  in  1745,  when  the  Pretender  made  his 
advent  in  England.  The  Wesleys  kept  to  their  work,  preaching 
and  praying,  and  putting  no  hand  to  the  secular  business  of  king- 
making.  But  Byrom,  for  a  wonder,  came  out  boldly  on  the  side 
of  the  Stuarts,  and  it  took  all  his  skill  to  avoid  an  awkward  di- 
lemma. This  he  achieved  by  tossing  this  stanza  like  a  tub  to  the 
whale,  or  like  the  sacrifice  which  Alcibiades  made  of  his  dog's  tail 
to  divert  the  wrath  of  his  fellow-citizens.     Thus  wrote  Byrom  : 


94  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  God  bless  the  King — I  mean  the  Faith's  defender  ; 
God  bless — no  harm  in  blessing — the  Pretender  ; 
But  who  the  Pretender  is,  or  who  is  King — 
God  bless  us  all — that's  quite  another  thing  !" 

He  was  always,  though,  a  good  Christian,  and  lived  on  in  happy 
quiet — as  he  wished — until  his  death,  September  28th,  1763,  and 
in  his  seventy-second  year.  He  might  appropriately  have  com- 
posed  a  hymn  on  the  prayer  of  Jabez. 

Not  as  the  hymn-writer,  then,  do  we  recall  him,  but  as  the  one 
who  said  of  Handel  and  Bononcini, 

"  Strange  all  this  difference  should  be 
'Twixt  tweedledum  and  tweedledee," 

and  as  the  one  who  professed 

"  To  take  what  passes  in  good  part, 

And  keep  the  hiccoughs  from  the  heart." 

He  was,  and  is,  a  light  of  English   letters  ;  but  as  for  piety  or  ear- 
nestness— well,  let  us  think  kindly  of  him  and  say  no  more. 

Come,  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God.  — Hart. 
We  are  able  to  fix  the  exact  date  of  this  hymn  by  its  connection 
with   a  most  interesting  religious  experience  on  the  part  of  its 
author,  Rev.  Joseph  Hart.     He  says  : 

"  The  week  before  Easter,  1757,  I  had  such  an  amazing  view  of  the 
agony  of  Christ  in  the  Garden  as  I  know  not  how  well  to  describe.  I 
was  lost  in  wonder  and  adoration,  and  the  impression  was  too  deep,  I 
believe,  ever  to  be  obliterated.  ...  It  was  then  I  made  the  first  part  of 
my  hymn  on  the  Passion  :    '  Come,  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God.'  " 

This  hymn  is  placed  as  the  first  of  the  pieces  composing  Hart's 
second  edition,  1762.  It  has  two  parts,  respectively  of  fourteen 
and  of  ten  stanzas.  A  couplet  from  it  has  been  more  than  once 
effectively  quoted  : 

"  Gethsemane,  the  Olive-Press  ! 

(And  why  so  call'd  let  Christians  guess)." 

The  italics  are  his  own, 

Speaking  critically,  this  production  has  never  attained,  by  any 
cento,  to  general  acceptance  as  a  hymn.  It  could  not  possibly 
do  so,  as  it  is  the  unlyrical  meditation  of  a  devout  soul  over  the 
agony  of  the  Lord  in  the  Garden.  Portions  of  it  are  not  removed 
from  prosaic  baldness  and  impropriety,  as,  for  example  : 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  95 

"  Dispatch'd  from  Heav'n  an  Angel  stood, 
Amaz'd  to  find  him  bath'd  in  Blood  ; 
As  if  all  Heav'n  had  rais'd  a  Doubt, 
'  Perhaps  the  Lord  may  scarce  hold  out.'  " 

Other  portions  are  strong,  original,  and  almost  grand  ;  as  when 

he  speaks 

"  Of  sinners  base, 
A  harden'd  Herd  ;  a  Rebel-race 
That  mock'd  and  trampled  in  thy  Blood, 
And  wanton'd  with  the  Wounds  of  God." 

And,  again,  the  last  two  stanzas  : 

"  A  Love  of  unexampled  kind 

That  leaves  all  Thought  so  far  behind  ; 

Where  Length,  and  Breadth,  and  Depth,  and  Height 

Are  lost  to  my  astonish'd  Sight. 
"  For  Love  of  Me  the  Son  of  God 

Drain'd  ev'ry  Drop  of  vital  Blood  ; 

Long  time  I  after  Idols  ran, 

But  now  my  God's  a  martyr' d  Man." 

A  study  of  such  a  "  hymn"  will  help  those  who  desire  to  under- 
stand the  vivid  earnestness  of  the  great  race  of  English  hymn- 
writers  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  cannot  be  commended  for 
taste  and  beauty,  but  it  is  wonderfully  actual. 

Come,  behold  a  great  expedient. — Kelly. 
One  sometimes  wonders  why  certain  hymns  secure  an  approval 
which  others — decidedly  superior  to  them — fail  to  obtain.  This 
hymn,  for  example,  has  been  abundantly  acceptable,  but  it  scarcely 
seems  to  deserve  its  distinction.  It  appears  as  early  as  1809,  in 
Kelly's  pages,  and  is  part  of  the  hymn  beginning,  "  Death  is  sin's 
tremendous  wages. ' '  There  are  five  stanzas  altogether,  and  this 
piece  commences  with  the  third. 

Come,  gracious  Lord,  descend  and  dwell. — Watts. 
In  Dr.    Watts's  Hymns,    Book  I.,   No.  135,  this  commences, 
"  Come,  dearest  Lord,"  etc.,  and  is  based  on  Eph.  3:16,  with  the 
title,  "The   Love  of  Christ  shed  abroad  in   the  Heart."     It  has 
three  stanzas. 

Come,  blessed  Spirit  !  source  of  light. — Beddome. 
This  is  given  as  the  original  text,  by  Dr.  Rogers,  in  Lyra  Bri~ 
tannica.      He  there  alludes  to  the  other   form  of  the  hymn  com- 


g6  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

mencing,  "  Come,  Spirit,  source  of  light,"  which  can  be  found  as 
No.  531  of  Laudes  Domini.  The  present  hymn  is  in  the  Songs  of 
the  Spirit  (p.  414). 

Come,  gracious  Spirit,  heavenly  dove. — Browne, 

Rev.  Simon  Browne,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was  born  about 
1680,  in  Shepton-Mallet,  Somersetshire,  England,  and  began  to 
preach  when  but  twenty  years  of  age.  In  171 6,  having  left  a  large 
congregation  in  Plymouth,  he  was  settled  over  the  Independent 
Church  in  Old  Jewry,  London.  Dr.  Watts  was  his  near  neighbor, 
being  at  that  time  pastor  in  Berry  Street.  Seven  years  later  Mr. 
Browne  was  afflicted  with  a  hypochondriacal  malady  which  took 
the  form  of  a  delusion  that  he  could  not  think.  In  this  year 
(1723),  he  had,  it  is  true,  lost  his  wife  and  son,  and  was  greatly 
distressed.  But  the  compelling  cause  was  thought  to  be  an  attack 
made  on  him  by  a  highway  robber.  Mr.  Browne  and  a  friend  were 
upon  a  journey,  when  they  were  stopped  by  the  highwayman, 
who  presented  his  pistols  and  demanded  their  money.  Mr. 
Browne,  being  a  large  and  strongman,  seized  the  robber,  flung  him 
down  and  disarmed  him,  while  his  friend  ran  for  assistance.  But 
the  clerical  wrath,  and  the  clerical  grip  upon  the  man's  throat, 
choked  the  poor  wretch  to  death,  and  when  assistance  came  the 
thief  was  literally  defunct.  This  had  a  most  serious  effect  on  Mr. 
Browne's  mind.  Frequently  after  this  he  was  tormented  with  a 
desire  to  destroy  himself,  and  he  always  maintained  that  his  mental 
powers  were  gone.  Yet,  though  he  would  not  patiently  suffer  any 
contradiction  of  this  idea,  he  wrote  a  defence  of  Christianity,  a 
work  on  the  Trinity,  made  a  dictionary,  and  continued  Matthew 
Henry's  Commentary  by  the  Exposition  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St. 
Paul  to  the  Corinthians.  The  dedication  of  his  Defence  of  Chris- 
tianity is  copied  under  Browne's  name  as  a  curiosity  in  the  (old) 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  Indeed,  some  twenty- three  separate  pub- 
lications attest  the  energy  and  scholarship  of  this  man  who  "  could 
not  think  ;"  and  they  justify  Toplady's  remark  that  "  instead  of 
having  no  soul,  he  wrote  and  reasoned  and  prayed  as  if  he  had 
two."  Dr.  Watts  also  endorses  the  intellectual  vigor  and  clear- 
ness of  this  singularly  deluded  person.  "If  he  was  crazy,"  says 
Dr.  Allibone,  "  he  was  at  least  more  than  equal  to  two  infidels" 
— Woolston  and  Tindal.     He  was,  however,  strangely  persistent 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  97 

in  his  opinion,  and  on  being  pressed  by  a  friendly  opponent  as  to 
his  mental  soundness,  because  he  was  "  making  a  dictionary,"  he 
retorted,  "lam  doing  nothing  that  requires  a  reasonable  soul." 
His  impression,  to  quote  his  own  words,  was  that  God  had  "  an- 
nihilated in  him  the  thinking  substance,  and  utterly  divested  him 
of  consciousness  ;  that,  though  he  retained  the  human  shape,  and 
the  faculty  of  speaking  in  a  manner  that  appeared  to  others  rational, 
he  had  all  the  while  no  more  notion  of  what  he  said  than  a  parrot." 

But  we  may  profitably  place  his  "  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans," in  Matthew  Henry's  Commentary,  in  contrast  to  this  ab- 
surd opinion.  It  is  lucid,  and  even  epigrammatic  in  its  style, 
and  is  one  of  the  very  best  of  commentaries  for  practical  use. 

He  lived  beloved  and  respected,  but  cherishing  his  delusion  to 
the  last,  dying  at  length  near  the  close  of  the  year  1732.  He  con- 
trived during  his  life'  to  win  the  approbation  of  good  people,  and 
he  left  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  hymns  as  his  legacy  tc  Christian 
praise. 

In  his  hymn-writing,  Mr.  Browne  was  a  great  adnr  er  and  imi- 
tator of  Dr.  Watts,  whose  influence  on  the  English  hymnology  is 
like  that  of  Ambrose  upon  the  Latin.  Browne  and  others  follow 
Watts,  as  Ennodius,  Gregory  the  Great,  and  the  late  Latinists, 
like  Coffin  and  Santeul,  follow  Ambrose.  Sometimes  he  conveys 
lines  bodily  from  Watts,  as  these  do  from  Ambrose,  confessing 
(which  may  be  due  to  his  mental  malady,  for  such  confession  is 
now  rare  enough),  "  I  have  borrowed  my  stamina  from  others." 
"  Yet,  'tis  no  vanity  to  say,"  quoth  Mr.  Browne,  "  I  aim  at  being 
more  poetical. ' '    Perhaps  this,  at  last,  shows  his  impaired  intellect ! 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  Creator,  come.  — Tate,  tr. 
We    have   here   Nahum   Tate's  rendering  of  the    Veni  Creator 
Spiritus  of  Rabanus   Maurus,  for  whom  see   "The  Latin  Hymn 
Writers  and  their  Hymns. "     It  is  from  the  Supplement  to  his  New 
Version  of  the  Psalms  (1703)  and  is  in  four  double  stanzas. 

Come,  Holy  Ghost  !  in  love. — Palmer,  tr. 

This  is  the  Veni  Sancle  Spiritus  of  Hermannus  Contractus,  for 

which  see  "The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns."     Dr. 

Palmer  made  this  translation  in  New  York  City  in  1858.     He  was 

then  in  the  habit  of  using  certain  opportunities  of  leisure,  in  this 


98  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Come,  Holy  Ghost,  my  soul  inspire. — Nettleton. 

This  hymn  is  in  the  collection  of  Asahel  Nettleton,  where  it  has 
three  stanzas,  the  text  being  precisely  the  same  as  in  Laudes 
Domini.  These  Village  Hymns  of  Nettleton  are  copyrighted  in 
Connecticut,  in  the  ' '  forty-eighth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America"  (1824).  Their  history  is  given  by  the 
compiler  in  a  preface.  He  designed  his  work  as  a  supplement  to 
that  of  Dr.  Watts,  and  states  that  it  grew  out  of  a  resolution  of  the 
General  Association  of  Connecticut,  in  1820,  appointing  a  com- 
mittee to  "  devise  measures  for  the  prosperity  of  religion  within 
their  limits.  "  Of  this  committee  the  compiler  was  a  member,  and 
in  it  the  matter  of  a  "  New  Selection  of  Hymns"  came  up,  but 
nothing  was  done.  ' '  Four  years, ' '  says  Mr.  Nettleton,  ' '  have 
nearly  elapsed,  and  nothing  has  been  done  pursuant  to  their  ap- 
pointment." 

When  Nettleton  went  as  an  evangelist  through  the  region  of 
Eastern  and  Central  New  York,  the  idea  of  this  book  grew  upon 
him.  He  states  that  there  was  a  demand  for  it  "in  the  West  and 
South" — these  in  his  time  being  terms  very  much  restricted  in 
meaning.  Buffalo,  for  example,  was  in  ' '  the  West. ' '  So  was 
Pittsburgh. 

The  preface  contains  a  number  of  valuable  comments — valuable, 
because  they  show  the  condition  of  American  hymnology  at  that 
day  as  compared  with  our  own  generation.  "  I  had  hoped,"  he 
writes,  ' '  to  find,  in  the  style  of  genuine  poetry,  a  greater  number  of 
hymns  adapted  to  the  various  exigencies  of  a  revival.  Laborious 
research  has,  however,  led  me  to  conclude  that  not  many  such 
compositions  are  in  existence. ' '  And  for  the  sufficient  reason 
that  revivals  were  looked  upon  with  great  disfavor. 

This  exceedingly  important  compilation  occupied  about  two 
years'  time.  Mr.  Nettleton  adds  that  it  "  contains  a  number  of 
original  hymns,"  and  mentions  that  he  has  taken  some  of  these 
"originals"  from  the  Hartford  Selection,  and  that  they  are  the 
composition  of  "  Strong"  and  "  Steward  " — i.e.,  Nathan  Strong, 
D.D.,  and  James  Steward,  D.D.  In  addition,  we  are  to  remem- 
ber that  this  collection  contains  also  several  of  the  hymns  of  Phcebe 
H.  Brown,  for  which  Mr.  Nettleton  personally  consulted  her.  In 
some  cases,  the  compiler  reconstructed  the  hymns.  "With  this 
view  "  [to  fit  them  for  use  in  "  meetings  for  religious  purposes"] 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  99 

"  some  of  them  have  been  divided,  and  others  reduced  to  a  stricter 
unity  of  thought."  The  tunes  are  printed  above  the  different 
pieces,  and  are  found  in  Ziori  s  Harp,  a  collection  designed  to 
accompany  Village  Hymns. 

The  hymn  before  us  was  first  printed  without  any  name.  It 
can  safely  be  considered  an  original  production,  and  it  does  honor 
to  its  author. 

The  Rev.  Asahel  Nettleton  was  born  at  North  Killingworth, 
Conn.,  April  21st,  1783.  His  early  life  was  that  of  a  farmer's 
boy,  who  soon  (1801)  had  charge  of  the  entire  farm.  In  1809  he 
was  graduated  from  Yale  College,  and  having  studied  theology  with 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Pinneo,  of  Milford,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
181 1.  Almost  immediately  afterward  he  entered  upon  the  life 
of  an  evangelist,  and  from  1812  to  1822  he  labored  in  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  and  Massachusetts.  He  seems  to  have  met  with 
approval  from  the  pastors  as  well  as  from  their  people,  and  we 
hear  of  him  twice  in  New  Haven  by  the  invitation  of  his  brethren. 
An  attack  of  typhus  fever,  in  1822,  left  him  in  an  enfeebled  con- 
dition, from  which  he  never  fully  recovered,  and  in  1827  he  went 
to  Virginia  for  his  health.  Returning  thence  he  was  not  long 
afterward  (1830-31)  engaged  in  revival  work  in  New  York  City. 
He  visited  Great  Britain  in  the  latter  year,  and  in  1833  was  ap- 
pointed Professor  of  Pastoral  Theology  in  the  institution  at  East 
Windsor  (now  Hartford  Seminary),  but  declined. 

Mr.  Nettleton  never  married.  His  theology  was  distinctly  Cal- 
vinistic,  and  his  preaching  was  powerful,  and  exceedingly  effective 
in  bringing  his  hearers  to  repentance  and  faith.  Large  accessions 
to  the  churches  followed  his  labors.  Great  good  sense  character- 
ized his  methods,  and  he  was  in  some  degree  an  opponent  of  the 
measures  advocated  by  Dr.  Finney,  with  whom  he  held  two  or  three 
conferences  and  personal  arguments.  Finney  encouraged  women 
to  pray  in  public,  adopted  the  practice  of  praying  for  persons  by 
name,  and  in  other  ways  endeavored  to  make  sharp  distinctions 
between  the  saved  and  the  lost.  Nettleton,  on  the  other  hand, 
emphasized  the  power  of  the  Gospel  upon  the  conscience,  rejected 
the  "  anxious  seat,"  and  everything  which  implied  a  doubt  of  the 
efficacy  of  the  divine  Spirit  in  the  conversion  of  the  soul.  He 
rested  entirely  on  the  finished  work  of  Christ,  and  discredited — 
sometimes  publicly — any  arrangements  which  looked  toward  the 


ioo  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

influence  of  excitement,  sympathy,  or  unworthy  motives.  The 
hymns  in  his  collection  are  such  as  prove  the  calmness  and  judg- 
ment of  the  man  who  gathered  them. 

He  died  at  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  May  16th,  1844,  and  his  life 
has  been  fully  written  by  Bennet  Tyler. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit  !  calm  my  mind. — Stewart. 
The  name  of  this  author  is  John  Stewart,  and  the  date  affixed  to 
his  composition  is  1803.     D.  Sedgwick  is  the  authority  for  these 
facts,  which  are  all  we  are  able  to  gather. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come,  With,  etc. — Beddome. 
It  emphasizes  such  a  hymn  as  this  to  know  that  its  author  was  so 
earnest  a  man  that  he  was  often  carried  to  church  in  his  later  years, 
and  frequently  preached  sitting  in  a  chair.  His  great  desire  was 
to  die  in  the  active  work  of  the  ministry.  This  was  accomplished 
in  his  sudden  decease,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  He  had  com- 
posed a  hymn  only  an  hour  previous  to  his  death. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come  ;  Let,  etc. — Hart. 

The  story  of  Joseph  Hart's  life  is  to  be  found  in  his  ' '  experi- 
ence, ' '  prefixed  to  his  book  of  hymns.  He  was  born  in  London 
in  the  year  171 2.  His  parents  were  pious  people,  from  whom  he 
received  an  excellent  education  and  a  good  start  in  life.  He  was, 
at  first,  a  classical  teacher,  and  continued  in  this  calling  for  many 
years.  Though  he  had  many  serious  thoughts  at  the  time  of  his 
early  manhood,  he  stifled  them  all,  and  even  wrote  a  work  entitled 
The  Unreasonableness  of  Religion.  This  bears  the  date  1741.  He 
still  felt  qualms  of  conscience,  and  in  1757  received  impressions, 
not  to  be  shaken  off,  from  the  contemplation  of  Christ's  suffering 
in  the  Garden.  His  hymn,  "  Come,  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God," 
was  written  at  this  period,  and  afterward  enlarged.  At  length  he 
was  hopefully  converted  while  listening  to  a  sermon  preached  at 
the  Moravian  Chapel,  Fetter  Lane,  from  Rev.  3  :  10. 

There  is  now  before  the  present  writer  the  second  edition  of  Mr. 
Hart's  hymn-book.  It  is  "  Printed  for  the  Author,  and  Sold  at 
his  house,  Hart's  Warehouse  (the  Lamb),  near  Durham  Yard,  in 
the  Strand,  and  at  the  Meeting  in  Jewin  Street.  1762.  Price, 
bound,  is.  gd."  It  contains  one  hundred  and  nineteen  hymns, 
with  a  supplement  of    eighty-two  hymns  and  seven  doxologies. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  101 

The  twenty- seventh  hymn  is  an  autobiography.  In  it  he  con- 
fesses, ' '  With  swine  a  beastly  life  I  led. ' '  And  if  we  are  to  take 
him  at  all  literally,  he  was  not  a  fit  instructor  for  youth,  being  a 
very  heinous  sinner  indeed.  The  three  closing  stanzas  are  worth 
quotation  : 

"  Thus  I,  who  lately  had  been  cast, 
And  feared  a  just  but  heavy  Doom, 
Received  a  Pardon  for  the  Past, 
A  promise  for  the  Time  to  come. 

"  This  Promise  oft  I  call  to  Mind, 

As  through  some  painful  Paths  I  go. 
And  secret  Consolation  find, 

And  Strength  to  fight  with  every  Foe. 

11  And  ofttimes,  when  the  Tempter  sly 
Affirms  it  fancied,  forged  or  vain, 
Jesus  appears,  disproves  the  Lie, 
And  kindly  makes  it  o'er  again." 

In  1759  ne  began,  in  good  earnest,  both  to  preach  and  to  write 
hymns.  Soon  afterward  we  find  him  the  minister  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Chapel  in  Jewin  Street,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight.  His  path 
was  not  without  its  thorns,  and  his  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hughes,  in  his  funeral  sermon,  compared  the  dead  pastor  to 
"  the  laborious  ox  that  dies  with  the  yoke  on  his  neck."  He  con- 
tinued :  "So  died  he  with  the  yoke  of  Christ  on  his  neck,  neither 
would  he  suffer  it  to  be  taken  off ;  for  ye  are  his  witnesses  that  he 
preached  Christ  to  you  with  the  arrows  of  death  sticking  in  him." 
It  is  not  an  improper  inference,  then,  that  all  his  life  he  felt  the 
effects  of  his  early  dissipation. 

The  hymn  before  us  is  a  proof  that  Joseph  Hart  believed  in  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  with  a  deep  personal  sincerity.  In  his  preface 
he  speaks  of  his  conversion  in  terms  which  show  how  profoundly 
he  had  been  brought  under  a  sense  of  sin.      He  says  : 

"  The  Lord,  by  His  Spirit  of  love,  came,  not  in  a  visionary  manner 
into  my  brain,  but  with  such  divine  power  and  energy  into  my  soul,  that 
I  was  lost  in  blissful  amazement.  I  cried  out,  '  What  !  me,  Lord?'  His 
Spirit  answered  in  me,  '  Yes,  thee  !  '  The  answer  was,  '  I  pardon  thee 
freely  and  fully  !  '  The  alteration  I  then  felt  in  my  soul  was  as  sudden 
and  palpable  as  that  which  is  experienced  by  a  person  staggering  and 
almost  sinking  under  a  burden,  when  it  is  immediately  taken  from  his 
shoulders.  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified  is  now  the  only  thing  I  desire 
to  know." 


102  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

He  died  May  24th,  1768,  aged  fifty-six,  and  his  funeral  was  at- 
tended by  some  twenty  thousand  persons.  He  was  buried  in 
Bunhill  Fields,  where  his  tomb  can  still  be  seen. 

This  hymn  is  No.  4  of  his  hymns,  in  nine  stanzas,  and  does  not 
at  all  justify  the  assertion  that  it  is  based  on  the  Veni  Sande.  It  is 
strictly  an  original  production. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  from  above. — Stanley,  tr. 

Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley,  D.  D.,  dean  of  Westminster,  is  better 
known  by  his  Eastern  Church,  and  Jewish  Church,  and  Sinai  and 
Palestine,  and  Christian  Institutions  than  by  his  poetry.  He  was 
born  December  13th,  18 15,  at  Alderley,  in  Cheshire,  England, 
where  his  father,  Rev.  Edward  Stanley,  was  then  rector.  He  died 
in  London,  July  18th,  1881.  His  scholarly  and  literary  tastes 
were  as  marked  as  his  devotion  to  a  broad  and  generous  religious 
faith.  Upon  his  public  and  ecclesiastical  services  all  cyclopaedias 
— notably  the  Schaff-Herzog — are  well  informed.  His  health,  al- 
ways feeble,  failed  in  188 1.  He  fell  ill  after  lecturing  on  a  por- 
tion of  the  Beatitudes,  and  died  on  the  18th  of  July.  His  life  has 
been  written  by  G.  G.  Bradley,  London  and  New  York,  1883. 

The  present  hymn  is  a  translation  of  the  Vent  Sancte  of  Her- 
mannus  Contractus,  for  whom  see  ' '  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers 
and  their  Hymns." 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove.  — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns  this  is  Book  II.,  No.  34,  in  five  stanzas. 
Its  title  is,  "  Breathing  After  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  or,  Fervency  of 
Devotion  Desired. "  It  was  with  this  first  line  that  Simon  Browne's 
hymn  originally  began,  which  we  now  have  as  "  Come,  gracious 
Spirit,  heavenly  dove. ' ' 

Come,  kingdom  of  our  God. — Johns. 
There  is  an  additional  stanza  of  four  lines,  with  which  this  hymn 
concludes,  in  Dawson  s  Collection  (1853)  : 

"  Come,  kingdom  of  our  God  ! 
And  raise  thy  glorious  throne 
In  worlds  by  the  undying  trod, 
Where  God  shall  bless  his  own." 

It  adds  nothing  to  the  completeness  of  the  hymn.     The  author, 
Rev.  John  Johns   (1801-47),  was  an  English  Unitarian,   whose 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


103 


thirty-six  hymns  were   contributed    to   Beard's    Collection,    1837. 
This  work  was  entirely  composed  of  pieces  by  Unitarian  writers. 

Come,  Jesus,  Redeemer,  abide  thou  with  me. — Palmer. 
The  hymn  was  written  in  1867,  in  New  York  City,  and  is  based 
on  John  14:18.     It  is  a  pleasant  fact  to  note  that  this  and  "  Away 
from  earth"  are  the  two  favorite  hymns  of  the  poet's  wife — aside, 
of  course,  from  ' '  My  faith  looks  up  to  thee. ' ' 

Come,  let  us  join  our  cheerful  songs. — Watts. 

This  hymn  was  prepared  to  be  sung  at  the  close  of  a  sermon 
(1709)  on  Rev.  5:11-13,  and  is  entitled,  "Jesus  Christ,  the 
Lamb  of  God  worshipped  by  all  the  Creation."  It  has  five 
stanzas,  and  is  the  626.  hymn  of  Dr.  Watts' s  Book  I. 

A  sailor  at  the  approach  of  death  was  alarmed  by  the  prospect 
before  him.  He  had  no  Bible  ;  no  power  to  read  one  if  he  had 
it ;  and  could  only  remember  this  hymn.  Even  this  was  an  im- 
perfect recollection,  but,  as  he  repeated  the  line, 

"  Worthy  the  Lamb  that  died  they  cry," 
the  next  flashed  upon  his  memory, 

"  For  he  was  slain  for  us." 
This  phrase  "  slain  for  us"  gave  him  a  glimpse  of  salvation,  re- 
vived old  lessons  received  in  the  Sunday-school,  and  brought  him 
at  last  to  pardon  and  peace. 

Susanna  Harrison,  a  poor  girl  at  Ipswich,  went  out  to  domestic 
service  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  In  the  midst  of  her  duties  she  was 
seized  with  a  painful  disease  which  baffled  medical  skill.  It  was 
then  that  she  learned  to  believe  in  Christ,  and  it  was  then  that  she, 
too,  sang  songs  of  her  own  in  the  night.  Many  of  her  hymns 
(republished,  New  York,  1847)  are  worthy  of  a  place  among  the 
best  productions  of  our  best-known  hymnists.  In  her  last  hours  she 
said  :  '  *  I  have  not  sung  for  some  time.  Sing  with  me  ;  it  will 
not  hurt  me.     Sing  Dr.  Watts' s  hymn, 

'  How  sweet  and  awful  is  the  place 
With  Christ  within  the  doors  !  *  " 

And  after  this  was  sung  she  added  :   "  Let  us  sing  again, 
1  Come,  let  us  join  our  cheerful  songs 
With  angels  round  the  throne.'  " 

Says  Mr.  Christophers  : 


104  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Nobody  seemed  able  to  sing  with  her.  Her  voice  was  like  some- 
thing more  than  human,  and  she  waved  her  arm  exultingly  as  she  sang. 
*  You  do  not  sing  with  me,'  she  said  ;  '  well,  I  cannot  forbear.'  Then 
she  continued  nearly  the  whole  night,  warbling  softly,  though  at  times 
apparently  dying.  Her  last  night  was  full  of  song  ;  and,  just  before  she 
took  her  upward  flight,  she  pointed  heavenward,  and  said  :  '  I  cannot 
talk,  but  I  shall  soon  sing  there.''  " 

Mr.  Christophers  aptly  calls  these  strains  of  music  about  the 
dying  saint,  "  songs  of  deliverance." 

Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above. — Wesley. 

Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  (the  celebrated  "  Kirwan"  of  controversial 
fame)  visited  Rev.  Dr.  Childs,  of  Hartford,  in  January,  1861. 
His  host  invited  him  to  officiate  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  he  did  on  the  13th  of  January,  taking  as  his  text, 
Eph.  3:15,  and  repeating,  with  deep  pathos,  during  the  service 
the  stanzas  :  "  One  family  we  dwell  in  him/'  and  "  One  army  of 
the  living  God."  "  Who  of  us/'  says  Dr.  Childs,  "  supposed  that 
his  feet  were  even  then  touching  the  dark  waters — that  our  next 
message  from  him  would  be  that  he  had  '  crossed  the  flood.'  ' 

The  hymn  before  us  is  taken  from  C.  Wesley's  Funeral  Hymns, 
2d  series,  1759.  Those  lines,  "  One  family  we  dwell  in  him/' 
and  "Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood"  are  classic  in 
Christian  hymnody.  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Beecher,  of  Elmira,  N.  Y., 
has  written  a  very  brilliant  and  suggestive  article,  which  was  printed 
and  reprinted  in  the  New  York  Independent,  by  way  of  describing 
his  experience  with  a  certain  colored  preacher  in  his  neighborhood. 
As  the  conclusion  of  a  stirring  address,  which  made  Mr.  B.  quite 
ashamed  of  his  own  colder  and  less  emotional  remarks,  he  gave 
out  this  hymn  with  telling  effect. 

So,  too,  this  was  a  hymn  to  which  Mr.  Nettleton,  the  evangel- 
ist, often  recurred  during  his  last  illness,  and  of  which  he  always 
spoke  with  the  deepest  affection. 

Come,  let  us  join  our  songs  of  praise. — Pirie. 
Alexander  Pirie' s  hymn  is  found  in  the  Glasgow  Baptist  Collec- 
tion, as  early  as  1786.  Its  use  in  American  collections  dates  from 
Dr.  N.  S.  S.  Beman's  two  books,  Sacred  Lyrics,  1841,  and  their 
revision,  the  Christian  Psalmist,  1843.  In  this,  as  in  some  other 
matters,  Dr.  Beman  was  a  true  pioneer  in  American  hymnody. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  1 05 

Nettleton,  Hastings,  Leavitt,  Beman  and  Robinson  have  done 
more  for  current  collections  in  the  way  of  introducing  new  hymns 
than  any  other  compilers.  Honorable  mention,  too,  must  be 
made  of  S.  Longfellow  and  S.  Johnson,  whose  Hymns  of  the  Spirit 
have  given  some  excellent  things  to  later  works.  On  glancing  at 
this  hymn  the  thought  of  the  present  writer  is  instantly  carried 
back  to  a  quiet  Presbyterian  church  in  Philadelphia.  He  sees 
himself  sitting  where  the  afternoon  service  is  in  progress.  The 
Quaker  simplicity  of  the  colors  of  wall  and  carpet  and  cushion 
harmonize  with  the  stillness  and  peace  of  God's  house.  And  now 
he  hears  the  opening  hymn,  and  reads  its  words — these  very  words. 
Henceforth,  through  all  his  worship  in  pew  or  in  pulpit,  appears 
that  glorious  figure,  our  High  Priest,  bearing  our  names  as  the 
tribes  and  families  of  his  Israel,  "  engraven  on  his  breast."  It 
was  a  vision  of  glory  to  the  boy  that  was  never  forgotten. 

The  history  of  the  writer  of  the  verses  is  no  less  remarkable  than 
the  story  of  the  acceptance  of  his  hymn.  He  was  a  Scotchman, 
educated  for  the  ministry  in  connection  with  the  Antiburgher  Synod 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  and  was  appointed,  in 
1 760,  to  succeed  Rev.  John  Mason  as  Teacher  of  the  Philosophi- 
cal Class  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  New  York  City.  Mr. 
Mason  was  then  pastor  of  the  (Associate  Reformed)  Scotch  Church 
in  Cedar  Street.  In  1762  Mr.  Pirie  came  out  to  Mr.  Mason's 
assistance — this  John  Mason  being  the  father  of  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason  (whose  great  sermon,  Messiah's  Throne,  is  classic  in  Ameri- 
can homiletics)  and  grandfather  of  Dr.  Erskine  Mason. 

Mr.  Pirie  arrived  at  New  York  about  the  year  1762,  and  shortly 
afterward  incurred  the  displeasure  of  his  denomination.  He  was 
charged  (in  August,  1763)  with  "  laxity  of  doctrine  ;"  his  license 
as  a  probationer  was  revoked  ;  and,  after  being  rebuked  at  the  bar 
of  Synod,  he  was  formally  excommunicated  from  the  Church.  So 
dreadful  a  punishment  would  augur  a  decided  divergence  in  point 
of  belief,  but  when  we  remember  the  rigidity  of  the  "Secession 
Church"  we  naturally  incline  to  a  charitable  judgment.  History 
shows  that,  in  1732,  some  forty  ministers  presented  an  address  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church,  specify- 
ing grievances  and  departures  from  the  constitution.  The  As- 
sembly refused  this  and  also  a  similar  petition,  signed  by  elders 
and  church  members.     They  then   enacted   that  the  election  of 


106  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ministers  to  vacant  charges — a  subject  under  complaint — should 
be  competent  only  "  to  a  conjunct  meeting  of  elders  and  heritors, 
being  Protestants. ' '  Now  a  "  heritor"  was  a  landowner,  and,  as  it 
appeared  that  not  more  than  one  in  thirty  of  the  church  members 
in  every  parish  had  landed  property,  the  objection  was  again  raised 
that  many  persons  had  no  voice  in  the  selection  of  a  pastor. 
Against  this  deliverance  of  the  Assembly  of  1732  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Erskine,  of  Stirling,  was  one  of  the  first  to  protest.  As  Moderator 
of  the  Synod  of  Perth-and-Stirling,  he  opened  the  session  with  a 
sermon  from  Ps.  118  :  22,  which  excited  so  warm  a  debate  in  the 
Synod  that  that  body,  by  a  majority  of  six,  found  him  censurable. 
He  took  an  appeal  to  the  Assembly  of  1733  which  sustained  the 
Synod,  and  ordered  him  to  be  publicly  rebuked  from  the  chair  of 
the  Assembly.  Hereupon,  Mr.  Erskine  "protested"  that,  as  he 
had  been  openly  censured  and  rebuked  for  doing  what  he  held  to 
be  "  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God,"  he  should  consider  himself 
at  liberty  to  preach  the  same  truths  on  any  suitable  occasion. 
Three  other  ministers,  namely,  William  Wilson,  of  Perth,  Alex- 
ander Moncrief,  of  Abernethy,  and  James  Fisher,  of  Kinclaven, 
joined  with  him  in  this  protest.  The  Assembly,  of  which  they 
were  members,  cited  them  to  answer  for  their  views  the  very  next 
day.  A  committee  was  appointed,  and  retired  with  them  to  per- 
suade them  to  withdraw  their  protest.  This  failing,  they  were 
ordered  to  appear  the  following  August  before  this  Commission, 
and  retract  their  views.  Should  they  still  adhere  to  their  position, 
they  were  to  be  suspended  from  the  ministry. 

They  did  adhere  ;  they  were  suspended  ;  and  in  November  the 
Commission  again  had  their  cases  in  hand.  Certain  synods  and 
presbyteries  sent  letters  to  the  Commission,  advising  tenderness  ; 
but  that  body  authoritatively  cut  them  off  and  dissolved  their  pas- 
torates. On  this  the  exscinded  brethren  declared  a  "  secession." 
The  names  of  Ralph  Erskine,  James  Wardlaw,  and  others,  appear 
in  a  protest  against  the  committee's  action,  but  this  remonstrance 
was  unavailing.  In  1734  the  Assembly  modified  their  action  a 
little,  and  allowed  the  Synod  of  Perth-and-Stirling  to  "  fellowship" 
these  ministers. 

The  seceders  now  formed  an  "  Associated  Presbytery,"  and 
published  their  Act,  Declaration  and  Testimony  as  its  basis.  These 
ministers  consequently — being  eight  in  number — were  cited  for 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


107 


libel  in  1739  ;  and,  appearing  as  a  Presbytery  before  the  Assembly, 
they  declined  its  authority  and  withdrew  in  a  body. 

The  seceders  themselves  became  divided  at  a  later  period  on  the 
Burghers',  or  Burgesses',  oath,  which  was  in  force  in  certain  royal 
boroughs  of  Scotland.  It  reads  :  ' '  I  profess  and  allow  with  my 
heart  the  true  religion  presently  professed  within  this  realm,  and 
authorized  by  the  laws  thereof.  I  will  abide  at  and  defend  the 
same  to  my  life's  end,  renouncing  the  Romish  religion,  called 
Papistry. ' '  To  Ebenezer  and  Ralph  Erskine,  and  to  James  Fisher, 
with  some  others,  this  was  not  objectionable.  To  Alexander 
Moncrief,  Thomas  Mair,  James  Gib,  and  others,  it  was  decidedly 
obnoxious.  Thus  the  Erskines  headed  the  Burgher  Seceders,  and 
the  others  were  called  Anliburghers.  Each  claimed  to  be  the 
true  succession  to  the  "  Associate  Synod." 

This  is  as  far  into  the  history  as  it  is  needful  for  us  to  go. 
Pirie,  being  ejected  by  the  Antiburghers,  went  to  the  Burghers, 
having  received  a  call  from  the  church  at  Abernethy.  But  here 
also  he  was  in  trouble  with  his  Presbytery,  and  was  again  suspended 
from  the  ministry.  He  now  seceded  altogether  from  the  Secession 
Church.  In  1769  he  gave  his  reasons  in  a  pamphlet,  and  con- 
nected himself  with  the  Independents.  He  became  the  laborious 
and  useful  pastor  of  a  congregation  at  Newburgh,  Fifeshire,  and 
died  in  1804. 

Perhaps  some  clue  can  be  found  to  his  opinions  in  the  fact  that 
he  published  a  Dissertation  on  Baptism  (1790),  and  that  in  other 
writings  he  showed  himself  an  "  acute  millenarian."  He  was  an 
excellent  student  of  the  prophecies,  and  of  the  Hebrew  language. 

The  hymn  before  us  is  a  proof  of  his  close  adherence  to  the 
truths  and  traditions  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  It  is  Josephus  who 
affords  us  the  quotation,  and  those  who  would  look  further  may 
profitably  compare  The  Bible  Educator  (II.  349). 

The  language  of  Josephus  is  as  follows  : 

"  There  were  also  two  sardonyxes  upon  the  ephod,  at  the  shoulders,  to 
fasten  it,  in  the  nature  of  buttons,  having  each  end  running  to  the  sar- 
donyxes of  gold,  that  they  might  be  buttoned  by  them.  On  these  were 
engraven  the  names  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  in  our  own  country  letters,  and 
in  our  own  tongue,  six  on  each  of  the  stones,  on  either  side  ;  and  the 
elder  sons'  names  were  on  the  right  shoulder.  Twelve  stones  also  were 
there  upon  the  breastplate,  extraordinary  in  largeness  and  beauty  ;  and 
they  were  an  ornament  not  to  be  purchased  by  men,  because  of  their  im- 


108  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

mense  value.  .  .  .  The  names  of  all  those  sons  of  Jacob  were  engraven 
in  these  stones,  whom  we  esteem  the  heads  of  our  tribes,  each  stone  hav- 
ing the  honor  of  a  name  in  the  order  according  to  which  they  were  born." 
{Ant.  III.  7,  §  5-) 

Come,  let  us  lift  our  joyful  eyes. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts' s  hymns  contain   this  piece  as  Book  II.,  No.  108, 
"Access  to  the  Throne  of  Grace  by  a  Mediator."     It   has  six 
stanzas. 

Come,  let  us  sing  the  song  of  songs. — Montgomery. 
This  hymn  is  in  James  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns,  No.  89, 
where  it  has  the  title,  ' '  The  Song  of  Songs. ' '     There  are  seven 
stanzas,  and  the  date  is  1853. 

Come,  my  soul,  thou  must  be  waking. — Buckoll,  tr. 

This  and  other  translations  were  made  from  the  German  lyrics 
in  Bunsen's  Gesang  und  Gebetbuch,  by  Henry  James  Buckoll. 
He  was  graduated  at  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  1826.  He  died 
in  1 87 1,  an  assistant  master  at  Rugby  School.  The  translation 
was  published  in  the  British  Magazine  for  July,  1838,  and  is  from 
the  hymn  of  Baron  von  Canitz  :  "  Seek  du  Muszt  munter  wer- 
den."  Of  the  original  hymns  of  Buckoll  almost  nothing  is  known 
to  the  American  public.  Some  of  his  compositions  are  to  be 
found  in  the  collections  used  at  Eton  and  Harrow  Schools,  and  in 
the  Marylebone  collection  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Gurney.  As  Dr.  Thomas 
Arnold  was  at  one  time  the  editor  of  the  British  Magazine,  this 
hymn  has  often,  but  inaccurately,  been  referred  to  his  pen. 

The  author  of  the  German  hymn,  Friedrich  Rudolph  Ludwig, 
Freiherr  von  Canitz,  was  born  in  Berlin,  November  27th,  1654, 
and  he  died  as  Staatsrath  (State  Councillor),  August  nth,  1699. 
His  poetry  is  principally  lyrical,  and  was  not  published — at  least, 
his  hymns  were  not — until  1727.  This  translation,  as  lately  as 
1873,  was  marked  "  Anon.  1838." 

Some  other  particulars  relating  to  Von  Canitz  are  worthy  of  pres- 
ervation in  connection  with  his  hymn.  He  married,  1681,  the 
half-sister  of  that  Baron  von  Canstein  who,  with  Franke,  estab- 
lished the  Bible  Society  at  Halle.  He  was  highly  valued  as  a 
diplomat,  and  regarded  as  an  "  ornament  of  the  aristocracy."  In 
1695,  when  his  estate  of  Blumberg  was  ravaged  by  fire,  he  merely 
said:  "I  shall  build  the  poor  people's  cottages  again."     His 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


109 


wife  died,  April  9th,  1695,  in  hope  and  peace,  and  named  to  him, 
as  her  successor,  a  lady  to  whom  he  was  united  December  29th, 
1697.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  pious  Spener,  and  when,  in  1699, 
his  health  failed,  he  retired  into  calmness  and  meditation,  severing 
his  relations  with  the  busy  world. 

On  the  nth  day  of  August,  1699,  in  the  early  morning,  being 
then  very  low  with  dropsy,  he  asked  to  be  supported  to  the  win- 
dow. The  air  was  balmy  and  sweet,  and  the  sun  was  just  rising. 
Gazing  upon  it,  he  exclaimed  :  ' '  Oh,  if  the  sight  of  this  created 
sun  is  so  charming  and  beautiful,  what  will  be  the  sight  of  the  un- 
speakable glory  of  the  Creator  himself  I"  The  thought  overpow- 
ered him  ;  he  suddenly  fell  back,  and  breathed  his  last. 

Come,  Lord,  and  tarry  not.  — Bonar. 

There  are  fourteen  stanzas  to  this  hymn,  which  is  taken  from 
Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope  (1st  series).  It  also  bears  the  motto, 
"  '  Senuit  mundus.' — Augustine.  " 

This  conviction  that  the  affairs  of  earth  are  maturing  is  as  deep 
with  the  hymn-writers  as  with  the  theologians.  "  All  things  ripen, 
and  righteousness  also. ' ' 

Come,  my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare.  — Newton. 
This  is  another  of  Rev.  John  Newton's  contributions  to  the 
Olney  Hymns.  It  is  No.  31  of  Book  I.  There  it  has  seven 
stanzas,  and  is  founded  upon  1  Kings  3:5.  It  owes  something 
of  the  modern  revival  of  its  popularity  to  the  use  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon  has  been  making  of  it  in  divine  service.  It  is  said  he 
was  long  accustomed  to  have  one  or  more  stanzas  of  it  softly 
chanted  just  before  the  principal  prayer.  In  this  way  many  addi- 
tional thousands  of  people  became  familiar  with  its  words,  and 
so  learned  to  love  it. 

Come,  O  Creator  Spirit,  blest. — Caswall,  tr. 
In  this  piece  we  get  a  version  from  the  Veni  Creator  of  Rabanus 
Maurus.     For  the  original  hymn  and  its  history  see  "  The  Latin 
Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns. ' ' 

Come,  O  my  soul  !   in  sacred  lays. — Blacklock. 
The  author  of  the  present  hymn  (whose  date  is  1754)  is  Rev. 
Thomas  Blacklock,  a  man  whose  history  is  at  once  pathetic  and 
stimulating.      His  father  was  an  English  bricklayer,  and  his  mother 


no  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

was  of  the  same  nationality  ;  but  he  himself  was  born  at  Annan, 
in  Scotland,  November  ioth,  1721.  His  afflictions  began  with 
his  loss  of  sight  through  small-pox  at  the  early  age  of  six  months. 
The  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  total  blindness.  This  fact 
iurnishes  a  touching  commentary  on  the  second  stanza  of  the 
hymn  before  us. 

In  spite  of  the  combined  disadvantages  of  poverty,  and  the  loss 
of  vision,  the  child  showed  an  energy  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge 
which  ultimately  made  him  an  excellent  scholar,  and  gave  him 
merited  distinction  in  literature.  Dr.  Stevenson,  of  Edinburgh, 
furnished  him  with  the  means  of  prosecuting  his  education,  which 
was  carried  on  for  ten  years,  and  until  he  had  been  graduated 
with  honor  at  the  university.  He  then  entered  upon  the  study 
of  theology,  and  was  licensed  to  preach,  in  the  year  1759,  by  the 
Established  Presbytery  of  Dumfries.  In  1760  a  Crown  appoint- 
ment was  tendered  to  him  through  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  and  he 
assumed  the  care  of  the  congregation  at  Kirkcudbright. 

Once  more  that  which  should  have  been  a  reason  for  pity  and 
charity  became  a  cause  of  difficulty  and  obstruction.  For  the 
people  of  his  charge,  resenting  his  lack  of  sight,  and  not  appreci- 
ating his  wonderful  attainments,  made  him  as  uncomfortable  as 
they  could  for  the  space  of  two  years.  They  had,  indeed,  objected 
to  his  settlement  when  he  was  first  brought  to  them,  and  they  be- 
came more  inveterate  as  time  went  on,  as  is  the  manner  of  small- 
minded  and  prejudiced  folk.  The  case  was  taken  to  the  Presby- 
tery of  Kirkcudbright,  thence  to  the  Synod  of  Galloway,  and  thence 
again  to  the  General  Assembly  of  176 1.  By  the  order  of  this  last- 
mentioned  judicatory  he  was  installed  ;  but  that  did  not  relieve 
the  matter,  and  in  two  years'  time  the  parish  rebelled  and  forced 
his  retirement. 

Dr.  Blacklock  then  went  to  reside  in  Edinburgh,  where,  with 
his  wife's  help,  he  opened  a  boarding  and  day  school,  which  had 
a  fair  patronage.  He  also  possessed  a  small  annuity  ;  and  thus 
he  lived  for  many  years  with  some  share  of  happiness  and  compe- 
tence. During  this  period  he  acquired  the  French  and  Italian 
languages  in  addition  to  the  ancient  tongues,  and  grew  in  reputa- 
tion as  a  scholar  and  literary  man.  The  University  of  Aberdeen 
gracefully  recognized  this  fact  by  giving  to  him,  in  1766,  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  Ill 

There  was,  however,  another  line  of  literary  labor  in  which  Dr. 
Blacklock  gained  distinction.  As  early  as  1745,  and  again  in 
1754,  he  had  appeared  as  a  poet,  and  with  very  flattering  results. 
In  1756,  Rev.  Joseph  Spence,  the  Professor  of  Poetry  at  Oxford, 
wrote  an  introduction  to  the  quarto  edition  in  which  Blacklock's 
poems  were  reissued.  And  from  this  date,  the  recognition  which 
he  obtained  surpasses  that  of  most  of  our  best  poets.  Edmund 
Burke,  in  his  Sublime  and  Beautiful,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson, 
as  reported  by  Boswell,  unite  to  do  him  honor.  It  seems  to  have 
peculiarly  impressed  all  his  critics  that  this  blind  man  excelled  in 
accurate  descriptions  of  a  world  of  nature  on  which  he  had  never 
consciously  gazed.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  such  a 
performance  has  been  frequently  paralleled.  It  was  Francis  Ed- 
ward Smedley  (1819-64)  who,  although  a  cripple,  and  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  personal  experience  of  such  a  scene,  wrote  one  of 
the  best  descriptions  of  a  Derby  Day  which  we  can  meet  in  English 
literature.  It  was  Beethoven  who  conducted  his  orchestra  to  per- 
fect success  when  he  was  too  deaf  to  hear  the  plaudits  of  the  audi- 
ence, and  needed  some  one  to  turn  him  about  that  he  might 
acknowledge  them  at  the  proper  time.  And,  not  to  multiply  ex- 
amples, the  late  venerable  Lyman  Coleman,  D.  D.,  had  seen  his 
Biblical  Geography  an  accepted  text- book  long  before  he  had  set 
foot  in  the  Holy  Land.  To  this  last  fact  we  may  add  the  singular 
incident  that  Dr.  Coleman  finally  took  his  own  volume  as  his  hand- 
book through  the  country,  which  he  had  correctly  described  with- 
out having  seen  ! 

Dr.  Blacklock's  achievement  was  therefore  not  unparalleled, 
though  it  is  certainly  amazing.  Scotchmen  remember  him  by  his 
song,  "The  Braes  o'  Ballenden, "  and  the  list  of  his  other  pro- 
ductions is  extensive  and  valuable.  In  the  original  edition  of  the 
Encyclopedia  Britannica  he  is  the  author  of  the  paper  on  the  edu- 
cation of  the  blind. 

The  poet  has  left  us  his  own  portrait  in  verse  : 

"  Straight  is  my  person,  but  of  little  size, 
Lean  are  my  cheeks,  and  hollow  are  my  eyes  ; 
My  youthful  down  is,  like  my  talent,  rare, 
Politely  distant  stands  each  single  hair. 
My  voice  too  rough  to  charm  a  lady's  ear, 
So  smooth  a  child  may  listen  without  fear  ; 


112  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Not  formed  in  cadence  soft  and  warbling  lays, 
To  soothe  the  fair  through  pleasure's  wanton  ways. 
My  form  so  fine,  so  regular,  so  new, 
My  port  so  manly,  and  so  fresh  my  hue  ; 
Oft,  as  I  meet  the  crowd,  they  laughing  say, 
'  See,  see  Memento  Mori  cross  the  way  ! '  " 

There  is  nothing  great  or  grand  in  the  worthy  doctor's  poetry, 
but,  when  his  disadvantages  are  considered,  he  is  to  be  regarded 
with  respect,  and  the  present  hymn,  in  the  opinion  of  a  good 
critic,  is  estimated  as  "  ambitious,  and  somewhat  sublime." 

Dr.  Blacklock  died  in  Edinburgh,  July  7th,  1791,  of  a  nervous 
fever. 

Come,  pure  hearts,  in  sweetest  measure.  — R.  Campbell,  tr. 
This  hymn  is  a  free  translation  of  the  "  Jucundare  plebs  fidelis," 
which  was  written  by  Adam  of  St.  Victor  for  the  festival  of  the 
Holy  Evangelists.  Many  of  Mr.  Campbell's  translations  are  in 
Orby  Shipley's  Annus  Sanctus,  1884.  He  has  not  scrupled  to 
11  make  the  freest  use  of  the  previous  labors  of  others." 

Come,  sacred  Spirit  from  above.  — Doddridge. 
This  hymn  is  Dr.  Doddridge's  "  Hear,  gracious  Sovereign,  from 
thy  throne,"  with  the  irrelevant  first  and  last  stanzas  omitted.  It 
has  affixed  to  it  the  text  Ezek.  36  :  37.  The  hymn  has  been  de- 
cidedly improved  by  dropping  these  stanzas,  neither  of  which  add 
any  dignity  or  force  to  its  truly  devout  aspiration.  The  date  is 
1740. 

Come,  see  the  place  where  Jesus  lay. — Kelly. 

This  hymn  begins  '*  He's  gone  !  see  where  his  body  lay,"  and 
is  in  the  3d  edition  (1809)  of  Kelly's  hymns.  It  is  based  on 
Matt.  28:6,  and  has  six  stanzas.  It  was  re-written  into  this  form 
(1861)  for  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,  where  it  is  No.  116.  In 
Hutchins's  Annotations  to  the  Hymnal  the  original  is  given  in  six 
stanzas.     It  is  also  found  in  Resurgit,  p.  216. 

The  catholicity  of  hymns  has  a  fine  illustration  in  this  one. 
Kelly  was  so  strong  against  the  Church  of  England  in  his  sermons 
at  Dublin  that  the  archbishop  forbade  his  preaching,  and  he 
seceded  altogether  from  that  Communion.  Hymns,  Ancient  and 
Modern,  on  the  other  hand,  represents  the  strictly  High  Church 
side.     The  hymn  has  made  its  place  by  virtue  of  its  Christianity. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  113 

Come,  sound  his  praise  abroad. — Watts. 
This  is  Ps.  95,  S.  M.,  "A  Psalm  before  Sermon,"  and  has 
six  stanzas.  The  last  two  are  rather  minatory  and  are  usually 
omitted.  There  is  a  German  hymn  by  John  Mentzer,  "  O  dass 
ich  tausend  Zungen  hdlle"  ("  Oh,  that  I  had  a  thousand 
tongues!"),  which  expresses  this  same  idea  of  praise.  It  was 
written  in  1704,  just  after  a  fire  had  destroyed  all  that  its  author 
possessed.  It  is  almost  the  prototype  of  "Oh,  for  a  thousand 
tongues  to  sing  I"  There  is  also  a  suggestive  story  of  Schlipalius, 
a  Dresden  preacher,  about  1745,  who  used  to  say  to  his  family, 
"Children,  accustom  yourselves  to  God's  praise,  for  that  will  be 
our  chief  occupation  throughout  eternity.  But  here  we  must  make 
the  beginning. 

Come,  Spirit,  source  of  light. — Beddome,  altered. 

This  is  a  hymn  which  is  altered  from  "  Come,  blessed  Spirit ! 
source  of  light  I"   by  some  unknown  and  temerarious  hand  ! 

Come,  thou  Almighty  King.  — C.  Wesley.  (?) 
There  seems  to  be  some  doubt  about  this  authorship.  The 
hymn  is  not  in  John  Wesley's  Collection,  1779.  In  the  majority 
of  hymn-books  it  is  entered  as  the  production  of  Charles  Wesley, 
but  the  facts  are,  at  least,  worth  stating.  It  appeared  about  nine- 
teen years  subsequently  to  the  British  national  song,  "  God  save 
the  king,"  which  was  originally  published  in  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine,  in  1745.  It  is  found  in  the  collection  prepared  by 
Rev.  Spencer  Madan,  3d  edition,  1763.  In  this  it  is  adapted  to 
the  same  tune  as  "  God  save  the  King."  George  Whitefield 
placed  it  in  his  own  Collection,  and  this  appears  to  be  its  earliest 
publication  for  general  use.  He  made  this  when  chaplain  to  Lady 
Huntingdon  (ad.  1753),  anc*  it  cannot  have  undergone  much 
change,  for  it  retains  this  designation  of  him  in  its  18th  edition, 
1773,  where  this  hymn  is  called,  "  A  Hymn  to  the  Trinity." 

The  late  D.  Sedgwick,  on  the  strength  of  a  half-penny  leaflet, 
printed  in  1757,  and  containing  this  hymn,  with  two  others  by 
Charles  Wesley,  but  bearing  no  author's  name,  assigned  it  to 
Charles  Wesley.  Other  authorities  mark  it  doubtful  or  exclude  it 
altogether.  The  metre  in  which  the  hymn  is  written  is  unique 
among  Wesley's  verses,  and  Mr.  Sedgwick  has  damaged  his  abso- 
lute authority  on  such  points  by  his  error  in  respect  to  the  proper 


H4  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

designation  of  "Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing. ' '  Conse- 
quently, it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  this  piece  is  the  work  of 
Charles  Wesley.  On  the  evidence  before  us  we  can  only  query 
it,  and  let  it  pass. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  while  the  British  had  pos- 
session of  Long  Island,  a  body  of  troops  invaded  a  place  of  wor- 
ship one  Sunday  morning,  and  insisted  that  the  congregation 
should  sing  "  God  save  the  King."  In  reply  the  people  did  sing, 
but  it  was  another  set  of  words  to  the  same  tune  : 

"  Come,  thou  almighty  King, 
Help  us  thy  name  to  sing, 

Help  us  to  praise  ; 
Father  all-glorious, 
O'er  all  victorious, 
Come  and  reign  over  us, 
Ancient  of  days." 

The  tune,  "  God  save  the  King,"  has  been  much  disputed.  It 
is  now  usually  entered  as  an  amendment  by  Henry  Carey  (1696- 
1743),  from  Dr.  John  Bull,  who  died  in  1622.  Carey  died  in 
1743,  and  he  is  said  to  have  composed  the  words,  and  adapted 
the  music,  in  honor  of  George  II.,  about  three  years  previously 
(1740).  The  tune  was  first  published  in  1742.  )  The  French,  on 
the  other  hand,  claim  the  tune  as  found  at  St.  Cyr  by  Handel,  in 
1 72 1.  The  words  also,  "  Grand  Dieu,  sauvez  le  Roi,"  they  assert 
were  composed  by  Madame  de  Brinon,  the  Mother  Superior.  It 
is  further  stated  that  the  original  music  was  by  Lulli,  and  that 
three  hundred  young  ladies  sang  the  piece  before  Louis  XIV.  at 
St.  Cyr.  Mr.  J.  Cotter  Morison,  in  a  recent  work,  favors  this 
origin  for  words  and  tune. 

Come,  thou  Desire  of  all  thy  saints. — Steele. 

This  hymn  was  published  in  Miss  Steele's  Poems  by  Theodosia, 
1760.  It  has  seven  stanzas.  Dr.  C.  Evans,  of  Bristol,  intro- 
duced many  of  the  hymns  to  public  notice  in  his  Collection. 
These  are  signed  "  T." 

The  temptation  which  comes  to  all  of  God's  children,  soon  or 
late,  to  distrust  his  love,  to  mingle  "  complaints"  with  "  praises," 
and  to  wish  that  he  had  made  matters  other  than  they  are,  is  hap- 
pily illustrated  by  a  story  which  Rabbi  Akiba  told  to  his  disciples. 
"  A  fox,"  said  he,  "  was  walking  by  the  side  of  a  river  in  which 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  1 15 

the  fish,  in  great  agitation,  were  hurrying  to  and  fro.  '  Why  are 
you  hurrying  ? '  he  asked.  '  We  fear  the  nets  of  the  angler, '  they 
replied.  '  Then  come  with  me,'  said  the  fox,  '  and  live  on  the 
dry  land/  But  the  fishes  only  laughed.  '  Thou  art  thought  to 
be  the  wisest  of  beasts, '  they  exclaimed,  '  and  yet  thou  art  the 
most  foolish.  If  we  are  in  danger  in  our  own  element,  how  much 
more  do  we  risk  in  leaving  it  !  '  " 

Come,  thou  everlasting  Spirit. — C.  Wesley. 
Charles  Wesley  has  this  as  No.  16  of  his  Hymns  on  the  Lord"  s 
Supper,  with  the  title,    "  A   Memorial  of  the  Death  of  Christ.' ' 
This  is  not  the  same  hymn  as  ' 4  Come,  thou  everlasting  Lord. ' ' 

Come,  thou  everlasting  Lord. — C.  Wesley. 

Charles  Wesley's  Hymns  for  a  Family  have  a  peculiar  charm, 
and  they  all  seem  to  date  from  the  hymn,  "  Come,  thou  everlasting 
Lord."  Wesley  had  remained  single  for  nearly  forty  years.  He 
then  met  a  young  lady  in  Wales  who  interested  him  greatly,  and 
after  much  pondering  and  consultation  and  hymn-writing,  he  pro- 
posed, was  accepted,  and  was  married,  "Saturday,  April  8th, 
1749."  From  the  experiences  of  that  wedding-day  and  that  mar- 
riage these  hymns  came,  and  they  will  be  more  and  more  remark- 
able for  their  perfect  fitness  to  the  vicissitudes  of  family  life,  as  they 
are  studied  with  this  fact  in  view. 

The  bridegroom's  own  experience  can  be  best  given  in  his  own 
language  : 

"  Not  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen  from  morning  till  night.  I  rose  at  four  ; 
spent  three  hours  and  a  half  in  prayer,  or  singing,  with  my  brother,  with 
Sally,  with  Beck.  At  eight,  I  led  My  Sally  to  church.  Her  father,  sis- 
ters, Lady  Rudd,  Grace  Bowen,  Betty  Williams,  and,  I  think,  Billy 
Tucker,  and  Mr.  James  were  all  the  persons  present.  At  the  church-door 
I  thought  of  the  prophecy  of  a  jealous  friend,  '  that  if  we  were  even  at 
the  church-door  to  be  married,  she  was  sure,  by  revelation,  that  we  could 
get  no  farther.'  We  both  smiled  at  the  remembrance.  We  got  farther. 
Mr.  Gwynne  gave  her  to  me  (under  God)  ;  my  brother  joined  our  hands. 
It  was  a  most  solemn  season  of  love  !  Never  had  I  more  of  the  Divine 
Presence  at  the  sacrament.  My  brother  gave  out  the  following  hymn  : 
1  Come,  thou  everlasting  Lord,'  etc.  He  then  prayed  over  us  in  strong 
faith.  We  walked  back  to  the  house,  and  joined  again  in  prayer.  Prayer 
and  thanksgiving  was  our  whole  employment.  We  were  cheerful  without 
mirth,  serious  without  sadness.  .  .  .  My  brother  seemed  the  happiest 
person  among  us." 


1 1 6  ENGLISH  H  YMNS. 

Not  many  men  are  married  to  the  music  of  their  own  hymn  as 
Charles  Wesley  was.  Nor  are  there  many  weddings  of  such  a 
religious  and  reverential  cast     Says  Henry  Vaughan  : 

"  Praying  !  and  to  be  married  !     It  was  rare, 
But  now  'tis  monstrous  ;  and  that  pious  care, 
Though  of  ourselves,  is  so  much  out  of  date 
That  to  renew't  were  to  degenerate." 

Yet  Charles  Wesley  did  not  "  degenerate"    when  he  chose  to 
' :  renew' t. '  - 

Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing.  —  Robert  Robinson. 

There  are  notes  on  this  hymn  in  Notes  and  Queries,  volume  for 
July-December,  1858,  pp.  54,  116,  129,  198,  259,  420,  484, 
530.  Many  points  of  interest  are  there  discussed  at  large,  and  can 
be  examined  at  leisure.  The  controversy,  carried  on  in  those  col- 
umns, and  in  the  notes  to  Lyra  Britannica  and  elsewhere,  related 
especially  to  the  claim  of  Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  to  the 
authorship  of  the  hymn.  It  was  attributed  to  her  by  Mr.  Daniel 
Sedgwick,  who  professed  to  have  possession  of  a  manuscript  in 
which  her  friend,  Diana  (Vandeleur)  Bindon,  assigned  it  to  her. 
Mr.  Sedgwick  declared  that  the  handwriting  was  of  a  more  ancient 
style  than  that  in  use  when  Robinson  wrote  his  hymn.  Further, 
this  manuscript  is  bound  up  with  Wesley's  hymns  of  the  Dublin 
edition  of  1747,  and  the  name  of  Mrs.  Bindon  is  written  on  the 
title-page  as  "Diana  Bindon,  1759."  On  the  cover  is  pasted  a 
ticket  of  membership  in  a  Wesleyan  society,  of  the  presumed  date 
of  1763. 

Canvassing  this  evidence  Mr.  Miller  asserts  that  the  date  thus 
claimed  does  not  necessarily  go  back  of  1758,  which  in  itself  is 
not  destructive  of  Robinson's  authorship.  Mr.  Robinson,  more- 
over, when  giving  a  catalogue  of  his  writings  up  to  178 1,  positively 
includes  this  among  them,  stating  that  "  Mr.  Wheatley,  of  Nor- 
wich, published  a  hymn,  beginning,  '  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every 
blessing,'  since  reprinted  in  the  hymn-books  of  Messrs.  Madan, 
Wesley,  Gifford,  and  others,  etc."  (1758).  At  that  time,  too, 
Mr.  Robinson  lived  near  Norwich. 

In  short,  the  evidence  appears  conclusive  that  any  other  claim 
than  Robert  Robinson's  will  not  stand.  We  only  know  him  as  the 
author  of  two  hymns,  this  and   the  Christmas  hymn,  •'  Mighty 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  117 

God,  while  angels  bless  thee."  Mr.  Miller  and  Dr.  Rogers  have 
been  at  great  pains  to  establish  the  facts,  and  they  may  be  re- 
garded as  fixed  henceforward.  A  certain  confusion  arose,  indeed, 
from  a  letter  by  Robinson,  dated  December  3d,  1766,  in  which 
he  speaks  of  his  "II  hymns  which  Mr.  Whitefield  printed." 
Once  it  was  thought  that  this  numeral  stood  for  "  eleven"  instead 
of  "  two,"  and  the  lost  lyrics  were  assiduously,  and,  of  course, 
unsuccessfully,  sought. 

Among  those  who  add  testimony  to  the  truth  of  this  opinion  as 
to  the  authorship  of  the  hymn  is  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Belcher,  whose 
Historical  Sketches  of  Hymns  were  prepared  in  Philadelphia 
about  1858,  and  whose  care  and  accuracy  were  well  known  to 
those — of  whom  the  present  writer  was  one — who  encountered  him 
in  his  researches.  He  relates  that  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr. 
Robinson  was  somewhat  frivolous  in  his  conduct,  and  unspiritual 
in  his  ideas,  and  that,  travelling  in  a  stage-coach,  he  encountered 
a  lady  who  compelled  him  to  admit  his  acquaintance  with  religion. 
Do  what  he  would  he  could  not  divert  her  from  the  topic.  He 
became  much  agitated,  but  not  being  dressed  in  a  conventionally 
clerical  costume,  she  did  not  suspect  that  he  was  a  minister. 
Finally  she  quoted  to  him  this,  his  own  hymn,  and  spoke  of  the 
blessings  that  it  had  brought  to  her  heart.  Agitated  beyond  the 
power  to  control  his  emotion,  Robinson  broke  out,  "  Madam,  I 
am  the  poor  unhappy  man  who  composed  that  hymn,  many  years 
ago,  and  I  would  give  a  thousand  worlds, -if  I  had  them,  to  enjoy 
the  feelings  I  then  had."  This  was  told  to  Dr.  Belcher  by  one 
of  the  descendants  of  the  parties  in  question — but  whether  a  rela- 
tive of  Mr.  Robinson,  or  of  the  lady,  he  does  not  say — in  the 
neighborhood  of  1838. 

Let  it  be  noted  that  this  is  not  the  same  hymn  as  that  begin- 
ning, "  Hail,  thou  source  of  every  blessing  !"  which  was  written 
in  1799  by  the  Rev.  Basil  Woodd,  of  Portland  Chapel,  Maryle- 
bone.     The  only  resemblance  is  in  the  first  line  of  each. 

Come,  thou  soul-transforming  Spirit. — Evans. 

This  hymn  is  the  composition  of  a  very  remarkable  man.  Rev. 
Jonathan  Evans  was  born  at  Coventry,  in  England,  1749.  Until 
he  came  of  age,  he  was  an  employe  in  a  ribbon  factory  ;  he  had 
received  no  religious  instruction,  and  was  associated  with  the  de- 


1 1 8  ENGLISH  H  YMNS. 

graded  and  the  profligate.  In  1776  he  was  deeply  convicted  of 
sin,  and  after  his  conversion  became  a  very  different  person.  When 
he  had  united  with  the  church  of  Rev.  George  Burder,  or,  rather, 
with  that  West  Orchard  Street  chapel  of  which  Burder  became 
pastor  in  1783,  he  was  found  to  be  a  most  active  and  tireless 
Christian  worker.  Although,  in  one  sense,  a  business  man  all  his 
days,  he  soon  began  to  preach,  and  was  presently  known  as  a  lay 
evangelist  of  gifts  and  spirituality.  It  was  he  who  preached  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Burder  was  installed.  He  was 
also  in  the  habit  of  gathering  the  neglected  children  at  Foleshill, 
near  Coventry,  as  Robert  Raikes  was  doing  at  Gloucester,  for 
purposes  of  instruction. 

It  was  in  1784  that  he  fitted  up  his  historic  "  boat-house"  on 
the  canal-bank,  as  a  place  of  worship.  This  grew  into  a  chapel 
in  1797.  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  1797,  Mr.  Evans  was  publicly 
ordained  to  the  pastorate  of  that  organization,  which  was  the  result 
of  his  most  indefatigable  labors.  To  these  people  he  continued 
to  minister  with  great  success  and  spiritual  power  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  suddenly  on  the  31st  of  August,  1809. 

It  is  related  of  him  that  he  was  quite  a  doctor,  too,  and  was  in 
the  habit  of  helping  the  physical  as  well  as  the  mental  infirmities 
of  his  flock.  He  began  to  produce  poetical  compositions  very 
early,  and  published  some  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  for  February 
and  October,  1777.  Three  of  his  hymns  are  found  in  Burder's 
Colleclio?i,  1784,  and  twenty- two  appeared  in  the  Christian  Maga- 
zine, 1790-93.  Dr.  Belcher  says  he  left  many  others  in  manu- 
script. The  present  hymn  is  derived  from  Dr.  Rippon's  Collec- 
tion, 1787.  Mr.  Evans's  biography,  by  Rev.  John  Styles,  D.D., 
his  successor  at  Foleshill,  is  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine  for 
March,  1847. 

Come,  thou  long-expected  Jesus. — C.  Wesley. 

From  the  Nativity  Hymns  (1744).  Two  stanzas  comprise  the 
entire  hymn.  It  is  a  notable  piece,  but  has  only  of  late  years  ob- 
tained its  true  rank  in  the  collections. 

Come,  thou  who  dost  the  soul  endue. — Caswall,  tr. 
This  hymn  does  not  appear  in  Caswall 's  collected  Hymns  and 
Poems,    1873.      It   is   credited    to   him,    however,    in    Novello's 
Hymnary,  2d  ed.,  1872,  where  he   is  thanked   in  the  preface  for 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  119 

allowing,  with  others,  the  ' '  free  use  of  their  translations  and 
hymns."     The  date  is,  consequently,  c.  1871. 

Come  to  Calvary's  holy  mountain. — Montgomery. 
In   the  Original  Hymns  of  James  Montgomery  this  is  Hymn 
57,  "A  Fountain  opened  for  Sin  and  Uncleanness. "     It  has  four 
stanzas,  and  the  date  is  taken  from  its  appearance  in  the  Christian 
Psalmist,  1825. 

Come  unto  me,  ye  weary. — W.  C.  Dix. 
Rev.  James  King,  in  compiling  his  Anglican  Hymnology,  1885, 
has  given  this  hymn  a  place  among  the  ' '  Standard  Hymns  of  the 
Future,"  as  indicated  by  the  preferences  expressed  in  current 
hymnals.  The  date  is  1864,  and  thirteen  out  of  the  fifty-two 
English  collections  which  he  examines  include  it. 

Come,  we  who  love  the  Lord. — Watts. 

This  is  No.  30  of  Dr.  Watts' s  Book  II.  There  it  has  ten 
stanzas,  and  is  entitled,  "  Heavenly  Joy  on  Earth."  In  the  sec- 
ond stanza  the  author  wrote  the  line,  "  But  fav' rites  of  the  heav- 
enly King. "  With  a  very  finical  taste  for  so-called  restoration, 
some  of  the  modern  collections  have  expunged  the  excellent  emen- 
dation, children,  and  replaced  the  awkward  fav* rites. 

There  was  once  a  difficulty  in  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  West's  congre- 
gation in  the  old  New  England  times.  The  choir  had  declined 
to  proceed  with  the  music.  So  the  shrewd  clergyman  introduced 
the  services  with  this  hymn.  Having  read  it  slowly  through,  he 
looked  significantly  up  at  the  performers  in  the  gallery,  and  said  : 
"  Please  commence  at  the  second  verse."  It  is  needless  to  men- 
tion that  the  choir  went  on  as  usual,  and  sang  with  the  rest  : 

"  Let  those  refuse  to  sing 
Who  never  knew  our  God." 

This  was  a  better  method  than  one  pursued  by  a  clergyman  in 
America,  who  shall  remain  nameless,  and  who  said  to  the  choir  in 
high  dudgeon  :  "If  the  angels  in  heaven  could  hear  you  singing, 
they  would  come  down  and  wring  all  your  little  necks  !"  It  was 
in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  Had  it  been  in  these 
degenerate  times  he  would  scarcely  have  dared  to  free  his  soul  in 
so  bold  a  fashion. 

Rev.    Andrew   Kinsman  met   a   young   clergyman   with    Rev 


120  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

George  Whitefield,  at  the  Tabernacle-house,  just  before  White- 
field's  departure  for  America.  There  was  after  dinner  a  tremen- 
dous storm  of  thunder  and  lightning.  Mr.  Kinsman,  supposing 
the  clergyman  "to  be  a  serious  person,"  put  his  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  and  quoted  a  stanza  of  this  hymn,  which  is  not  in  our 
later  collections  : 

"  The  God  that  reigns  on  high, 
And  thunders  when  he  please, 
That  rides  upon  the  stormy  sky 
And  manages  the  seas," 

ending  with  the  next  stanza, 

"  This  awful  God  is  ours, 
Our  Father  and  our  Love." 

It  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  his  companion. 

Come,  ye  thankful  people,  come. — Alford. 

These  verses  were  written  in  the  year  1844,  as  a  hymn  for 
"After  Harvest."  The  author  is  Dean  Henry  Alford,  who  was 
born  in  London,  October  7th,  18 10.  His  education  was  received 
at  Ilminster  Grammar  School,  Somerset,  and  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge.  Here  he  took  high  honors,  and  in  1834  became  a 
Fellow.  His  career  has  been  that  of  a  scholar  and  ecclesiastical 
writer.  His  Greek  Testament  with  notes,  and  his  beautiful  ' '  Re- 
vision" of  the  English  version,  are  permanent  testimony  to  his 
taste  and  research.  He  was  the  editor  of  the  Contemporary  Re- 
view, and  prepared,  in  1867,  a  hymnal  in  which  fifty-five  out  of 
the  whole  number  of  hymns  are  his  own. 

From  1853  to  1857  he  preached  in  the  Quebec  Street  Chapel, 
London,  printing  these  eloquent  sermons  in  1854  and  1855.  In 
1857  he  succeeded  Dean  Lyall,  of  Canterbury.  His  poems  ap- 
peared in  a  fourth  edition,  in  1865.  He  died  at  Canterbury,  on 
the  1 2  th  of  January,  1871. 

An  incident  in  connection  with  Dr.  Alford 's  catholicity  of  feel- 
ing may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  He  was  in  the  South  of  Eng- 
land, and  took  occasion  to  attend  worship  in  a  small  chapel  where 
the  person  who  preached  the  sermon  was  a  woman.  She  held 
forth  in  language  which  has  been  reported  to  less  emancipated 
Christians  as  follows  :  "  Some  men  tell  us  they  are  the  only  au- 
thorized dealers  in  truth,  when  they  themselves  have  never  under- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  121 

stood  it ;  they  sing  their  prayers  and  chant  their  psalms,  while 
they  have  no  more  of  the  spirit  of  either  than  the  organs  in  their 
steeple-houses." 

It  is  not  unexpected  for  us  to  read  that  the  stranger,  who  was  the 
dean  himself,  was  amused,  and  that  he  told  his  friends  about  the 
circumstance.  But  whether  he  received  it  as  a  moral  lesson  may 
be  safely  considered  an  unsettled  point. 

Come,  ye  disconsolate,  where'er  ye  languish. — Moore. 

It  is  something  of  a  surprise  for  us  to  find  that  the  Sacred 
Songs,  1816,  of  Byron's  friend,  Thomas  Moore,  number  not 
less  than  thirty-two.  And  it  is  an  additional  surprise  when  we 
see  that  there  is  nothing  of  godliness  that  made  any  noticeable 
mark  on  the  author's  life  and  character. 

He  was  born  in  Dublin,  May  28th,  1779.  His  personal  history 
is  in  any  work  on  English  literature,  and  therefore  needs  no  further 
notice  except  that  he  died  at  Sloperton  Cottage,  in  Wiltshire,  Feb- 
ruary 26th,  1852,  in  his  seventy-third  year.  One  of  the  best  brief 
biographies  of  him  is  in  Howitt's  Homes  0/ the  Poets. 

"  Tom  Moore"  is  an  unequalled  song-writer,  and  these  sacred 
pieces  have  a  fervor  which  would  lead  us  to  augur  well  for  the  soul 
behind  them.  Lyra  Hibernica  Sacra  contains  seven  of  them,  and 
even  then  does  not  include  this.  But  no  one  can  read  "  Thou 
art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light,"  or  "  The  bird  let  loose  in  eastern 
skies,"  or  "O  thou!  who  dry' st  the  mourner's  tear,"  without 
becoming  convinced  that  the  poet  of  the  Irish  Melodies  was  also  a 
poet  of  the  Church.  Moore's  prose  was  as  smooth  as  his  verse, 
and  The  Epicurean,  and  the  lives  of  Sheridan,  Byron,  Fitzgerald, 
and  Lord  John  Russell  evince  his  industry.  His  latest  years  were 
passed  under  the  cloud  of  mental  infirmity,  and  perhaps,  if  we  ex- 
amine his  ' '  Travels  of  an  Irish  Gentleman  in  Search  of  a  Re- 
ligion, ' '  we  shall  have  reason  to  be  somewhat  charitable  toward 
his  apparent  lack  of  faith. 

Come,  ye  that  know  and  fear  the  Lord.  — Burder. 

This  was  a  hymn  of  nine  stanzas,  prepared  by  Rev.  George 
Burder,  after  his  settlement  at  Coventry,  and  published  in  his 
Collection,  in  1784.  It  is  one  of  the  three  hymns  of  the  first 
edition  of  that  book,  which  are  credited  to  him. 

The  others  are  :   "  Great  the  joy  when  Christians  meet  "  [Some- 


122  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

times  written,  "  Sweet  the  time,"  etc.],  and,  "  Come,  dear  Desire 
of  nations  !  come. ' ' 

Complete  in  thee,  no  work  of  mine. — Wolfe. 

The  Rev.  Aaron  Robarts  Wolfe,  of  Montclair,  N.  J.,  is  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Modest,  and  even  sensitive,  as 
he  has  always  been  regarding  any  personal  history  of  himself  and 
his  hymns,  he  has  been  good  enough  to  remove  somewhat  of  this 
restriction  in  recent  letters  to  Professor  Bird,  and  to  the  present 
writer.  In  reply  to  certain  questions,  called  iorth  by  an  imperfect 
sketch  which  this  last  inquirer  had  diligently  ferreted  out,  Mr. 
Wolfe  says  : 

"I  was  indeed  born  in  182 1,  September  6th,  at  Mendham, 
N.  J.,  and  was  baptized  by  Philip  C.  Hay,  just  after  he  succeeded 
Samuel  Hanson  Cox  in  the  pastorate  at  that  place." 

Mr.  Wolfe  was  graduated  at  Williams  College  with  the  class  of 
1844,  for  whose  fortieth  reunion  (July  1st,  1884)  he  wrote  a  very 
pleasant  little  poem.  This  has  one  stanza,  at  least,  with  the  real 
hymn-movement  to  it  : 

"  The  world  lies  backward  to  our  gaze, 
The  future  close  at  hand, 
The  hoary  heads  now  catch  the  rays 
That  gild  the  better  land." 

From  Williams  College  our  author  turned  to  the  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  where  he  remained  until  the  completion  of  his 
studies,  in  1851.  Next,  he  was  in  charge  of  a  school  for  young 
ladies  in  Tallahassee,  Florida  (1852-55). 

As  Mr.  Wolfe's  account  differs  decidedly  at  this  pcint  from 
other  statements  which  are  in  print,  we  quote  his  own  language  : 

"  I  completed  my  theological  course  at  the  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary, in  June,  1851,  having  previously  been  licensed  by  the  Third  Pres- 
bytery, of  New  York,  April  9th.  I  established  in  this  place  [Montclair, 
N.  J.],  in  1859,  '  The  Hillside  Seminary  for  Young  Ladies,'  and  carried 
it  on  successfully  until  1872.  Since  the  latter  year  I  have  been  in  retiracy, 
and  much  cf  the  time  a  very  great  invalid." 

The  present  hymn  was  written  while  Mr.  Wolfe  was  in  the  theo- 
logical seminary,  and  is  the  only  piece  which  was  not  directly  pre- 
pared for  Dr.  Hastings's  Church  Melodies.  It  first  appeared  in 
the  New  York  Evangelist,  1851  or  1852. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  123 

When  so  little  has  been  known  about  the  author  of  such  excel- 
lent and  acceptable  hymns,  it  is  proper  to  record  their  titles  and 
themes.  They  are  signed  in  Church  Melodies  with  the  initials, 
"A.  R.  W.,"  and  the  first  numbers  here  given  are  the  numbers 
in  that  collection  : 

407.  "  A  parting  hymn  we  sing." 
("  And  when  they  had   sung  a  hymn,  they  went  out." — Matt.  26  :  30.) 

421.   "  Complete  in  thee,  no  work  of  mine." 
("  Ye  are  complete  in  him."— Col.  2  :  10.      This  hymn  was  recast  from 
"  Complete  in  him,"  etc.). 
771.   "  Draw  near,  O  holy  Dove,  draw  near." 

("  At  the  Communion." — 1  Cor.  11  :  24  ;  Luke  22  :  19.) 
837.   "  How  blest  indeed  are  they." 

("  Assimilation  to  Christ." — 2  Cor.  3  :  18.) 

[Mr.  Wolfe  comments  :  "  If  the  thoughts  of  this  hymn  were  re-cast  to  another  measure, 
it  seems  to  me  it  might  be  made  to  fill  a  vacancy."] 

487.   "  My  God,  I  thank  thee  for  the  guide." 

("  Conscience.") 
726.  "  Mysterious  influence  divine." 

("  Attraction  of  the  Cross.") 

[Mr.  Wolfe's  note  :  "  This  reads  very  well,  but  does  not  sing1'1 — a  remark  which  shows 
his  close  scrutiny  of  his  own  work,  for  this  is  a  good  deal  less  philosophical  than  some 
"  hymns"  that  are  offered  to  the  Christian  Church.  But  it  is  quite  true  that  the  Christian 
Church  will  not  sing  them.] 

466.   "  Thou  Maker  of  our  mortal  frame." 

("  Chief  End  of  Man." — 1  Cor.  6  :  19-30.) 

This  makes  a  list  of  seven  pieces — all,  in  fact,  which  Mr.  Wolfe 
has  published  in  the  form  of  hymns.  The  younger  Dr.  Hastings 
was  a  classmate,  and  the  author  was  a  frequent  visitor  in  the  family. 
We  may  possibly  be  forgiven  for  extracting  another  passage  from 
one  of  Mr.  Wolfe's  letters  : 

"  In  truth,  having  given  wings  to  these  things,  I  never  expected  to  hear 
of  them  again,  much  less  to  have  any  of  them  '  return  to  plague  the  in- 
ventor.' I  have  been,  within  the  last  three  or  four  years,  greatly  sur- 
prised by  inquiries  similar  to  yours,  with  reference  to  two  or  three  others 
of  the  small  list.  Sometimes  I  have  serious  questioning  whether  I  ought 
not  to  have  given  place  to  the  earnest  counsel  of  my  dear  old  friends, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Hastings,  to  engage  with  special  directness  in  this 
line  of  composition  ;  but  somehow  the  idea  of  '  making  a  business  of  it' 
was  not  congenial  to  me,  and,  besides,  I  have  found  the  afflatus  singu- 
larly independent  and  defiant  of  the  will.  Pardon  me  for  writing  so  much 
about  so  little,  and  believe  me,"  etc. 


124  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Creator  Spirit,  by  whose  aid. — Dryden,  tr. 

This  is  a  translation,  by  the  celebrated  poet,  John  Dryden, 
of  the  Veni  Creator  Spiritus  of  Rabanus  Maurus,  Bishop  of 
Mayence,  for  which  see  "The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their 
Hymns."  Dryden' s  version  has  been  among  the  best-known  and 
most  acceptable.  But  the  man  himself  was  not  a  commendable 
person.  His  courage  and  ability  as  a  literary  knight-errant  are 
conspicuous  in  the  history  of  English  letters.  He  arrived  at  Lon- 
don in  a  "  drugget  coat,"  wretchedly  poor.  He  attained,  by 
various  means,  a  commanding  position  in  literature,  and  his  style 
of  composition  affected  the  productions  of  many  later  poets,  par- 
ticularly those  of  Alexander  Pope.  But  it  is  to  Dryden  that 
we  must  ascribe  the  foulness  of  the  "  rhymed  drama,"  and  the 
degradation  which  much  of  the  poetry  of  the  time  exhibits. 

The  translation  from  which  this  hymn  is  selected  consists  of 
thirty-nine  lines.  The  date  may  be  put,  conjecturally,  about 
1690.  It  is  doubtless  somewhere  between  1686  and  1700.  It 
only  remains  for  us  to  place  John  Dryden  on  record  as  born 
August  9th,  1 63 1,  at  Aldwinkle,  Northamptonshire,  and  dying 
May  1st,  1700.  It  is  a  strange  fact  that  one  of  his  hymns— a  really 
admirable  one — has  never  been  utilized.  We  insert  it  here,  from 
the  original  edition  (now  in  the  Philadelphia  Library)  of  his  Sacred 
Poetry,  in  two  volumes.     (London  :  T.  Rickaby,  1790.) 

ON   GOD'S    HOLINESS. 

O  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  ! 

In  deep  abasement  we 
To  sing  thy  holiness  accord, 

And  join  in  praise  to  thee. 
Holy  art  thou  in  all  thy  ways, 

Thy  works  are  holy,  too, 
And  none  but  those  shall  see  thy  face, 

That  holiness  pursue. 
Thy  holiness  immensely  bright, 

Thro'  worlds  unknown  must  shine  ; 
The  rays  too  strong  for  angel's  sight, 

Too  glorious  and  divine  ! 
But  round  thy  throne  this  sacred  throng, 

Forever  veiled  adore  ; 
And  holy,  holy,  is  their  song, 

Lord  God,  for  evermore  ! 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  125 

Cross,  reproach,  and  tribulation  ! — Tr.  Gotter. 

The  curse  of  the  righteous  is  better,  so  the  ancients  used  to  say, 
than  the  blessing  of  the  wicked.  For  example,  they  often  pointed 
to  the  curse  of  Ahijah  the  Shilonite  (1  Kings  12  :  15),  and  to  the 
blessing  of  Balaam,  the  son  of  Beor.  Ahijah  cursed  Israel,  and 
said  that  it  should  be  smitten  "  as  the  reed  is  shaken  in  ,the 
water. ' '  But  the  reed  in  the  water  bends  and  does  not  break, 
since  in  that  situation  its  roots  are  strong.  But  Balaam  blessed 
Israel,  and  said  that  it  should  be  "as  the  cedar-trees  beside  the 
waters."  But  the  cedar  does  not  naturally  grow  beside  the  waters, 
and  should  it  be  found  there,  its  roots  are  weak. 

This  hymn  is  translated  from  the  German  of  Lewis  Andrew 
Gotter,  born  at  Gotha,  1661,  where  his  father  was  the  court  chap- 
lain. It  is  not  known  who  gave  this  rendering  into  English,  but 
the  original  author  became  private  secretary  to  the  Duke  of  Gotha, 
and  was  a  pious,  gifted,  and  humble  man — so  humble,  indeed, 
that  he  did  not  make  it  known  that  he  wrote  hymns.  His  verses 
include  the  Psalms  and  the  Passion  of  Christ,  and  the  pieces 
number  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  in  all.  After  his  death  at 
Gotha,  in  1735,  these  were  published.  They  are  marked  by  fervor 
of  spirit  and  simplicity  of  expression. 

The  original  hymn  is,  "  Gluck  zu  Creutz  von  ganzem  Herzen," 
rendered  in  the  1754  edition  of  the  Moravian  hymn-book  as 
"Welcome,  cross  and  tribulation."  In  the  edition  of  1789  the 
present  version  takes  its  place,  in  five  stanzas.  The  date  of  the 
German  composition  is  1697,  and  the  Lyra  Germanica,  first 
series,  has  Miss  Winkworth's  translation,  commencing,  "  O  cross, 
we  hail  thy  bitter  reign, ' '  and  containing  eleven  stanzas. 

Crown  him  with  many  crowns.  — Bridges. 
Matthew  Bridges  (improperly  spelled  Brydges),  the  younger  son 
of  John  Bridges,  of  Wallington  House,  Surrey,  England,  was  born 
at  The  Friars,  Maldon,  Essex,  England,  July  14th,  1800.  He 
was  a  brother  of  Rev.  Charles  Bridges,  and  published  his  earliest 
verses  in  1825.  The  probable  date  of  the  hymn  is  1852,  since  it 
is  found  in  Mr.  Bridges's  volume  of  that  date,  entitled,  The  Pas- 
sion of  Jesus.  He  had  published  Hymns  of  the  Heart  in  1847, 
and  followed  them  into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  1848. 
The  title  given  to  the  present  piece  (which  has  been  re-cast  by 


126  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Rev.  Godfrey  Thring)  is  "The  Song  of  the  Seraphs."  Roman 
Catholic  and  Ritualistic  publications  contain  many  of  his  hymns. 
They  are,  indeed,  spiritual  and  beautiful. 

Crown  his  head  with  endless  blessing. — Goode. 

Goode  deserves  a  certain  enlarged  notice  for  other  reasons  beside 
his  hymns.  In  1816  he  is  recorded  in  Living  Authors  as  rector 
of  "St.  Andrew  [by  the]  Wardrobe  and  St.  Ann's,  Blackfriars, 
and  lecturer  of  St.  John's,  Wapping."  He  was  (it  is  added)  "  a 
graduate  of  Magdalen  Hall,  Oxford,  [B.  A.  1784,  M.A.  1787],  and 
curate  to  Mr.  Romaine,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  rectory  of  St. 
Ann's." 

William  Goode  was  born  of  pious  parents,  at  Buckingham, 
April  2d,  1762.  At  thirteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  be  educated 
by  Rev.  William  Bull,  a  Dissenting  minister,  at  Newport  Pagnel, 
where  young  Goode  soon  became  earnestly  religious,  and  con- 
ducted prayer-meetings  among  his  fellow-pupils.  This  was  the 
clergyman  who  was  so  devoted  to  Madame  Guyon's  memory,  and 
who  induced  Cowper  to  translate  her  hymns. 

The  boy's  time,  from  the  age  of  fourteen  to  that  of  sixteen,  was 
given  to  assisting  in  his  father's  business,  with  "  morning  exer- 
cises" in  Hebrew.  In  1778  he  underwent  a  more  formal  prepa- 
ration for  college,  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Thomas  Clarke,  rector  of 
Chesham  Bois.  His  parents  had  been  driven  from  the  parish 
church  by  the  unspi ritual  preaching,  and  hence  they  were  Church 
people  with  Dissenting  tendencies. 

After  his  graduation,  Mr.  Goode  was  ordained  a  deacon,  1784, 
and  received  the  curacy  of  Abbott's  Langley,  the  same  year. 
Thence  he  removed,  1 786,  to  become  the  curate  of  the  godly  Wil- 
liam Romaine,  author  of  the  Triumph  of  Faith,  whom  he  suc- 
ceeded at  St.  Ann's  and  St.  Andrew's,  after  nine  years  (July  25th, 
1795),  upon  the  presentation  to  him  of  the  living  by  the  Crown. 
Mr.  Goode  held  the  lectureship  of  St.  Lawrence,  as  well  as  that 
of  St.  John — a  sufficient  proof  that  he  was  an  earnest  and  devoted 
man. 

It  is  as  a  pastor  that  he  was  most  eminent,  but  from  the  year 
1 79 1  he  combined  with  these  duties  much  of  literary  work  and 
outside  benevolence.  He  was  for  twenty-one  years  the  secretary 
of  the  "  Society  for  the  Relief  of  Poor  Pious  Clergymen."     The 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  127 

title  is  pathetic.  There  were  many  clergymen  who  did  not  merit 
either  adjective,  and  the  religious  system  of  those  days  placed  less 
reliance  on  a  man's  piety  than  it  did  on  his  social  standing. 

Mr.  Goode  assisted  also  to  found  the  "  Church  Missionary 
Society,"  and  it  was  on  one  of  his  journeys  with  the  secretary,  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  society,  that  he  fell  sick  at  Ipswich, 
September,  1814,  and  contracted  a  disease  which  never  left  him. 
On  the  15th  of  April,  18 16,  he  died.  His  great  sufferings  were 
borne  with  patience  and  resignation,  and  his  last  words  were, 
11  Dear  Jesus  !  precious  Jesus  I"  He  was  a  person  of  the  sincerest 
and  purest  piety,  and  from  his  pen  fitly  comes  this  hymn,  which 
is  one  of  our  very  noblest  songs  of  praise  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

He  left  (in  short-hand)  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  essays  on  the 
Titles  of  our  Lord,  which  were  printed  posthumously  in  1822.  In 
181 1  he  had  published  a  New  Version  of  the  Psalms  (2  vols., 
8vo),  by  which  he  attempted,  but  in  vain,  to  supersede  the  use  of 
Tate  and  Brady  in  the  Prayer-Book.  The  third  edition,  however, 
was  called  for  and  issued  the  same  year  in  which  he  died. 

Daily,  daily  sing  the  praises. — Baring-Gould. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  about  1867.  It  is  part  of  a  long  poem 
of  eleven  stanzas,  with  a  chorus  which  can  be  added  to  each,  and 
which  is  printed  in  the  Schaff-Gilman  Library  of  Religious  Poetry. 
Rev.  Sabine  Baring-Gould  is  one  of  the  most  deeply  learned  me- 
diaevalists  of  the  present  generation.  His  knowledge  of  old  legends, 
and  of  the  Middle-Age  imagery  as  found  in  its  religious  writers, 
have  conspired  to  produce  the  hymn,  which  is  one  of  great  beauty. 
It  was  probably  first  utilized  in  America  as  a  hymn  in  the  Hitch- 
cock-Schaff- Eddy  Hymns  and  Songs  of  Praise,  1874. 

Daughter  of  Zion  !  awake  from  thy  sadness. — Anon,  1830. 
This  piece,  in  the  Church  Psalmody,  1831,  is  attributed  to  Fitz- 
gerald's Collection,  1830.  This  is  the  credit  given  in  Beman's 
Sacred  Lyrics,  1841,  and  in  the  New  Haven  Collection  of  1845. 
It  was  printed  in  Hastings's  Spiritual  Songs,  1833.  The  infer- 
ence fairly  is  that  the  hymn  is  of  American  origin,  and  ought  to 
be  so  identified.  Dr.  Hastings,  however,  did  not  write  it.  So 
Rev.  Thomas  S.  Hastings,  D.D.,  has  verified  for  us.  He  has  in- 
dexed the  six  hundred  hymns  left  in  manuscript  by  his  father,  and 
this  is  not  among  them. 


128  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Day  is  dying  in  the  west.  — Lathbury. 
This  hymn,  as  Miss  Lathbury  is  good  enough  to  inform  us, 
was  written  at  the  request  of  Rev.  John  H.  Vincent,  D.D.,  in  the 
summer  of  1880.  It  was  a  "vesper  song,"  and  has  been  fre- 
quently used  in  the  responsive  services  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary 
and  Scientific  Circle  ("C.  L  S.  C")  The  author  is  Mary  A. 
Lathbury,  born  in  Manchester,  Ontario  County,  N.  Y.,  August 
10th,  1 84 1.  She  is  at  present  a  resident  of  New  York  City,  and 
this  hymn  is  one  of  those  which  has  a  secure  place  in  Chautauqua 
Carols.  Miss  Lathbury  is  known  to  the  readers  of  current  religious 
periodicals  as  a  writer  of  more  than  ordinary  merit.  Her  verses 
are  always  graceful  and  spiritual.  She  will  be  remembered  equally 
well,  however,  as  the  founder  of  the  "  Look-Up  Legion,' '  which 
is  based  on  the  four  good  rules  in  Edward  Everett  Hale's  "  Ten 
Times  One  is  Ten. ' '     These  are  : 

"  Look  up,  and  not  down  ; 
Look  forward,  and  not  back  ; 
Look  out,  and  not  in, 
And  lend  a  hand." 

To  these  he  now  adds  a  fifth  :  ' '  In  His  name. ' ' 

The  history  of  these  little  rules  is  remarkable,  and  their  author 
has  been  collecting  information,  as  to  their  employment  and  bene- 
ficial effects,  for  many  years.  They  furnish  a  really  unique  con- 
tribution to  the  history  of  Christian  endeavor.  Miss  Lathbury' s 
share  in  this  work  obtains  an  appropriate  recognition  in  the  sketch 
of  Mr.  Hale's  life  and  writings  in  the  Century  Magazine  for  Janu- 
ary, 1885,  p.  342.  A  magazine  called  Lend  a  Hand  is  the 
present  exponent  of  the  movement. 

Day  of  judgment,  day  of  wonders. — Newton. 
John  Newton  sailed  from  Liverpool  in  August,  1750,  as  com- 
mander of  a  stanch  ship.  His  crew  consisted  of  thirty  persons, 
whom  he  endeavored  to  treat  in  accordance  with  his  principles, 
for  he  had  now  become  a  Christian.  He  read  prayers  on  Sunday, 
and  set  a  good  example  to  his  men.  Having  leisure,  he  now  re- 
vived his  studies,  which  had  been  practically  suspended  since  he 
was  taken  to  sea  by  his  father  (a  ship  captain),  in  his  eleventh 
year.  By  the  help  of  a  Latin  dictionary  he  attacked  the  classics, 
and  mastered  Horace,  Juvenal,  Livy,  Caesar  and  Sallust.      "  He 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  12g 

began  with  the  first  page,  and  made  it  a  rule  not  to  proceed  to  a 
second,"  says  his  biographer,  Cecil,  "  till  he  understood  the  first." 
He  added  to  this  list  in  the  space  of  two  or  three  voyages,  and 
read  Terence,  Virgil,  Cicero,  and  such  modern  writers  as  the  Eng- 
lishman, Buchanan  ;  the  Hollander,  Erasmus  ;  and  the  Polish 
poet  Casimir,  the  author  of  "  Urit  me  patriot  decor"  It  must 
have  been  in  some  such  manner  that  he  gradually  fell  in  with  the 
Latin  hymns— at  least  with  the  "Dies  Ires, "  for  the  present  hymn 
is  nothing  if  not  a  paraphrase  of  that  grand  sequence.  The  date 
is  June  26th,  1774,  on  which  day  (Sunday)  he  used  it  for  his 
theme,  having  taken  two  days  to  complete  it. 

Day  of  wrath,  O  dreadful  day. — Stanley,  tr. 
Mr.  John  Edmands,  Librarian  of  the  Mercantile  Library  of 
Philadelphia,  has  prepared  a  bibliography  of  the  "Dies  Irce,"  which 
(like  all  his  excellent  compilations  of  this  sort)  is  wonderfully  elab- 
orate and  complete.  His  list  of  versions  is  very  valuable  as  locat- 
ing— in  most  cases— the  first  appearance  of  the  translation.  We 
are  indebted  to  him  for  the  information  that  this  hymn  was  pub- 
lished by  Dean  Stanley  in  Macmillari s  Magazine,  vol.  19,  p.  167, 
and  reprinted  in  Littell' s  Living  Age,  vol.  100,  p.  130.  The  date 
is  1868.  Mr.  Edmands' s  notes  on  Dr.  Irons's  version,  1848,  are 
also  valuable.  See  also  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their 
Hymns"  for  the  Latin  hymn  and  its  history. 

Days  and  moments  quickly  flying. — Caswall. 
An  original  hymn  by  Rev.  Edward  Caswall,  bearing  date  1858, 
and  taken  from  his  Masque  of  Mary,  and  Other  Poems.  Or, 
rather,  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  combination  of  two  original  hymns, 
one  being  on  the  "  Swiftness  of  Time,"  and  the  other  "  A  Warn- 
ing." Mr.  Caswall  has  himself  placed  it  among  his  "  Hymns 
and  Meditative  Pieces"  in  his  Hymns  and  Poems,  1873. 

Dear  Lord,  amid  the  throng  that  pressed. — Denny. 
Among    Sir    Edward     Denny's    Miscellaneous    Hymns   this    is 
"The  Faithful   Few,"  Luke   2$  149.     There  are  three  stanzas, 
and  the  date  is  probably  1839. 

Dear  Father,  to  thy  mercy-seat.  — Steele. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  this  hymn,  like  others,  perplexes  the  anxious 
inquirer  after  origins.      For  it  begins  in  the  original,  "  My  God, 


130  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

'tis  to  thy  mercy-seat."  We  find  it  in  the  Poems  by  Theodosia, 
1760,  in  six  stanzas,  and  with  the  title,  "  Refuge  and  Strength  in 
the  Mercy  of  God. ' ' 

Dear  Lord  and  Master  mine. — Gill. 
Our  hymn  is  taken   from   The  Golden  Chain  of  Praise  (about 
1868).     The  title  is  "  Sweet  Subjection/'     It  has  seven  stanzas. 
Mr.  Gill  says  of  his  hymns  : 

"  The  spiritual  experience  of  more  than  twenty  years  is  recorded  in 
these  sacred  songs.  Though  spread  over  so  long  a  period,  they  are  now- 
given  to  the  world  for  the  first  time,  with  the  exception  of  about  thirty, 
which  have  appeared  partly  in  collections,  and  partly  among  The  Anni- 
versaries (poems  published  ten  years  ago)." 

Thomas  Hornblower  Gill  came  of  Puritan  stock  ;  one  of  his 
ancestors,  Rev.  Richard  Serjeant,  having  been  assistant  to  Mr. 
Baxter,  at  Kidderminster,  and  an  ejected  clergyman  in  1662.  Mr. 
Gill  was  born,  1819,  at  Birmingham,  England  ;  educated  at  Bir- 
mingham Grammar  School,  and  trained  in  the  Unitarian  opinions 
of  his  parents.  Since  he  could  not  subscribe  to  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles  he  declined  to  enter  Oxford,  and  devoted  himself  for  seven 
years  (until  his  twenty-sixth  year)  to  the  study  of  the  Greek  New 
Testament.  As  might  have  been  expected,  this  led  him,  gently,  to 
the  light.  He  has  himself  recorded  that  "  The  assiduous  perusal 
of  the  Greek  Testament,  for  many  years,  showed  me  clearly  that 
Unitarianism  failed  to  interpret  the  Book  of  Life.  As  truth  after 
truth  broke  upon  my  gaze,  God  put  a  new  song  into  my  mouth." 

Mr.  Gill,  being  a  man  of  independent  means,  has  devoted  him- 
self through  life  to  historical  and  theological  studies,  and  has  re- 
sided alternately  in  London,  Birmingham,  and  Lewisham,  Kent. 
In  his  opinions  he  is  a  Puritan,  and  opposes  Ritualism.  Dr.  Hat- 
field's critique  on  his  hymns  is  just.  They  are  "  too  intricate" 
to  be  popular.  But  they  are  very  admirable  in  point  of  metre  and 
language,  and  their  spiritual  feeling  is  fine. 

Dear  Refuge  of  my  weary  soul. — Steele. 
The  title  of  this  hymn,  in  the  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1760,  is 
"God  the  Only  Refuge  of  the  Troubled  Mind."  It  has  eight 
stanzas,  and  is  so  excellent  that  very  little  of  it  (the  second,  sixth 
and  seventh  stanzas  mainly)  has  been  omitted  from  our  collections, 
.and  the  alterations  are  few  and  slight. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  131 

Dear  Saviour,  we  are  thine. — Doddridge. 
In   Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  this  is  No.  267,  having  the  title, 
"  Being  Joined  to  Christ  and  one  Spirit  with  Him,  1  Cor.  6  :  17." 
It  begins  : 

"  My  Saviour,  I  am  thine 
By  everlasting  bands  ; 
My  name,  my  heart,  I  would  resign, 
My  soul  is  in  thy  hands." 

This  piece  has  five  stanzas,  and  its  date  is  1755. 

Delay  not,  delay  not,  O  sinner,  draw  near.  — Hastings. 
This  hymn  appeared,  in  five  stanzas,  in  Dr.  Thomas  Hastings's 
Spiritual  Songs,  1833.  It  is  upon  the  same  page  with  Knox's 
"Acquaint  thyself  quickly,  O  sinner,  with  God,"  is  of  the  same 
metre,  and  perhaps  was  suggested  by  it,  and  written  in  order  that 
the  vacant  space  upon  the  page  might  be  filled  by  a  hymn  of 
similar  purport. 

Depth  of  mercy,  can  there  be. — C.  Wesley. 

From  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1742.  The  original  has 
thirteen  stanzas.  This  hymn  stands  at  the  head  of  the  third  sec- 
tion of  that  collection,  with  the  title,  ' '  For  Persons  Convicted  of 
Backsliding." 

The  incident  inseparably  joined  to  the  present  hymn  is  that  of  the 
actress,  whose  story  Dr.  Belcher  (1859)  nas  traced  back  to  the 
Sunday- School  Journal.  Stevenson,  in  his  Methodist  Hymn- 
Book  Notes,  quotes  this  account  almost  verbatim  (p.  140).  It  is 
also  found  in  Revival  Incidents  (p.  117),  prepared  by  W.  C. 
Conant  in  1858.  The  version  which  we  give  is  from  the  Meth- 
odist Hymn-Book  Notes  of  G.  J.  Stevenson. 

"  An  actress  in  one  of  the  provincial  towns,  while  passing  along  the 
street,  had  her  attention  arrested  by  singing  in  a  cottage.  Curiosity 
prompted  her  to  look  in  at  the  open  door,  when  she  saw  a  few  poor  peo- 
ple sitting  together,  one  of  whom  was  giving  out  Hymn  168 — 

'  Depth  of  mercy,  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me  ?' 

which  they  all  joined  in  singing.  The  tune  was  sweet  and  simple,  but 
she  heeded  it  not  ;  the  words  had  riveted  her  attention,  and  she  stood 
motionless,  until  she  was  invited  to  enter.  She  remained  during  a  prayer 
which  was  offered  up  by  one  of  the  little  company,  and  which,  though  un- 
couth in  language,  carried  with  it  the  conviction  of  sincerity.  She  quitted 
the  cottage,  but  the  words  of  the  hymn  followed  her,  and  she  resolved  to 


132  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

procure  a  copy  of  the  book  containing  it.  The  hymn-book  secured,  she 
read  and  reread  this  hymn.  Her  convictions  deepened  ;  she  attended 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  and  sought  and  found  that  pardon  which  alone 
could  give  her  peace.  Having  given  her  heart  to  God,  she  resolved 
henceforth  to  give  her  life  to  Him  also,  and,  for  a  time,  excused  herself 
from  attending  on  the  stage.  The  manager  of  the  theatre  called  upon  her 
one  morning,  and  urged  her  to  sustain  the  principal  character  in  a  new 
play.  This  character  she  had  sustained  in  other  towns  with  admiration, 
but  now  she  gave  her  reasons  for  refusing  to  comply  with  the  request. 
At  first  the  manager  ridiculed  her  scruples,  but  this  was  unavailing  ;  he 
then  represented  the  loss  which  her  refusal  would  be  to  him,  and  promised 
if  she  would  act  on  this  occasion,  it  would  be  the  last  request  of  the  kind 
he  would  make.  Unable  to  resist  his  solicitations,  she  promised  to  appear 
at  the  theatre.  The  character  which  she  assumed  required  her,  on  her 
entrance,  to  sing  a  song,  and  as  the  curtain  rose  the  orchestra  began  the 
accompaniment.  She  stood  like  one  lost  in  thought  ;  the  music  ceased, 
but  she  did  not  sing  ;  and,  supposing  she  was  embarrassed,  the  band 
again  commenced,  and  they  paused  again  for  her  to  begin,  but  she  opened 
not  her  lips.  A  third  time  the  air  was  played,  and  then,  with  clasped  hands 
and  eyes  suffused  with  tears,  she  sang — not  the  song  of  the  play,  but — 

1  Depth  of  mercy,  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me  ? 
Can  my  God  His  wrath  forbear? 
Me,  the  chief  of  sinners,  spare  ?  ' 

The  performance  suddenly  ended  ;  many  ridiculed,  though  some  were  in- 
duced from  that  memorable  night  to  '  consider  their  ways  ' — to  reflect  on 
the  power  of  that  religion  which  couldinfiuence  the  heart  and  change  the 
life  of  one  hitherto  so  vain.  The  change  in  the  life  of  the  actress  was  as 
permanent  as  it  was  singular,  and  after  some  years  of  a  consistent  walk, 
she  at  length  became  the  wife  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

Descend  from  heaven,  celestial  Dove. — Hart. 

Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  has  a  curious  reference  to  Hart  :  ' '  I  went 
to  church — I  gave  a  shilling  ;  and,  seeing  a  poor  girl  at  the  sacra- 
ment in  a  bed-gown,  I  gave  her  privately  half  a  crown,  though  I 
saw  Hart's  hymns  in  her  hand." 

This  is  the  hymn  with  which  Miller  confuses  "  Come,  Holy 
Spirit. "  It  is  a  partial  translation  of  the  Veni  Sande  Spiriius  of 
Hermannus  Contractus.  In  Hart's  "  Second  Edition,  with  Sup- 
plement," 1762,  it  has  six  stanzas. 

Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep. — Beddome. 
Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome  was  born  at  Henley-in-Arden,  in  War- 
wickshire, January  23d,  1717  ;  removed  with  his  parents  to  Bristol 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  133 

at  the  age  of  seven,  where  his  father,  Rev.  John  Beddome,  a  Bap- 
tist minister,  was  co-pastor  of  Pithay  Church  ;  was  apprenticed 
there  to  a  surgeon,  and  finally  went  to  London.  At  twenty  years 
of  age  he  was  converted,  and  in  1743  became  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
congregation  at  Bourton-on-the- Water,  in  Gloucestershire.  In 
this  small  station  he  continued  during  his  life. 

In  1749,  it  is  related  that,  after  a  severe  illness,  he  probably 
composed  his  first  hymn,  but  the  account  does  not  state  what  it 
was.  The  London  congregation  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  who  had 
been  his  pastor,  and  under  whom  he  had  united  with  the  Church 
in  1739,  desired  to  secure  Mr.  Beddome  as  successor,  but  he  de- 
clined to  go.  The  church  in  Goodman's  Fields  had  not  only  sent 
the  call,  but  had  deputed  a  gentleman  to  carry  it,  who  went  down 
to  Bourton  on  horseback.  A  poor  parishioner  of  Mr.  Beddome, 
having  been  intrusted  with  the  care  of  his  horse,  discovered  the 
errand,  and  brought  the  animal  to  the  door,  saying  to  the  London 
emissary,  "  Robbers  of  churches  are  the  worst  sort  of  robbers." 
He  then  turned  the  horse  loose,  to  the  discomfiture  of  its  rider. 
"  I  would  rather  honor  God,"  said  Mr.  Beddome,  "  in  a  station 
even  much  inferior  to  that  in  which  he  has  placed  me,  than  intrude 
myself  into  a  higher  without  his  direction.  "  He  died,  Septem- 
ber 3d,  1795,  having  labored  at  Bourton  for  fifty-two  years. 

In  reference  to  his  hymn-writing  nothing  is  more  suggestive 
than  the  statement  of  the  actual  facts.  He  first  contributed  about 
fifty  hymns  to  Dr.  Rippon's  volume,  1787.  Then  he  published, 
with  a  recommendatory  preface  by  Rev.  Robert  Hall,  his  Hymns 
Adapted  to  Public  Worship  or  Family  Devotion,  1818.  Of  these 
— which  included  all  former  waifs  and  strays — there  were  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-two,  with  eight  doxologies.  They  are,  as  a 
rule,  terse  and  good.  Many  of  them  were  appended  to  sermons, 
after  the  manner  of  Watts  and  Doddridge.  One,  at  least,  for  its 
largeness  of  Christian  charity,  will  not  be  easily  forgotten  : 

Let  party  names  no  more 

The  Christian  world  o'erspread." 

Didst  thou,  dear  Jesus,  suffer  shame. — Maxwell. 

This  hymn,  by  James  Maxwell,  appeared  in  Dobell's  Collection, 
1806,  in  four  stanzas,  and  with  a  reference  to  Mark  8  :  38.  Its 
title  is  "  Self-Denial ;  or,  Taking  up  the  Cross."    The  author  was 


134  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

one  of  the  early  Methodist  preachers,  and  a  Scotchman.  His 
Divine  Miscellanies  were  published  at  Birmingham,  in  1756,  and 
his  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  in  1759.  He  was  a  weaver,  living 
in  the  North  of  England,  born  May  9th,  1720.  He  prepared  a 
version  of  the  Psalms  in  1773.  An  American  reprint  of  Max- 
well's hymns,  about  1780,  introduced  his  pieces  to  the  churches 
of  the  United  States.  Such  were  :  ' '  Go  forth,  ye  heralds,  in  my 
name"  [from  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  your  Master  dear"]  and 
"  Lord,  when  together  here  we  meet." 

Dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,  Lord.  — Hart. 
This  is  No.  j8  of  the  Supplement  to   Hart's  Hymns,  and  is 
found   in  the  second   edition,  1762.     One  line  may  be  noticed  : 
"  Give  every  fetterd soul  release." 

Do  not  I  love  thee,  O  my  Lord  ? — Doddridge. 
Among  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  this  stands  as  No.  246,  with 
the  title,  "Appeal   to  Christ  for  the  Sincerity  of  Love  to  Him." 
It  is  in  seven  stanzas,  and  has  the  text  of  Scripture,  John  21  :  15, 
affixed  to  it. 

Draw  nigh  and  take  the  body  of  the  Lord.  —  Neale,  tr. 
This  is  a  translation  from  the  "  Sancii  venite,  corpus  Christi 
sumi/e,"  a  Latin  anonymous  hymn,  assigned  by  Dr.  Neale  to  the 
seventh  century,  by  Moll  to  the  eighth,  and  placed  by  Daniel  be- 
tween the  sixth  and  ninth  centuries.  The  original  is  reprinted  in 
the  Lyra  Hibernica  Sacra,  1878,  from  Dr.  Todd's  Liber  Hym- 
norum,  and  it  can  be  found  in  Daniel's  Thesaurus,  I.  :  193,  and 
IV.  :  109.  It  was  a  hymn  of  the  early  Irish  Church,  and  was,  per- 
haps, composed  within  her  borders.  Dr.  Neale,  in  Mediaeval 
Hymns,  speaks  of  it  as  one  of  the  earliest  examples  of  a  communion 
hymn,  and  his  comments  on  its  rugged  simplicity  and  strong 
piety  are  not  unmerited.  This  translation  is  found  in  its  complete 
form  in  Lyra  Eucharistica,  1863. 

Draw  nigh,  draw  nigh,  Immanuel. — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  the  "  Veni,  veni,  Immanuel,"  an  anonymous  Latin  com- 
position of  the  twelfth  (?)  century.  Dr.  Neale  gives  it  in  his 
MedicEval  Hymns  as  an  Advent  hymn.  It  was  first  used  in  the 
Hymnal  Noted,  1856,  then  in  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,  1861  ; 
latterly   among  Christmas  hymns  and    carols.     The  Latin  is  in 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  !3S 

Daniel's  Thesaurus,  from  the  Mozarabic  Breviary,  the  ancient 
hymnary  of  Spain.  For  further  information  as  to  these  and  other 
Latin  hymns,  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

Early,  my  God,  without  delay. — Watts. 
The  title  given  to  this  hymn  by  Dr.  Watts  is,  "  The  Morning 
of  a  Lord's  Day. "     It  is  the  rendering  of  Ps.  6$,  first  part,  CM., 
embracing  vv.  1-5,  and  has  six  stanzas. 

Earth  below  is  teeming.  — Monsell. 

A  "  Harvest  Hymn,"  from  Hymns  of  Love  and  Praise,  second 
edition,  1862,  where  it  is  based  upon  Isa.  9  :  3.  It  has  four 
stanzas.  Mr.  Monsell,  dating  his  preface  from  "  Egham  Vicarage, 
Surrey,  All  Saints'  Day,  1862,"  says  that  the  most  of  the  hymns 
in  his  book  appear  for  the  first  time.  "  We  are,  alas  !"  he  con- 
tinues,  ' '  too  distant  and  reserved  in  our  praises.  We  sing  not  as 
if  our  hearts  were  on  fire  with  the  flame  of  divine  love  and  joy,  as 
we  should  sing  to  Him,  and  of  Him,  Who  is  Chief  among  ten 
thousand,  and  altogether  lovely.  If  we  loved  Him  as  we  ought 
to  do,  we  could  not  be  so  cold."  The  curious  feature  of  some 
modern  High  Church  hymns  is  that  they  run  almost  to  an  extreme 
of  sentimental  affection — the  very  thing  reprobated  by  John  Wesley, 
in  1787,  as  "  doggerel,  double-distilled  !" 

John  Samuel  Bewley  Monsell,  LL.D.,  was  born  at  St.  Col- 
umns', Londonderry,  Ireland,  March  2d,  181 1.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  and  was  graduated  in  1832,  tak- 
ing holy  orders  in  1834.  He  was  examining  chaplain  to  Bishop 
Mant  ;  then  rector  of  Ramoan  ;  then  chancellor  of  Connor,  and 
afterward  rector  of  St.  Nicholas,  Guildford,  Surrey,  1870,  where 
his  death  occurred,  April  9th,  1875.  Some  of  his  least  usual 
poems  can  be  found  in  Lyra  Hibernica  Sacra,  second  edition, 
1879.  Dr.  Monsell's  hymns  can  be  examined  at  leisure  in  Par- 
ish  Musings,  1850  ;  Hymns  of  Love  and  Praise,  1863  ;  and 
Spiritual  Songs  (n.  d.).  His  hymns  have  sometimes  been  pub- 
lished in  leaflets. 

Earth  has  nothing  sweet  or  fair.  — Cox,  tr. 
Miss  Frances  Elizabeth  Cox  published,  in  1841,  a  little  volume 
of  translations  from  the  German,  calling  it  Sacred  Hymns.     The 
present  piece  appears  on  page  165,  and  is  a  Sommerlied,  or  sum- 


136  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

mer-song,  based  on  Rev.  4:11.  It  has  eleven  stanzas,  and  is 
from  the  original  of  "  Angelus  Silesius, "  1624-77,  whose  real 
name  was  Johann  Schemer.  He  was  a  native  of  Breslau,  and 
physician-in-ordinary  to  Ferdinand  the  Third.  In  1653  ne  re~ 
signed  his  post,  and  entered  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  having 
previously  assumed  this  name  of  "  Angelus."  The  German 
piece  begins  :  "  Keine  Schonheit  hat  die  We//."  It  is  one  of  the 
finest  of  lyrics,  as  here  rendered,  being  an  expression  of  the 
thought  that  all  the  world  is  full  of  the  Word.  It  makes  us  think 
of  that  suggestive  incident  related  by  Bunyan  as  having  occurred 
in  the  Holy  War.  There  Prince  Immanuel  is  represented  as 
making  a  feast,  and  after  the  eating  was  over,  he  entertained  the 
town  with  some  curious  riddles,  made  upon  King  Shaddai,  and 
upon  Immanuel  his  son,  and  upon  his  wars  and  doings  with  Man- 
soul.     Some  of  these  riddles 

"  Immanuel  expounded  unto  them,  and  oh,  how  they  were  lightened  ! 
They  saw  what  they  never  saw  before  ;  they  could  not  have  thought  that 
such  rarities  could  have  been  couched  in  so  few  and  such  ordinary  words. 
Yea,  they  gathered  that  the  things  themselves  were  a  kind  of  portraiture, 
and  that  of  Immanuel  himself.  For  when  they  read  in  the  scheme  where 
the  riddles  were  writ,  and  looked  in  the  face  of  the  Prince,  things  looked 
so  like  one  to  the  other,  that  Mansoul  could  not  forbear  but  say,  This  is 
the  Lamb,  this  is  the  Sacrifice,  this  is  the  Rock,  this  is  the  Door,  and  this 
is  the  Way  ;  with  a  great  many  other  things  more." 

Eternal  Father  !  strong  to  save. — Whiting. 

This  hymn  is  the  composition  of  William  Whiting,  in  i860, 
and  altered  by  the  compilers  of  Hymns,  A7icient  and  Modern, 
1 86 1.  The  author  informed  Mr.  Josiah  Miller  that  his  hymn 
was  written  for  that  collection,  and  originally  began,  ' '  O  thou 
who  bidd'st  the  ocean  deep."  He  was  born  at  Kensington, 
London,  November  1st,  1825,  and  educated  at  Clapham  and 
Winchester.  He  had  been  for  many  years  master  of  Winchester 
College  Choristers'  School  at  the  date  of  his  death,  in  1878. 

The  piece  was  originally  printed  with  the  title,  "  Intercession 
for  those  at  Sea."  Says  G.  J.  Stevenson  :  "  It  has  been  widely 
circulated  in  seaport  towns,  and  has  been  an  especial  favorite  on 
Sabbath  evening  at  the  close  of  the  services  of  the  day,  when 
Christian  families  have  sung  it  as  a  prayer  for  absent  members  of 
their  household  whose  calling  is  on  the  great  waters." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  137 

The  tune,  ' '  Melita, ' '  has  been  invariably  associated  with  this 
hymn  in  England.  Dr.  Dykes,  whose  harmony  it  is,  so  named 
it  from  the  island  where  St.  Paul  was  shipwrecked. 

Eternal  Father,  when  to  thee. — Ganse. 

Rev.  Hervey  Doddridge  Ganse,  the  author  of  the  present  hymn, 
was  born  February  27th,  1822,  near  Fishkill,  N.  Y.,  and  gradu- 
ated at  Columbia  College  in  1839.  His  theological  course  was 
taken  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  in  1843  ne  was  licensed,  by 
the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  to  preach  the  Gospel.  He  has 
been  pastor  at  Freehold,  N.  J.,  and  of  the  Northwest  Reformed 
Church,  Madison  Avenue,  New  York.  In  1876  he  entered  the 
Presbyterian  denomination,  having  accepted  a  call  to  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.  From  this  position  he 
was  invited,  in  1883,  to  the  secretaryship  of  the  new  "  Board  of 
Aid  for  Colleges  and  Academies,"  where  he  is  now  actively  en- 
gaged, having  his  headquarters  at  Chicago. 

In  a  private  note  Dr.  Ganse  states  that  this  hymn  was  composed 
"at  a  sitting,  in  very  nearly  its  present  form,  in  the  midst  of 
some  other  work  of  the  same  sort  " — although  he  "  sees  no  motive 
for  stating  the  fact."  Dr.  Ganse  (as  we  must  still  call  him, 
though  he  declines  the  title)  cannot  so  easily  escape  the  scrutiny 
of  the  hymnologist,  to  whom  all  that  is  connected  with  the 
origin  and  use  of  any  hymn  is  of  importance.  Therefore  we  shall 
offend  yet  further,  and  add  that  our  author  has  written,  in  all, 
about  half  a  dozen  pieces,  which  mostly  appeared  for  the  first 
time  in  Hymns  and  Songs  of  Praise,  1874.  The  hymn  before 
us  is  of  that  number.  The  dates  of  composition  are  from  1869 
to  1873,  since  which  time  we  have  nothing  noticeable  from  his 
pen. 

The  earliest  of  his  hymns  was  ' '  Lord,  I  know  thy  grace  is  nigh 
me, "  which  was  written  in  1869.  The  author's  own  account  is 
interesting,  as  showing  the  movement  of  his  mind.      He  says  : 

"  While  living  in  New  York  I  had  occasion  to  visit  a  family  in  my 
former  congregation  at  Freehold — I  think  to  conduct  a  funeral  service, 
certainly  to  console  them  in  some  affliction.  At  night,  as  I  crossed  the 
threshold  of  my  bedroom,  the  first  couplet  ran  through  my  mind  in  metri- 
cal form,  without  the  least  forethought.  It  was  midwinter,  in  a  farm- 
house, and  my  room  had  no  fire.  So  I  composed  on  my  pillow,  in  the 
darkness,  completing  the  verses  with  no  little  feeling,  before  I  slept." 


138  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Eternal  Light !  eternal  Light.  — Binney. 

Rev.  Thomas  Binney,  D.D.,  LL.  D.,  was  born  in  the  year 
1793,  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  In  his  youth  he  was  employed  in  a 
bookstore,  but  while  he  was  serving  the  customers  with  books  he 
was  engaged  also  in  improving  his  mind.  He  studied  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  paid  careful  attention  to  the  art  of  English  composi- 
tion. He  then  made  an  effort  to  secure  the  advantages  of  a  more 
thorough  course  of  instruction,  and  we  find  him  at  Wymondley 
College,  where  he  was  prepared  for  the  ministry.  His  first  charge 
was  at  Bradford,  whence  he  removed  to  Newport,  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  was  regularly  ordained  to  the  work  before  him. 

It  was  from  this  position  that  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of 
the  "  King's  Weigh-House  Chapel,"  in  London,  in  1829.  This 
proved  to  be  his  life-work,  and  here  he  labored  for  more  than  forty 
years.  It  was  diversified  by  the  constant,  and  sometimes  con- 
troversial, publications  which  bear  his  name.  His  first  book  was 
a  life  of  Stephen  Morell,  which  was  issued  in  1826.  He  followed 
it  by  several  pamphlets,  over  the  signature,  "  Fiat  fuslitia,"  in 
which  he  treated  of  whatever  subjects  happened  to  agitate  the  re- 
ligious world.  He  handled  his  themes  with  great  independence 
and  vigor,  and  the  pamphlets  were  quite  popular.  In  1834,  the 
new  chapel  was  erected,  and  this  gave  him  the  opportunity  for  a 
discourse  which  was  not  relished  by  those  who  believed  in  the 
supremacy  of  the  Church  of  England,  though  others  heartily  en- 
joyed its  keen  thrusts.  The  titles  of  his  books  are  enough  to  tell 
the  whole  story  of  his  opinions.  He  gave  them  such  names  as, 
Dissent  not  Schism  ;  The  Christian  Ministry  not  a  Priesthood  • 
Are  Dissenters  to  have  a  Liturgy  ?  and  Conscientious  Clerical  Non- 
conformity. He  also  contributed  to  the  literature  of  the  vexed 
question,  "  Whether  marriage  with  a  deceased  wife's  sister  should 
be  legalized." 

On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Binney  has  earnestly  advocated  certain 
Episcopalian  practices  among  the  Independent  churches,  such  as 
chanting  in  the  services,  and  the  use  of  a  better  psalmody.  His 
Service  of  Song  in  the  House  of  the  Lord  had  much  to  do  with 
the  present  advance  in  taste. 

Dr.  Binney  paid  a  visit  to  the  United  States  and  Canada  in 
1845,  and  spent  his  time  to  advantage.  In  1857  he  made  a  voy- 
age to  Australia,  out  of  which  came  his  celebrated  controversy  with 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  139 

the  Bishop  of  Adelaide.  In  1869  he  had  completed  forty  years 
of  warfare  in  the  Weigh-House  Chapel,  and  in  January,  1871,  he 
retired  altogether  from  his  public  duties,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  W.  Braden,  of  Huddersfield.  The  degree  of  LL.D.  came 
to  him  from  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  and  that  of  D.D.  was 
sent  from  America.      He  died,  February  24th,  1874. 

Dr.  Binney  was  unable  to  endure  a  platform  at  any  time  or 
place  when  he  was  to  speak.  He  has  been  known  ' '  to  fetch 
gowns  and  other  materials  to  hang  over  the  rails  of  an  open  rostrum 
if  he  found  himself  placed  in  one."  "  This,"  Mr.  Spurgeon  re- 
marks, "  must  have  arisen  wholly  from  habit,  for  there  can  be  no 
real  advantage  in  being  inclosed  in  a  wooden  pen. " 

The  present  hymn  has  five  stanzas.  The  third  stanza  was  often 
on  his  lips  during  his  last  illness  : 

"  Oh  !  how  shall  I,  whose  native  sphere 
Is  dark,  whose  mind  is  dim, 
Before  the  Ineffable  appear, 
And  on  my  naked  spirit  bear 
That  uncreated  beam  ?" 

The  date  assigned  to  this  composition,  by  Mr.  Binney  himself,  is 
about  1826.  It  was  prepared  for  a  charitable  object,  the  details 
of  which  he  had  forgotten,  and  was  set  to  music  at  the  time. 

Eternal  Source  of  every  joy. — Doddridge. 
Dr.  Doddridge  writes  to  his  wife  from  Northampton,  October, 
1742,  in  this  strain  : 

"  I  hope,  my  dear,  you  will  not  be  offended  when  I  tell  you  that  I  am, 
what  I  hardly  thought  it  possible  without  a  miracle,  that  I  should  have 
been — very  easy  and  happy  without  you.  My  days  begin,  pass,  and  end 
in  pleasure,  and  seem  short  because  they  are  so  delightful.  It  may  seem 
strange  to  say  it,  but  really  so  it  is  ;  I  hardly  feel  that  I  want  anything. 
I  often  think  of  you,  and  pray  for  you,  and  bless  God  on  your  account, 
and  please  myself  with  the  hope  of  many  comfortable  days  and  weeks 
and  years  with  you  ;  yet  I  am  not  at  all  anxious  about  your  return,  or, 
indeed,  about  anything  else.  And  the  reason,  the  great  and  sufficient 
reason  is,  that  I  have  more  of  the  presence  of  God  with  me  than  I  re- 
member ever  to  have  enjoyed  in  any  one  month  of  my  life.  He  enables 
me  to  live  for  him,  and  to  live  with  him.  .  .  .  It  is  pleasant  to  read,  pleas- 
ant to  compose,  pleasant  to  converse  with  my  friends  at  home  ;  pleasant 
to  visit  those  abroad — the  poor,  the  sick — pleasant  to  write  letters  of 
necessary  business,  by  which  any  good  can  be  done  ;  pleasant  to  go  out 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  poor  souls,  of  whom  some  are  thirsty  for  it,  and 


140  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

others  dying  without  it  ;  pleasant  in  the  week-day  to  think  how  near 
another  Sabbath  is,  but,  oh,  how  much  more  pleasant  to  think  how  near 
Eternity  is,  and  how  short  the  journey  through  this  wilderness,  and  that 
it  is  but  a  step  from  earth  to  heaven  !" 

The  hymn,  to  which  this  is  an  apt  commentary,  is  dated  1755, 
owing  to  its  publication  ;  but  it  must  have  been  written  earlier. 
Its  title  is,  "  The  Year  Crowned  with  the  Divine  Goodness,  Ps. 
65  :  11,"  and  it  has  seven  stanzas. 

Eternal  Spirit,  we  confess. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  places  this  as  Hymn  133,  of  Book  II.,  "  The  Oper- 
ations of  the  Holy  Spirit. ' '     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Every  morning  mercies  new.  — Bonar. 

Dr.  Bonar's  hymns  have  no  especial  date  or  incident,  but  the 
accompanying  illustration  from  the  Talmud  seems  an  appropriate 
comment  on  this  very  spiritual  little  song. 

In  studying  the  account  of  the  manna,  the  scholars  of  Rabbi 
Simon  ben  Jochai  once  asked  him,  ' '  Why  did  not  the  Lord  give 
to  Israel  enough  manna  for  a  year,  at  one  time?"  Then  the 
rabbi  said  :  "  I  will  answer  you  with  a  parable  :  Once  there  was 
a  king  who  had  a  son  to  whom  he  gave  a  yearly  allowance,  paying 
him  the  entire  sum  on  a  fixed  day.  It  soon  happened  that  the  day 
on  which  the  allowance  was  due  was  the  only  day  in  the  year  when 
the  father  saw  his  son.  So  the  king  changed  his  plan,  and  gave 
his  son,  day  by  day,  that  which  sufficed  for  the  day.  And  now 
the  son  visited  his  father  every  morning.  Thus  did  God  deal  with 
Israel." 

Fairest  Lord  Jesus  !  Ruler  of  all  nature  ! — Willis. 
This  piece  first  appeared  in  the  Church  Chorals  a?id  Choir 
Studies  (1850)  of  Richard  Storrs  Willis,  the  brother  of  N.  P. 
Willis,  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  18 19.  The  translator  has  been  a 
distinguished  musician  and  writer  on  musical  art  for  many  years. 
He  now  resides  in  Detroit,  Mich.  The  melody  to  which  these 
historic  words  are  set  was  secured  by  him  from  the  ancient  music, 
as  sung  by  the  Crusaders  in  the  twelfth  century.  He  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  origin  of  the  song  he  rendered  into 
English,  and  which  comes  from  the  Fulda  Hymn-book,  1695  : — 

"  This  hymn,  to  which  the  harmony  has  been  added,  was  lately  (1850) 
discovered  in  Westphalia.     According  to  the  traditionary  text  by  which  it 


ENGLISH  HYMN'S.  141 

is  accompanied,  it  was  wont  to  be  sung  by  the  German  knights  on  their 
way  to  Jerusalem.  The  only  hymn  of  the  same  century,  which  in  point 
of  style  resembles  this,  is  one  quoted  by  Burney  from  the  Chatelaine  de 
Coucy,  set  about  the  year  1190,  very  far  inferior,  however,  to  this.  At  a 
missionary  meeting  held  lately  in  the  principality  of  Lippe-Detmold,  this 
hymn  was  commenced  by  three  voices,  but  ere  the  third  verse  was  reached 
hundreds  joined  in  the  heart-stirring  song  of  praise." 

In  the  introduction  to  "  The  Ten  Theophanies,"  by  Rev.  Will- 
iam M.  Baker,  D.D.,  Dr.  F.  N.  Zabriskie  has  given  a  very  elo- 
quent account  of  this  old  melody.  The  German  words  are  not 
easily  accessible,  so  we  add  them  here  : 

Schonster  Herr  Jesu, 
Herrscher  aller  Enden 
Gottes  und  Maria  Sohn  ; 

Dich  will  ich  lieben, 

Dich  will  ich  ehren, 
Du  meiner  Seelen  Freund  und  Kron. 

Schon  sind  die  Felder, 

Noch  schoner  sind  die  Walder 

In  der  schonen  Fruhlingszeit  ; 

Jesus  ist  schoner 

Jesus  ist  reiner 
Der  unser  traurig  Herz  erfreut. 

Schon  leucht't  die  Sonne, 

Noch  schoner  leucht't  der  Monde 

Und  die  Sternlein  allzumal  ; 

Jesus  leucht't  schoner 

Jesus  leucht't  reiner 
Als  all  die  Engel  in  Himmelsaal. 

Faith  adds  new  charms  to  earthly  bliss.  — Turner. 
This  is  No.  234,  in  six  stanzas,  in  Caleb  Evans's  Collection, 
fifth  edition,  1786,  where  it  has  "  D.  T." — Daniel  Turner— for 
its  author.  The  date  is  therefore  earlier  than  Gadsby  gives,  who 
assigns  his  "few  hymns"  to  the  year  1794.  Mr.  Turner  was  a 
Baptist  minister,  settled  for  half  a  century  at  Abingdon,  Berkshire, 
England.  His  birthplace  was  Blackwater  Park,  near  St.  Albans, 
Hertfordshire,  where  he  saw  the  light,  March  ist,  17 10.  When 
quite  young  he  united  with  a  Baptist  Church  at  Hemel-Hemp- 
stead,  not  far  from  his  father's  farm,  and  having,  after  a  time,  ob- 
tained a  fairly  good  education,  he  kept  (1738)  a  boarding-school. 
In  1740  he  removed  to  Reading,  on  the  Thames;  then  (1741) 


142  ENGLISH  HYMNS, 

took  charge  of  the  Hosier  Lane  Baptist  church,  and  in  1748  re- 
moved again  to  his  life  settlement  at  Abingdon.  He  was  a  man 
highly  esteemed,  and  is  praised  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine  for 
his  ' '  useful  writings,  excellent  character,  and  amiable  disposi- 
tion." He  died  September  5th,  1798,  aged  eighty-nine.  His 
Divine  Songs,  Hymns  and  Poems,  1747,  and  Poems,  Devotional 
and  Moral,  1794,  reveal  the  sources  of  his  hymns.  Rippon  used 
nine  of  them. 

Far  as  thy  name  is  known. — Watts. 
This  is  Ps.  48,  Second  Part,  S.  M.,  vv.  10-14,  "The  Beauty 
of  the  Church  ;  or,  Gospel  Worship  and  Order."     It  is  in  six 
stanzas. 

Far  from  my  thoughts,  vain  world,  begone. — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  15  of  Dr.  Watts's  second  book.     It  is  entitled 
"The  Enjoyment  of  Christ ;  or,  Delight  in  Worship,"   and  has 
six  stanzas.     Most  appropriate  and  beautiful  is  the  language  of  St. 
Augustine  {Confessions,  Book  VII.  [X.]  16)  : 

"  He  that  knows  the  Truth,  knows  what  that  Light  is  ;  and  he  that 
knows  It,  knows  eternity.  Love  knoweth  it.  O  Truth  Who  art  Eter- 
nity !  and  Love  Who  art  Truth  !  and  Eternity  Who  art  Love  !  Thou  art 
my  God,  to  Thee  do  I  sigh  night  and  day.  Thee  when  I  first  knew. 
Thou  liftedst  me  up  that  I  might  see  there  was  what  I  might  see,  and  that 
I  was  not  yet  such  as  to  see.  And  Thou  didst  beat  back  the  weakness  of 
my  sight,  streaming  forth  Thy  beams  of  light  upon  me  most  strongly, 
and  I  trembled  with  love  and  awe  :  and  I  perceived  myself  to  be  far  from 
Thee,  in  the  region  of  unlikeness,  as  if  I  heard  this  Thy  voice  from  on 
high  :  '  I  am  the  food  of  grown  men  ;  grow  and  thoushalt  feed  upon  Me  ; 
nor  shalt  thou  convert  Me,  like  the  food  of  thy  flesh,  into  thee,  but  thou 
shalt  be  converted  into  Me.'  " 

Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord,  I  flee.  — Cowper. 

The  poet's  language  in  his  journal  is  quite  as  fine  as  this  hymn 
itself,  for  it  shows  us  one  of  those  periods  of  "clear  shining" 
which  were  so  rare  in  his  troubled  life.  It  is  the  story  of  his  con- 
version, which  he  commences  in  these  words  :  "  The  happy  period 
which  was  to  shake  off  my  fetters  and  afford  me  a  clear  opening  to 
the  free  mercy  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  was  now  arrived." 

This  hymn,  and  its  companion  lyric,  "  How  blest  thy  creature 
is,  O  God,"  belong  to  this  period  of  his  religious  experience. 
He  had  gone  from  St.  Albans  to  Huntingdon,  passing  the  whole 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  143 

time  in  silent  communion  with  God.  "  It  is  impossible,"  he  de- 
clares, "  to  tell  with  how  delightful  a  sense  of  his  protection  and 
fatherly  care  of  me  it  pleased  the  Almighty  to  favor  me  during  the 
whole  of  my  journey."  At  its  close  he  was  left  alone  for  the  first 
time  among  strangers,  and,  feeling  a  little  despondent,  he  wan- 
dered out  to  a  secluded  spot  and  there  prayed  in  secret.  A  sweet 
and  blessed  consciousness  of  renewed  peace  filled  his  soul,  and  he 
came  back  rested  and  happy.  The  following  day  was  Sunday. 
He  attended  church  for  the  first  time  since  his  recovery — that  is, 
for  nearly  two  years — and  found  the  utmost  joy  in  the  service  of 
God.  A  person  who  afterward  became  his  friend  was  attracted 
to  him  by  his  devoutness  at  this  time,  and  altogether  the  poet's 
own  emotion  was  beyond  any  language  to  express.  He  describes 
himself  as  seeming  to  be  at  the  very  gate  of  heaven.  From  the 
church  he  hastened  away  to  his  secluded  retreat,  and  adds  :  "  How 
shall  I  express  what  the  Lord  did  for  me,  except  by  saying  that  he 
made  all  his  goodness  pass  before  me  ?"  That  lonely  and  bliss- 
ful place  was  therefore  the  true  home  and  birth -spot  of  this  lovely 
hymn.  Here  it  burst  forth  in  a  song  unto  the  praise  of  God. 
From  this  date  (1765)  until  1773,  Cowper's  life  was  more  peace- 
ful and  happy  than  at  any  other  period. 

One  can  hardly  explain  how  this  piece  should  appear,  as  it 
does,  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine  for  November,  1797,  with  the 
title,  "  Retirement  from  the  World,"  and  signed  "  H.  P."  In 
18 1 2,  Cowper's  authorship  of  it  was  distinctly  recognized  in  the 
same  magazine. 

When  William  Wilberforce,  the  statesman,  was  quite  advanced 
in  life,  and  had  sat  in  Parliament  for  twenty-eight  years,  his 
friends  induced  him  to  contest  the  election  for  York.  The  poll 
was  open,  according  to  the  English  custom,  for  fifteen  days. 
None  of  the  candidates  had  less  than  ten  thousand  votes.  Daily, 
Mr.  Wilberforce  addressed  meetings,  and  entertained  friends  at  his 
house.  But  it  was  noticed  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement 
about  him,  he  was  singularly  calm,  and  one  of  his  agents  relates 
that,  as  he  met  him,  day  after  day,  on  his  return  to  his  home,  he 
would  hear  him  repeating  something  to  himself.  As  this  seemed 
to  be  in  the  same  words  always,  the  agent  finally  contrived  to 
catch  what  he  said,  and  found  it  to  be  a  stanza  from  this 
hymn  : 


144  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  The  calm  retreat,  the  silent  shade, 
With  prayer  and  praise  agree, 
And  seem,  by  thy  sweet  bounty  made, 
For  those  that  follow  thee." 

Father,  again,  in  Jesus'  name  we  meet. — Lady  Whitmore. 

Lady  Lucy  Elizabeth  Georgiana  Whitmore  was  the  daughter  of 
Orlando,  second  Baron  Bradford,  of  Shropshire.  She  was  born 
in  1792,  and  was  married  in  18 10  to  W.  W.  Whitmore,  of  Dud- 
maston,  Shropshire.  The  present  hymn  is  found  at  the  end  of 
her  little  volume  of  Family  Prayers,  1824.  In  1861  it  was  some- 
what altered  by  Rev.  Francis  Pott.     The  authoress  died  in  1 840. 

Father,  hear  the  blood  of  Jesus. — C.  (?)  Wesley. 
This  hymn  is  taken  from  Hymns  on  the  Lord's  Supper  by 
John  and  Charles  Wesley,  1745.  It  is  not  included  in  the  hymn- 
book  prepared  by  John  Wesley  in  1779,  but  has  since  obtained  a 
place  in  Methodist  collections.  There  is  no  way,  Mr.  Creamer 
says,  of  distinguishing  between  the  compositions  of  John  and 
Charles  in  these  Hymns  on  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  book  con- 
tains one  hundred  and  sixty-six  separate  pieces,  arranged  under 
six  heads.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  considered  as  :  1.  The  me- 
morial. 2.  The  sign  and  means  of  grace.  3.  The  pledge  of 
heaven.  4.  The  sacrifice  ;  and  the  fifth  part  embraces  hymns 
"  after  the  sacrament.  " 

Father,  by  thy  love  and  power. — Anstice. 
Professor  Joseph  Anstice  was  born  in  1808,  the  second  son  of 
William  Anstice,  of  Madeley  Wood,  Shropshire,  England.  Edu- 
cated by  his  uncle,  Rev.  John  Poole,  until  his  thirteenth  year,  he 
passed  a  happy  childhood  with  his  grandmother  and  aunts  in  the 
rectory  of  Enmore,  Somersetshire,  and  then  went  to  Westminster 
School.  Here  he  was  elected  a  King's  scholar,  and  proceeded  to 
Christ  Church  College,  Oxford.  His  collegiate  career  was  honor- 
able, and  he  took  a  high  rank  in  classical  and  English  studies. 
At  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  was  professor  of  Classical  Literature 
at  King's  College,  London,  marrying  soon  afterward.  His  health 
failed  him  in  1835,  and  he  died  at  Torquay,  February  29th,  1836. 
This  hymn  and  others,  which  have  been  drawn  from  a  collection 
of  fifty-four,  published  subsequent  to  his  death,  cannot  fail  of  a 
certain  pathetic  value,  when  it  is  known  that  they  were  composed 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  145 

by  a  dying  man.  They  were  all  dictated  to  his  wife  during  the 
final  weeks  of  his  illness. 

The  time  which  he  chose  for  composition  was  the  afternoon,  as 
he  then  felt  the  oppression  of  his  disease  most  forcibly.  His 
widow  wrote  to  Mr.  Miller  that  her  husband  continued  to  teach  his 
classes  up  to  the  last  day  of  his  life.  It  is  an  indescribably  melan- 
choly thing  for  us  to  find,  in  these  lines,  the  very  exudation  of 
perishing  hopes  and  broken  purposes.  But  in  their  trust  they  are 
as  lovely  as  in  their  sorrow.  Some  of  the  verses  have  been  so 
good  as  to  be  erroneously  ascribed  to  Keble. 

Father,  hear  the  prayer  we  offer. — Anon.  1864. 
This  piece,  in  four  stanzas,  entitled  "  The  Prayer  of  Life,"  is 
anonymous  in  Hy?nns  of  the  Spirit,  1864. 

Father  !  how  wide  thy  glory  shines.  — Watts. 
In  HorcB   Lyricce,    Book    I.,    1705,  this   is    the    piece  entitled 
•'  God  glorious  and  Sinners  saved. "     It  has  nine  stanzas.     One 
of  them,  usually  omitted,  contains  a  striking  expression  : 
"  Our  thoughts  are  lost  in  rev'rend  awe, 
We  love  and  we  adore  ; 
The  first  archangel  never  saw 
So  much  of  God  before." 

Father,  I  know  that  all  my  life.  — Waring. 
Miss  Anna  Laetitia  Waring's   long  hymn,  entitled    "  Supplica- 
tion, "  has  furnished  the  material  for  this  beautiful   song  of  praise. 
As  given  in  Lyra  Briiannica,  it  consists  of  eight  six-line  stanzas. 
One  stanza,  not  in  common  use,  is  too  fine  to  be  omitted  here  : 

"  And  if  some  things  I  do  not  ask 

In  my  cup  of  blessing  be, 
I  would  have  my  spirit  filled  the  more 

With  grateful  love  to  thee  ; 
More  careful — not  to  serve  thee  much 

But  to  please  thee  perfectly." 

These  last  two  lines  contain  a  touch  of  real  spiritual  genius — a 
flash  of  that  illuminating  divine  knowledge  which  shows  us  how 
the  Lord,  who  "  is  not  served  by  men's  hands,"  delights  most  in 
those  who  love  his  will,  and  do  ' '  always  the  things  that  please 
him."  The  whole  poem  is  exquisite.  It  has  been  frequently 
reprinted  entire.      Miss  Waring  has  also  written  : 


146  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  In  heavenly  love  abiding."     1850. 

"  Go  not  far  from  me,  O  my  Strength/'     1850. 

"  My  heart  is  resting,  O  my  God." 

"  My  Saviour,  on  the  word  of  truth." 

"  Source  of  my  life's  refreshing  springs." 

"  Sweet  is  the  solace  of  thy  love."     [Isa.  2  :  12.] 

The  present  hymn  is  derived  from  Hymns  and  Meditations,  by 
A.  L.  W.,  1850.  She  has  printed  her  sacred  songs  since  that  date 
in  Additional  Hymns,    1858,  and   in  the  Sunday  Magazine,    1871. 

Few  authors  are  so  sensitive  and  shy  of  publicity  as  Miss  Waring. 
She  has  written  her  heart  into  her  hymns,  but  the  particulars  of 
her  life  and  education  are  concealed  from  us.  She  was  born  in 
1820,  and  we  know  additionally  that  she  is  a  native  of  Neath, 
Glamorganshire,  South  Wales,  where  she  resided  at  last  accounts. 
Rev.  F.  D.  Huntingdon,  D.D.,  deserves  the  credit  for  having  in- 
troduced her  verses,  in  1863,  to  the  notice  of  American  readers. 
She  must  have  been  a  great  sufferer  to  have  written  : 
**  Who  would  not  suffer  pain  like  mine 
To  be  consoled  like  me  ?n 

Father,  in  high  heaven  dwelling. — Rawson. 
The  author  of  this  hymn  is  George  Rawson,  known  for  some 
years  as  "  A  Leeds  Layman, ' '  who  contributed  fifteen  pieces  to 
the  Leeds  Hymn-Book,  1853,  and  twenty-seven  to  the  Psalms 
and  Hymns  of  the  Baptist  Denominationy  1858,  both  of  which 
collections  he  helped  to  edit.  His  version  of  the  99th  Psalm, 
"God,  the  Lord,  is  King, "  is  in  the  English  Methodist  collec- 
tion. Mr.  Rawson  lives  at  Clifton,  near  Bristol,  and  he  published 
in  1876  all  his  hymns  in  one  large  volume,  under  his  own  name. 
He  was  born  June  5th,  1807,  and  to  the  best  of  our  present 
knowledge,  is  still  living  (1885).  The  present  hymn  is  in  the 
Leeds  Collection,   1853. 

Father  !  in  thy  mysterious  presence  kneeling.  — Johnson. 

This  prayer  "  For  Divine  Strength"  was  first  published  as  a 
hymn  in  the  Hymns  of  the  Spirit,  1864,  of  which  the  author, 
Rev.  Samuel  Johnson,  was  one  of  the  compilers.  Eleven  of  Mr. 
Johnson's  pieces  are  in  Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith,  and  among 
them  is  his  splendid  "  City  of  God,  how  broad  and  far." 

Mr.  Johnson  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  October  10th,  1822. 
He  was  absent  from   his  native  town  during  his  college  years  at 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  147 

Harvard,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1842,  and  at  the  Divinity 
School  in  1846,  and  subsequently  in  an  Independent  religious 
pastorate  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  from  1853  to  1870.  Then  he  returned 
to  Salem,  where  he  died,  in  1882. 

His  sentiments  were  Theistic  in  religion  and  Anti -slavery  in 
politics.  In  spirit  he  was  always  devotional,  and  he  is,  probably, 
better  known  by  his  works  on  the  Oriental  Religions  than  by  any- 
thing else  that  he  has  done.  These  books  display  great  learning 
and  breadth  of  thought,  and  deservedly  rank  with  the  treatises  of 
Max  Mliller,  James  Freeman  Clark,  De  Pressense,  Green  and 
Hard  wick. 

Father  of  heaven,  whose  love  profound. — Cooper. 

The  author  is  Rev.  Edward  Cooper — unmentioned  by  Miller, 
Hatfield,  Belcher,  Gadsby,  Hutchins,  Nutter,  G.  Stevenson  or 
Bird,  and  by  King  only  to  err.  Prescott  says,  briefly,  that  he 
was  "  the  rector  of  a  parish  in  Staffordshire,  who  died  in  1833. 
The  hymn  appears  in  collections  as  early  as  1808." 

The  earliest  known  copy  is  in  "  Portions  of  the  Psalms,  chiefly 
selected  from  the  Versions  of  Merrick  and  Watts,  with  Occasional 
Hymns,  adapted  to  the  Service  of  the  Church,  for  every  Sunday  in 
the  Year.  Uttoxeter,  1808."  This  text,  carefully  edited,  is  the 
same  as  is  reprinted  in  Laudes  Domini,  from  the  Free  Church 
Hymn- Book,  1882. 

The  information  which  we  are  able  to  furnish  is  derived  from  a 
scarce  volume  in  the  Astor  Library,  entitled  Living  Authors 
(18 1 6).  Mr.  Cooper's  name  is  there  given  as  "  Edward  Cooper, 
Rector  of  Hamstall  Ridware,  and  Yoxhall,  Staffordshire,  and  late 
Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford."  The  titles  of  some  of  his 
sermons  are  mentioned.  In  the  Oxford  lists  of  graduates  there 
are  several  persons  of  the  same  name  and  of  nearly  the  same 
period.  This  one  (we  think)  is  the  Edward  Cooper  who  was  a 
"  Grand  Compounder"  of  All  Souls'  College,  receiving  his  B.A., 
December  17th,  1792,  and  being  "starred"  so  as  to  indicate 
that  he  took  precedence  of  others  in  point  of  social  standing.  A 
"  Compounder"  is  "  one  who,  at  a  university,  pays  extraordinary 
fees,  proportioned  to  his  estate,  for  the  degrees  which  he  takes. 

The  assiduous  Dr.  Allibone  enlarges  our  knowledge  of  Cooper. 
His  rectorship  of  Yoxhall  began  in  1809  ;  he  died  in  1833.     His 


148  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Practical  and  Familiar  Sermons  (7  vols.,  i2mo)  passed  through 
many  editions.  Bickersteth,  in  his  Christian  Student,  calls  these 
discourses  "  plain,  sound  and  useful."  The  Free  Church  Hymn- 
Book,  1882,  states  that  the  hymn  appeared  in  the  collection  named 
above,  which  was  printed  anonymously,  "  but  attributed  to  Mr. 
Cooper  on  the  authority  of  an  aged  clergyman  who  knew  him  per- 
sonally (the  Rev.  John  Wakefield,  Rector  of  Hughley,  Salop)" — 
which  fact  is  taken  from  a  note  in  the  annotated  copy  of  Church 
Hymns.  In  the  original  collection  it  is  also  marked  ' '  Cooper, ' ' 
and  it  is  said  to  have  been  in  two  previous  collections.  Sometimes 
it  is  attributed  to  "J.  Cooper" — as  by  Rev.  W.  F.  Stevenson,  in 
Hymns  for  the  Church  and  Home,  and  Rev.  James  King,  in 
Anglican  Hymnology. 

Father  of  mercies,  in  thy  word. — Steele. 

There  are  twelve  stanzas  to  this  hymn,  which  is  usually  em- 
ployed in  England  before  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the  Dis- 
senting Churches.  Christophers  has  reprinted  it  entire,  in  his 
Hymns  and  Hymn  Writers. 

The  Jewish  teachers  were  accustomed  to  say  that  the  Word  of 
God  was  properly  compared  to  wine  and  milk — as  in  the  55  th 
chapter  of  Isaiah — because  these  fluids  are  best  preserved  in  vessels 
of  earthenware,  and  not  in  gold  or  silver.  Thus,  they  said,  those 
minds  which  are  of  humble  and  modest  character  are  best  adapted 
to  storing  up  the  great  truths  of  the  divine  revelation. 

Father  of  mercies,  send  thy  grace. — Doddridge,  partly. 

In  Doddridge's  hymns  this  bears  the  title,  "  The  Good  Samari- 
tan." The  text  is  Luke  10  :  30-37,  and  it  has  five  stanzas.  This 
piece,  however,  appeared  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine,  in  1805, 
with  the  omission  of  the  first  stanza  (which  is  Doddridge's)  and 
with  the  following  preliminary  statement  : 

"Ona  Box  being  fixed  in  Stroud  Meeting,  Kent,  for  the  Benefit 
of  the  Sick  Poor,  March  10th,  1794."  It  is  signed  "  A  Lady." 
The  stanzas  commence  with  the  lines  : 

1.  "Oh  may  our  sympathizing  breasts — " 

2.  "  When  the  most  helpless  sons  of  grief — " 

3.  "  So  Jesus  looked  on  dying  men — " 

4.  "  On  wings  of  love  the  Saviour  flew — " 

5.  "  The  mite  your  willing  hands  can  give — " 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  149 

Father,  thy  name  be  praised,  thy  kingdom  given. — Winkworth,  /r. 
In  Laudes  Domini  there  are  four  lines  added  to  this  hymn,  as 
a  doxology,  from  the  Hymnary,  1872.  Our  piece  is,  originally, 
the  closing  stanza  of  an  evening  hymn  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren, 
"  Die  Nacht  ist  Kommen,"  etc.  ("  Now  God  be  with  us,  for  the 
night  is  closing"). 

Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost. — C.  (?)  Wesley. 
From  the  Hymns  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  1745.     The  authorship 
cannot  be  settled  positively. 

Father,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss. — Steele. 
This  hymn  is  from  the  sick-room.     In  Miss  Steele's  poems, 
1760,  a  copy  of  which   in  the  original  edition  is  now  before  us, 
this  appears  at  p.  134  of  Vol.  I.     It  commences  : 
"  When  I  survey  life's  varied  scene 
Amid  the  darkest  hours." 

The  hymn  with  which  we  are  so  familiar,  and  which  is  probably 
the  best  known  and  loved  of  all  that  Miss  Steele  ever  wrote,  is 
the  last  three  stanzas.     The  whole  piece  has  ten,   and  the  eighth 

begins  : 

"  And  oh,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss 
Thy  sov'reign  hand  denies." 

The  poem  is  entitled  "  Desiring  Resignation  and  Thankfulness/' 
The  author,  we  are  told,  permitted  her  hymns— one  hundred  and 
forty-four  in  number — to  be  published  with  the  understanding 
that  the  profits  from  their  sale  should  go  to  benevolent  objects. 

The  tune,  "  Naomi,"  was  written  by  Lowell  Mason,  in  1836, 
to  accompany  these  words,  and  to  sing  them  to  any  other  would 
seem  to  the  American  churches  almost  like  sacrilege. 

When  the  holy  Fletcher  of  Madeley  was  in  high  favor  with 
George  III.  of  England,  because  of  a  paper  which  he  had  written 
on  the  American  war,  the  monarch  asked  him  what  preferment  he 
would  desire.  "  Sire,"  said  the  good  man,  "  I  want  nothing  but 
more  grace. ' ' 

Father,  whose  hand  hath  led  me  so  securely. — Massie,  tr. 
We  derive  this  hymn  from  the  German  of  Carl  Johann  Philipp 
Spitta,  through  the  translation  of  Richard  Massie.     The  original 
is  in  Spitta 's  Psalter  und  Harfe.     Mr.  Massie  entitled  his  volume 


150  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

of  translations  Lyra  Domestica.  It  appeared  in  i860,  and  has 
been  reprinted,  and  supplied  with  a  prefatory  notice,  on  this  side 
of  the  water,  by  Rev.  F.  D.  Huntingdon,  D.  D. 

Fear  not,  O  little  flock,  the  foe.  — Winkworth,  tr. 

This  was  one  of  the  noblest  strains  evoked  by  the  Thirty  Years' 
War.  It  was  the  battle-song  of  Gustavus  Adolphus's  army,  and 
after  the  king  had  knelt  in  their  presence  and  solemnly  invoked 
the  divine  blessing  on  their  cause,  they  were  accustomed  to  sing 
it  together.  That  thousands  of  Swedish  voices  should  sound  forth 
such  a  song  of  praise  and  trust  must  have  been  an  inspiration  of 
victory  in  itself. 

The  authorship  of  the  piece  has  frequently  been  ascribed  to 
Johann  Michael  Altenburg,  who  doubtless  arranged  the  music  of 
it,  and  who  made  the  German  version,  from  which  Miss  Wink- 
worth  has  taken  the  present  hymn.  But  the  real  author  was  Dr. 
Jacob  Fabricius  (born,  1593  ;  died,  1654).  He  it  was  who  com- 
posed it  for  his  king's  use.  Dr.  Fabricius  was  the  court  chaplain, 
and  the  hymn  arose  in  the  king's  own  heart,  but  he  was  incapable 
of  expressing  it  as  he  desired,  being  no  man  of  letters,  but  only  a 
man  of  the  sword. 

The  incidents  connected  with  the  hymn  are  recorded  at  length 
by  Simon  Wolimhaus,  a  Swedish  writer,  in  a  book  published  at 
Stockholm,  1655.  In  1707,  Nordberg,  the  chaplain  of  the  Swedish 
king,  Charles  XII.,  showed  to  Dr.  Rechenberg,  in  Leipzig,  a 
document  establishing  these  facts  :  viz.,  that  the  hymn  was  really 
composed  by  Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  put  in  shape  by  Dr.  Fabri- 
cius, who  versified  the  prose  of  his  royal  master.  Further,  we 
know  that  Dr.  Fabricius  informed  Dr.  Born,  at  Leipzig,  in  the 
presence  of  Dr.  Hiilsemann,  that  this  account  was  correct. 

At  the  battle  of  Leipzig  the  king  bade  his  army  sing  Luther's 
hymn,  "  Eiri  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott."  So  he  did  again  in 
his  last  struggle  at  Liitzen  with  Wallenstein.  On  that  occasion 
he  followed  it  with  this  hymn,  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  drums 
and  trumpets  of  the  army.  Then  he  knelt  beside  his  horse  and 
offered  this  prayer  :  ' '  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  bless  our  arms  and  this 
day's  battle  for  the  glory  of  thy  holy  name."  Then  he  arose  and 
went  along  the  line  encouraging  his  troops.  Many  of  his  sayings 
have  been  preserved.     He  gave  the  men  their  old  slogan,  "  Gott 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  151 

mit  uns" — "  God  with  us" — as  their  battle-cry.  Then  he  called 
aloud  :  "  Now  let  us  begin  !"  The  fog  which  had  hung  over 
the  plain  was  thinning  away,  and  the  king  had  only  a  buff  coat 
on  his  body.  ' '  God  is  my  armor, ' '  he  said  to  his  servant,  who 
wanted  to  induce  him  to  put  on  his  coat-of-mail.  Later  he  ex- 
claimed :  "  Jesu,  Jesu,  help  us  to-day  to  fight  for  thy  holy  name's 
honor."  About  eleven  o'clock  the  fatal  bullet  struck  him  from 
his  horse,  but  the  victory  was  secure  to  the  evangelical  troops.  As 
he  fell,  he  cried  out  :  "  I  seal  with  my  blood  the  liberty  and  re- 
ligion of  the  German  nation."  Then  he  said  :  "  My  God,  my 
God."  And,  finally:  "Alas!  my  poor  queen!"  The  hymn 
is,  therefore,  a  most  befitting  production  to  come  from  one  who 
always  wished  that  faith  should  be  put  in  God,  and  not  in  any 
earthly  leader. 

A  certain  Peter  Streng,  who  sang  this  hymn  throughout  Ger- 
many, once  asserted  that  it  was  "  dearer  to  him  than  the  best 
house  in  Coburg, "  for  when  he  was  a  poor  boy  the  people  would 
always  give  him  bread  when  they  heard  this  song  from  his  lips. 

The  excellent  Spener  made  this  his  Sunday  hymn.  After  din- 
ner, each  week,  the  company  around  his  table  joined  in  singing 
it.  It  is  also  sung  at  the  meetings  of  the  "  Gustavus  Adolphus 
Association,"  which  supports  needy  Protestant  churches  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  countries. 

Perhaps  it  is  as  well  to  add  to  this  story  that  the  king  was  born 
in  1594,  and  died,  November  16th,  1632. 

Fierce  raged  the  tempest  o'er  the  deep. — Thring. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1858,  and  it  is  so  generally  accepted 
by  the  Anglican  hymnals  as  to  induce  Rev.  James  King  to  class  it 
among  the  ' '  standard  hymns  of  the  future. ' ' 

Fierce  was  the  wild  billow. — Neale,  tr. 
Dr.  Neale  translated  these  verses  from  the  Greek  of  St.  Ana- 
tolius,  ^ocpspaS  rpiHvpiias,  and  placed  the  rendering  in  his 
Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Churchy  1862.  St.  Anatolius  was  bishop 
of  Constantinople,  being  consecrated  in  449.  He  died  in  458, 
having  been  the  apocrisiarius,  or  ecclesiastical  representative  of 
Dioscuras,  the  Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  at  Constantinople.  The 
Pope  of  Rome  also  maintained  such  a  functionary  there  for  some 
time,  the  purpose  being  to  hold  the  right  of  prerogative,  as  a  cog- 


152  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

nate  and  equal  dignitary.  Anatolius  found  his  post  a  difficult 
one.  He  crowned  the  Emperor  Leo,  and  contrived,  through  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon,  to  set  the  Eastern  and  Western  churches  on 
a  level,  by  insisting  upon  the  equality  of  Constantinople  and 
Rome.  He  was  evidently  acting  in  the  interests  of  a  rival  third 
party — Alexandria — and  therefore  was  charged  with  ambition  and 
intrigue.  But  he  seems  to  have  been  fairly  innocent  of  serious 
offences,  although  living   in  a  troublous  age. 

This  hymn,  and  others  like  it,  show  that  he  possessed  a  vein  of 
real  and  tender  poetry.  Dr.  Neale  compares  him,  not  very  hap- 
pily or  successfully,  to  Venantius  Fortunatus,  for  whom  see  "  The 
Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns."  The  hymns  translated 
from  him  by  Dr.  Neale  have  been  popular.  They  are,  addition- 
ally : 

"  The  day  is  past  and  over." 

"  The  Lord  and  King  of  all  things." 

"  A  great  and  mighty  wonder." 

Firm  as  the  earth  thy  Gospel  stands. — Watts. 

We  find  this  hymn  after  a  sermon  on  John  10  :  28,  29.  It  is 
also  the  138th  hymn  of  Dr.  Watts' s  first  book,  with  the  title, 
"  Saints  in  the  Hands  of  Christ" 

The  hymn  is  in  three  stanzas,  and  its  first  line  reads  :  ' '  Firm 
as  the  rock  thy  Gospel  stands." 

For  a  season  called  to  part.  — Newton. 
This  was  written  as  a"  Parting  Hymn,"  in  November,  1776, 
when  Newton  was  leaving  Olney  for  London,  there  to  undergo  a 
painful  operation.      It  begins  with  the  words  :   "  As  the  sun's  en- 
livening eye,"  and  in  the  Ohiey  Hymns  it  is  Book  II.,  No.  71. 

For  all  thy  saints,  O  God. — Mant. 

This  hymn  is  No.  64,  in  Mant's  Ancient  Hymns,  in  six  stanzas. 
It  commences  :  "  For  all  thy  saints,  O  Lord."  The  date  is  about 
1837.     The  original  has  "  For  thy  dear  saints,  O  Lord." 

Richard  Mant  was  born  at  Southampton  (Dr.  Watts' s  birth- 
place), February  12th,  1776.  His  father  was  rector  of  All  Saints' 
Church,  in  that  place,  and  was  somewhat  celebrated  as  an  author 
and  scholar.  The  son  was  placed  at  Winchester  School,  in  1789, 
and  subsequently  at  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  where  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1 801,  and  soon  ordained  as  curate  to  his  father,  at  Buriton, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  153 

Petersfield,  Hants.  In  18 10  he  became  vicar  of  Coggeshall, 
Essex,  and  was  appointed,  in  1813,  to  be  domestic  chaplain  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  In  18 16,  we  find  him  rector  of 
St.  Botolph,  Bishopsgate,  London.  In  1820  he  was  consecrated 
bishop  of  Killaloe,  Ireland,  and  was  translated  to  the  see  of  Down 
and  Connor  in  1823.  In  1842  he  was  elevated  to  the  bishopric  of 
Dromore,  and  died  on  the  2d  of  November,  1848.  Bishop 
Mant's  writings  are  voluminous,  and  his  hymns — of  which  there 
is  a  multitude— are  scattered  through  his  different  works. 

For  all  thy  saints,  who  from  their  labors  rest.  — How. 
This  hymn,  dated  1854,  is  the  production  of  Bishop  William 
Walsham  How,  and  is  one  of  the  coming  M  standard  "  hymns  of 
the  English  Church. 

Forever  with  the  Lord.  —  Montgomery. 

Montgomery  said,  in  the  winter  of  1849,  tnat  ne  nad  received 
more  indications  of  approval  for  the  verses  beginning  * '  Here  in 
the  body  pent ' '  than  for  anything  he  had  ever  written,  except  the 
lines  on  prayer. 

This  hymn  is  found  as  No.  234,  among  his  Original  Hymns, 
with  the  title,  "  At  Home  in  Heaven  :  1  Thess.  4:17."  It  has 
twenty-one  stanzas,  and  the  date  is  1835,  in  which  year  it  was 
published  in  the  Poet's  Portfolio,  and  also  in  the  first  edition  of 
the  author's  Original  Hy?nns.  It  seems  strange  that  so  precious 
a  song  of  trust  and  aspiration  was  unknown  to  the  Methodist 
churches  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Then  it  was  placed  in 
their  hymnals,  and  the  first  occasion  of  its  use,  during  a  meeting 
of  the  Conference  of  churches  at  Leeds,  was  marked  by  the  deep 
emotion  of  a  very  aged  man,  Rev.  James  Everett,  a  personal  friend 
of  the  writer  of  the  hymn. 

This  was  the  favorite  hymn  of  the  distinguished  Christian  jurist, 
Hugh  McCalmont  Cairns,  Earl  Cairns,  Lord  High  Chancellor  of 
England.  He  was  born  December  27th,  18 19,  and  this  hymn 
was  sung  at  his  funeral  services,  April  7th,  1885. 

For  the  beauty  of  the  earth. — Pierpoint. 
Folliott  Sandford  Pierpoint  is  the  son  of  William  Home  Pier- 
point,   of  Bath,   England.      He  was  born  at  Spa  Villa,  October 
7th,    1835,   and  this  hymn,    it  is  stated,   first  appeared  in  Lyra 


154  ENGLISH  HYMNS, 

Eucharistica,  second  edition,  1864.  He  also  contributed  to  the 
first  edition,  1863,  a  hymn — "  O  cross,  O  cross  of  shame."  His 
name  does  not  appear  in  the  list  of  graduates  from  Oxford,  Cam- 
bridge, or  Edinburgh  universities,  nor  is  he  on  the  clerical  lists. 
The  present  information  is  from  W.  Fleming  Stevenson's  capital 
little  collection,  Hymns  for  Church  and  Home,  London,  1873, 
to  whose  brief  biographical  notes  we  are  much  indebted. 

For  the  mercies  of  the  day. — O.  P.,  1826. 

"  O.  P."  edited  a  little  Missionary  Psalmist,  1826.  This  was 
one  of  his  own  hymns  included  in  that  collection.  Nothing 
further  is  known  of  the  author.  The  hymn  originally  began  with 
the  stanza,  "  Ere  another  Sabbath's  close,"  and  is  entered  under 
this   line  as  "Anon.,  1841/ '  in  Lord  Selborne's  Book  of  Praise . 

It  has  been  sometimes  credited  to  Hon.  and  Rev.  Baptist  W. 
Noel,  in  whose  Selection,  1832,  it  appeared.  It  has  been  also  re- 
ferred to  "J.  Montgomery,  1853" — but  this  is  a  palpable  error. 

For  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country. — Neale,  ir. 
This  is  part  of  "Jerusalem  the  Golden,"  1851,  commencing 
with  the  line,  "  O  bona  patria,  lumina  sobria  te  speculantur.'" 
Bernard's  unique  poem  (of  which  we  possess  a  perfect  copy)  is 
divided  into  three  books,  embracing  about  three  thousand  lines. 
Dr.  Neale's  and  Archbishop  Trench's  cento  has  been  made  up 
from  the  first  part  of  the  first  book,  and  this  verse  occurs  about 
one  third  of  the  distance  from  the  commencement.  Further  in- 
formation is  reserved  for  appropriate  and  extended  treatment  in 
"  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

For  what  shall  I  praise  thee,  my  God  and  my  King. — Wilson. 
Mrs.  Caroline  (Fry)  Wilson,  born  at  Tunbridge  Wells,  Decem- 
ber 31st,  1787,  is  the  reputed  author  of  "  We  speak  of  the  realms 
of  the  blest" — which  Dr.  Charles  Rogers  assigns  to  her,  with  a 
trifle  of  misgiving,  and  which  now  seems  the  property  of  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Mills.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  farmer  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, and  published  a  Poetical  Catechism  in  182 1,  which 
passed  through  several  editions.  Her  Serious  Poetry  also  met 
with  favor.  She  married  in  1831,  and  died  at  Tunbridge  Wells, 
September  17th,  1846.  Her  Autobiography,  Letters  and  Re- 
mains, 1843,    show  her  to  have  been  a  person  of  deep  religious 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  155 

experience.     This  hymn  has   been   sometimes  assigned  to  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Fry. 

Forsake  me  not  !  O  thou,  my  Lord,  my  Light ! — Morgan,  tr. 
This  translation,  by  Mrs.  John  P.  Morgan,  of  N.  Y.  City,  ap- 
peared   in   the  Christian  Union  in  1883.     The  lady's  residence   is 
not  now  known,  and  every  effort  to  procure  further  information 
has  failed.     The  version  is  probably  from  some  German  hymn. 

Forward,  be  our  watchword. — Alford. 
This  hymn  was  written,  and  the  music  composed,  to  be  sung 
at  the  "  Tenth  Festival  of  Parochial  Choirs  of  the  Canterbury  Dio- 
cesan Union,"  June  6th,  1871.     It  has  eight  stanzas  in  all. 

Friend  of  sinners  !   Lord  of  glory. — N.  Hall. 

Rev.  Christopher  Newman  Hall,  LL.B.,  was  born  at  Maid- 
stone, Kent,  England,  May  2  2d,  18 16.  He  is  the  son  of  John 
Vine  Hall  (author  of  The  Smner 's  Friend),  and  brother  of  Cap- 
tain John  Vine  Hall,  once  the  commander  of  the  "  Great  East- 
ern." He  was  educated  at  Totteridge  and  at  Highbury  College, 
and  took  his  degree  at  the  London  University.  In  1842  he  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Albion  Congregational  Church,  Hull,  and  in 
1854  succeeded  Rev.  James  Sherman  at  Surrey  Chapel  (sometimes 
called  Rowland  Hill's  Chapel,  from  its  former  minister)  in 
Blackfriars  Road,  London.  Here  Mr.  Hall  has  done  a  great  and 
good  work — though  not  without  detraction  and  opposition.  He 
has  planned  and  carried  out  many  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the 
working  classes.  He  took  the  part  of  the  North  against  the  South 
in  the  American  Civil  War,  and  has  visited  this  country  on  several 
occasions.  The  tower  of  his  present  church  (Christ  Church,  Lon- 
don) is  named  after  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
money  to  erect  it  came  from  America.  This  church  was  dedicated 
July  4th,  1876 — the  "Centennial"  year.  Mr.  Hall  advocates 
open-air  preaching,  and  may  often  be  seen  addressing  a  crowd 
upon  the  street  at  the  close  of  his  regular  services.  His  tract, 
Come  to  Jesus,  has  been  translated  into  at  least  thirty  languages, 
and  is  still  circulating  by  the  million  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  present  piece  is  taken  from  Rhymes  Composed  at  Bolton 
Abbey,  and  Other  Rhymes,  1857.  The  author's  hymns  are  now 
collected  in  Pilgrim  Songs  in  Cloud  and  Sunshine,    1886. 


156  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies. — .Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  version  of  Ps.  117,  L.  M.     It  is  a  brief  ren- 
dering of  the  shortest  chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  yet  it  is  full  of 
force  and  fervor.     There  is  a  charm  in  poetry  and  music  which 
has  never  been  exhausted,  and  by  some  not  even  fully  realized. 

"  An  instance  of  this  was  witnessed,"  says  G.  J.  Stevenson,  "  in  1849, 
in  a  large  school  of  poor  children  at  Lambeth  Green,  London.  The  day's 
work  was  done,  the  usual  singing  and  prayer  were  over,  and  three  hundred 
boys  were  expecting  in  a  moment  to  be  free  from  authority  and  at  play. 
This  Psalm  by  Dr.  Watts  had  been  sung  to  the  tune  of  the  '  Portuguese 
Hymn.'  The  master  made  a  few  remarks  about  the  pleasure  music  pro- 
duced, and  asked  the  children  to  try  and  sing  the  hymn  again.  They  did 
so  ;  it  was  done  with  care  and  much  feeling.  Again  the  request  was  pre- 
ferred— would  they  like  to  sing  it  again  ?  The  reply  from  hundreds  of 
voices  was  a  simultaneous  '  Yes.'  It  was  repeated,  if  possible  with  in- 
creased delight  to  the  boys.  Then  followed  a  few  remarks  about  the 
music  of  heaven,  and  how  sweet  it  must  be  there,  and  the  boys  were 
asked  if  they  had  not  felt  more  happy  by  that  singing  than  if  they  had 
been  at  play.  Another  unanimous  '  Yes  '  was  the  response  ;  and  again 
they  were  asked  to  sing.  '  Oh,  yes,'  was  the  instant  reply  ;  and  thus  half 
an  hour  of  their  play-time  was  occupied  by  singing  praise  to  God  by 
three  hundred  poor  children,  immediately  under  the  shadow  of  the  palace 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  at  Lambeth,  and  the  children  thanked 
the  teacher  for  the  pleasure  their  own  voices  had  afforded  to  themselves. 
The  hymn  and  tune  were  fixed  in  their  memories  for  life." 

From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows. — Stowell. 

Rev.  Hugh  Stowell,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  bore  a  very  high 
reputation  in  the  Church  of  England.  He  was  born  at  Douglas, 
in  the  Isle  of  Man,  December  3d,  1799.  His  father  was  the 
rector  of  Ballaugh,  near  Ramsay,  and  the  son  was  educated  for  the 
Church.  In  18 18  he  entered  St.  Edmund's  Hall,  Oxford,  and 
was  graduated  in  1822.  He  was  made  deacon  in  1823,  and 
priest,  October  3d,  1824.  He  was  first  curate  of  Shapscombe, 
Gloucestershire,  and  was  then  stationed  for  two  years  at  Hudders- 
field  before  he  became  the  incumbent  of  St.  Stephen's,  Salford, 
across  the  river  from  Manchester.  Here  he  gathered  multitudes 
to  hear  the  Gospel,  and  their  generosity  equalling  their  numbers, 
the  beautiful  structure  called  Christ  Church  was  speedily  erected. 

In  this  he  preached  with  fervor  to  thronged  assemblages  until 
his  power  was  so  well  recognized  that  he  was  made  an  honorary 
canon  of  Chester  Cathedral,  and  afterward  rural  dean  of  Salford. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  157 

The  duty  of  these  deans,  it  has  been  sometimes  wittily  said,  is  to 
do  their  best  to  keep  the  bishops  out  of  their  cathedrals.  Cer- 
tainly Dean  Stowell  was  no  lover  of  Ritualism,  for  his  sympathies 
all  ran  toward  the  Low  Church  and  evangelical  wing  of  the  Angli- 
can Communion.  He  was  a  hearty  supporter  of  the  religious  and 
benevolent  societies  of  the  day.  The  Bible,  Tract,  and  Mission- 
ary causes  had  his  constant  encouragement,  and  the  Oxford  Trac- 
tarians  met  his  unflinching  opposition. 

After  his  death,  at  Salford,  October  8th,  1865,  several  of  his 
sermons  and  forty-six  of  his  hymns  were  published.  A  memoir 
of  his  life,  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Marsden,  appeared  in  1868. 
In  1 83 1  he  had  already  issued  some  of  these  pieces  in  his  Collec- 
tion of  Psalms  and  Hymns.  The  present  hymn  is  entitled 
"  Peace  at  the  Mercy-Seat,"  and  was  contributed,  in  1827,  to  the 
Winter  s  Wreath,  from  which  it  was  copied  into  Littell's  Religious 
Magazine  (Philadelphia),  in  1828.  Its  author  republished  it,  in 
1832,  in  his  Pleasures  0/  Religion  and  Other  Poems. 

The  hymn,  "  Lord  of  mercy  and  of  might,"  was  written  by  him 
for  the  Jubilee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Alfred  Stowell,  canon  of  Manchester,  gives 
the  following  account  of  his  father's  death  : 

"  My  father's  last  utterances  abundantly  showed  his  love  of,  and  delight 
in,  prayer.  Almost  every  word  was  prayer,  couched  for  the  most  part  in 
the  language  of  Holy  Scripture,  or  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and 
these  prayers  were  characterized  by  the  deepest  humility  and  most  entire 
self-distrust. 

"  Equally  apparent  was  his  simple  and  firm  reliance  on  his  Saviour. 
To  the  question,  '  Is  Jesus  with  you  and  precious  to  you?'  the  answer 
was,  '  Yes,  so  that  he  is  all  in  all  to  me.' 

"  During  his  waking  moments  he  frequently  exclaimed,  '  Very  much 
peace,'  and  several  times,  '  No  fear,'  '  Abundance  of  joy,'  '  A  very  pres- 
ent help  in  time  of  trouble.'  The  morning  of  his  death  the  only  articulate 
words  that  we  could  catch,  uttered  two  or  three  hours  before  his  decease, 
were  :  '  Amen  !  Amen  ! ' 

*  His  watchword  at  the  gates  of  death, 
He  enters  heaven  by  prayer.' 

"  At  one  o'clock,  on  the  afternoon  of  God's  day  of  rest,  without  a 
struggle,  and  without  the  shadow  of  pain  crossing  his  peaceful  counte- 
nance, he  entered  into  rest." 

His  was,  therefore,  "  The  calm,  the  sure  retreat,"  of  which  he 
has  sung. 


158  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

From  Greenland's  icy  mountains. — Heber. 

Dean  Howson,  in  the  Art  Journal  for  June,  1873,  relates  that 
Mr.  Heber,  then  rector  of  Hodnet,  was  visiting  Dean  Shirley, 
dean  of  St.  Asaph,  and  vicar  of  Wrexham,  his  father-in-law,  just 
before  Whit-Sunday,  18 19.  He  gives  the  story  of  the  composition 
of  the  hymn  in  much  the  same  way  as  others,  and  it  is  now  well 
authenticated. 

The  facts  are  that  a  royal  letter  had  been  issued,  calling  for  mis- 
sionary collections  in  aid  of  the  ' '  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel"  on  that  particular  day.  Mr.  Heber  had  gone  to 
hear  the  dean  preach,  and  to  take  his  share  of  the  Sunday  even- 
ing lectures  just  established  in  that  church.  On  the  Saturday  pre- 
vious, he  was  asked  by  him  to  prepare  some  verses  to  be  sung  at 
the  closing  of  the  morning  service.  The  poet  sat  down  at  the 
window  of  the  old  vicarage,  and  in  a  short  time  produced  this 
hymn,  all  but  the  lines,  "Waft,  waft,  ye  winds,  his  story." 
These  he  wrote  just  afterward.  He  would  even  have  added 
another  stanza,  but  the  dean  was  now  positive  that  anything  more 
would  spoil  the  unity  of  the  piece.  Only  one  change  was  made 
in  the  copy — "  heathen"  being  put  instead  of  "  savage"  nations 
— and  the  manuscript  was  hurried  off  to  the  printer.  Dean  How- 
son  has  seen  the  clear  and  beautiful  first  draft — since  lithographed 
— and  the  printer,  Kennedy,  who  set  up  the  type,  as  a  boy,  that 
Saturday  night,  was  living  in  1873,  at  Wrexham. 

The  manuscript  passed  through  several  hands,  and  finally  came 
into  the  possession  of  Rev.  Dr.  Raffles,  of  Liverpool.  The  litho- 
graphed facsimile  was  made  by  Mr.  Hughes,  of  Wrexham,  and 
shows  the  mark  of  the  printer's  "  copy-hook"  on  which  it  had 
been  impaled.  On  the  back  is  a  circumstantial  history  of  its  com- 
position, signed  "  E."  The  original  was  shown  at  the  World's 
Exhibition  of  1851,  in  London.  It  was,  of  course,  sung  for  the 
first  time  in  Wrexham  church,  on  Whit-Sunday,  1819. 

Not  the  least  interesting  particular  connected  with  it  is  its  asso- 
ciation with  the  passage  in  Heber' s  Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  India, 
where,  under  date  of  September,  1823,  he  writes  : 

"  Though  we  were  now  too  far  off  Ceylon  to  catch  the  odors  of  the 
land,  yet  it  is,  we  are  assured,  perfectly  true  that  such  odors  are  percep- 
tible to  a  very  considerable  distance.  In  the  Straits  of  Malacca  a  smell 
like  that  of  a  hawthorn  hedge  is  commonly  experienced  ;  and  from  Cey- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  159 

Ion,  at  thirty  or  forty  miles,  under  certain  circumstances,  a  yet  more 
agreeable  scent  is  inhaled." 

This  is  the  author's  own  comment  upon  the  "  spicy  breezes" 
which  "  blow  soft  from  Ceylon's  isle." 

In  1852,  two  missionaries  were  sent  by  Bishop  Andrew  to  repre- 
sent the  South  Carolina  (M.  E. )  Conference  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
They  afterward  reported  that  among  their  bits  of  happiness  was  the 
pleasure  of  finding  a  man  and  his  wife  from  South  Carolina,  who 
were  sitting  before  a  tent  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  in  1853,  sing- 
ing this  hymn. 

In  the  revival  of  1858  there  were  several  converted  sailors  on 
board  the  "  North  Carolina,"  a  frigate  in  the  U.  S.  Navy.  When 
they  compared  nationalities  they  found  that  they  came  from  ten 
different  countries,  and  when  the  last  man  stated  that  he  had  been 
born  in  Greenland,  one  of  the  others  spontaneously  started  this 
hymn,  which  they  all  sang  heartily. 

From  the  cross  uplifted  high.  — Haweis. 
Dr.  Thomas  Haweis  was  one  of  that  glorious  group  of  hymn 
writers  who  surrounded  Selina  Shirley,  Countess  of  Huntingdon. 
Like  the  others,  he  contributed  to  that  square- shaped,  odd-look- 
ing, and  really  admirable  collection  of  hymns,  to  which  her  lady- 
ship, and  her  cousin,  Walter  Shirley,  devoted  so  much  care  and 
taste.  The  genealogy  of  the  later  English  hymns  is  soon  told. 
They  come  from  the  early  Greek,  through  the  Latin  of  Bernard  of 
Clairvaulx,  and  of  Peter  the  Venerable,  by  way  of  the  German  of 
Luther  and  Gerhardt.  Also,  through  the  Bohemians  and  Mora- 
vians, the  holy  strain  comes  down  until,  in  Lady  Huntingdon's 
hospitable  drawing-room,  Watts,  Doddridge,  and  the  Wesleys  put  an 
ineffaceable  character  upon  the  Christian  songs  of  the  eighteenth 
— and  even  of  the  nineteenth — centuries,  by  blending  the  vigor 
and  spirituality  of  both  these  sources  into  one  stream.  The  lesser 
rivulets  of  song  are  attuned  to  the  same  concord  of  sweet  sound. 
It  is  the  heart-life  of  the  Church  which  is  being  hymned.  And 
while  Haweis  is  by  no  means  among  the  masters,  he  has  their 
tone,  and  so  surely  has  it  that  he  is  kept  in  memory  still.  His 
hymns  are  such  as  : 

"  Enthroned  on  high,  almighty  Lord  !" 

"  To  thee,  my  God  and  Saviour," 

"  O  thou,  from  whom  all  goodness  flows," 


160  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  this  which  is  before  us.  They  are  fervent  and  tree  ;n  thei 
utterance,  and  the  Church  has  approved  a  fair  proportion  of  them. 
Rev.  Thomas  Haweis,  LL.B.,  M.D.,  was  born  at  Truro,  Corn* 
wall,  England,  in  the  year  1733,  according  to  Dr.  John  Morrison, 
His  family  was  of  good,  and  even  aristocratic,  lineage,  and  he  waj 
naturally  affiliated  with  the  society  in  which  Lady  Huntingdon 
moved.  The  young  man's  education  was  a  liberal  one,  and  an 
associate  of  his  student  days  was  that  Samuel  Foote,  the  comic 
actor,  of  whom  so  many  entertaining  stories  are  related. 

When  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age  the  curate  of  St.  Mary's 
church,  Truro,  was  Rev.  Samuel  Walker,  an  earnest  advocate  of 
the  evangelical  views  then  beginning  to  prevail  in  the  Church  of 
England.  It  was  under  the  preaching  and  personal  influence  of 
this  spiritually-minded  man  that  young  Haweis  was  sincerely  con- 
verted, and  became  a  pious  and  devoted  character.  Mr.  Walker 
soon  saw  in  him  many  indications  of  fitness  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  He  had  both  ardor  and  oratory,  and,  although  he  had 
begun  the  study  of  medicine  with  a  physician  in  Truro,  the  other 
calling  was  the  more  imperative. 

With  the  consent  of  his  family  he  now  entered  Oxford  as  a 
gentleman  commoner  of  Christ  Church  College,  whence  he  after- 
ward removed  to  Magdalen  Hall.  His  associates  and  habits  were 
of  the  best.  When  he  graduated  he  was  therefore  appointed,  in 
1757,  to  the  curacy  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen's  church,  Oxford,  and 
ordained  by  Dr.  Thomas  Seeker,  then  bishop  of  Oxford.  His 
success  as  a  preacher  was  immediate.  But  it  was  soon  noised 
abroad  that  he  was  a  "  Methodist,"  and  that  he  made  religion 
quite  too  serious  a  matter  upon  men's  consciences.  In  a  few 
years  this  feeling  culminated,  and  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hume,  the  new 
Bishop  of  Oxford,  ousted  him  from  his  curacy.  Our  phrase  is 
deliberately  chosen.  He  was  very  popular,  and  doing  a  great 
deal  of  good,  especially  among  the  students  of  the  university. 

Just  at  that  time  Rev.  Martin  Madan — known  as  a  hymn  com- 
piler, and  perhaps  as  the  composer  of  an  original  piece  or  two — 
was  in  charge  of  the  Lock  Hospital  chapel,  in  London,  which 
belonged  to  the  parish  of  Aldwinkle,  Northamptonshire.  A 
"  Lock  Hospital  "  was  one  where  peculiarly  depraved  and  aban- 
doned persons  could  be  met,  and  Mr.  Kimpton,  the  rector  of  the 
parish,  and  Madan 's  superior,  had  been  so  far  corrupted  by  bad 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  161 

example  that  he  was  in  debt  and  in  prison  himself.  The  "  living" 
— such  as  it  was — was  in  his  gift,  and  Madan  persuaded  him  to 
appoint  Haweis  to  the  post.  This  he  did,  but  after  awhile  he  was 
offered  a  thousand  guineas  for  this  privilege,  or  "  advowson,'"'  as 
it  was  called,  and  regretted  that  he  had  parted  with  it  for  nothing. 
He  then  attacked  Haweis  in  order  to  induce  him  to  pay  a  com- 
pensation or  else  give  up  the  position.  Under  advice  of  compe- 
tent persons  Haweis  declined  to  do  either  one  thing  or  the  other. 
The  result  was  a  controversy,  conducted,  as  was  the  custom  then, 
by  a  fusillade  of  small  pamphlets — in  which  (one  is  sorry  to  have 
to  say)  Mr.  Haweis  and  his  friends  did  not  spare  their  powder  and 
shot.  It  is  now  before  us  in  Fathers  and  Founders  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  edition  of  1844. 

Lady  Huntingdon  then  interposed,  and,  by  a  payment  of 
^1000  on  her  own  account,  forever  silenced  Mr.  Kimpton.  The 
affair  had  assumed  an  internecine  character,  and  vital  piety  was 
suffering,  though  Mr.  Haweis' s  conduct  has  never  been  im- 
peached. From  1763,  therefore,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  Thomas 
Haweis  held  this  pulpit  of  Aldwinkle,  honored  and  prosperous, 
and  turning  many  to  righteousness.  He  was  a  special  chaplain 
also  to  the  countess,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  "  London 
Missionary  Society,"  in  1795. 

The  list  of  his  writings  shows  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  learn- 
ing, and  of  considerable  exegetical  powers.  His  Carmina  Chrisio, 
1792,  contained  one  hundred  and  forty-one  original  hymns,  to 
which,  in  1808,  he  added  others,  which  made  the  entire  number 
two  hundred  and  fifty-six.  Not  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  of 
them,  however,  have  been  in  common  use,  and  these,  like  the 
present,  are  mostly  from  his  earlier  productions. 

When  advancing  years  rendered  him  infirm,  Dr.  Haweis  retired 
to  Bath,  and  there,  in  his  eighty-ninth  year,  February  nth,  1820, 
he  peacefully  expired. 

Of  his  hymns  he  said  :  "  They  are  such  as  my  heart  indited, 
and  they  speak  of  the  things  which  I  have  believed  concerning  my 
God  and  King.  They  all  point  to  one  object — to  a  crucified 
Jesus." 

From  the  recesses  of  a  lowly  spirit.  — Bowring. 

This  chant,  dated  in  1823,  is  another  striking  instance  of  the 
power  of  hymns  to  free  themselves  from  all  association  with  their 


1 62  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

authors.  Sir  John  Bowring's  verses  have  occasionally  been  re- 
garded as  composed  by  a  "  Unitarian,"  and  consequently  placed 
under  the  ban  of  some  compilers.  But  such  an  admirable  strain 
as  this,  and  such  a  triumphant  song  as  "In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I 
glory,"  and  such  a  significant  lyric  as  "  Watchman,  tell  us  of  the 
night,"  could  not  be  repressed  by  any  narrow  code.  The  good 
man's  evangelical  truth  entitled  him  to  say — if  he  cared  to  say  it 
— "  After  the  way  which  men  call  heresy,  so  worship  I  the  God 
of  my  fathers. ' ' 

From  the  table  now  retiring. — J.  Rowe. 

Rev.  John  Rowe  was  a  Dissenter,  and  is  said  by  some  (but 
erroneously)  to  have  been  a  Baptist.  He  was  for  thirty-four  years 
a  minister  in  Bristol,  and  his  theology  was  first  Calvinistic,  and 
then  Socinian.  He  was  born  at  Spensecomb,  near  Crediton, 
April  17th,  1764,  and  was  trained  from  boyhood  for  the  ministry 
— a  fact  which,  if  it  was  unaccompanied  by  any  desire  on  the 
lad's  own  part,  will  go  far  to  explain  his  subsequent  opinions. 

After  a  preliminary  classical  course  in  the  school  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Bretland,  he  entered  Hoxton  Academy.  This  being  closed,  he 
was  transferred  to  Hackney  College,  1786.  In  1787  he  became 
one  of  the  ministers  of  High  Street  Presbyterian  church,  Shrews- 
bury. How  long  he  continued  here  we  do  not  know,  but  in  1797 
he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  ministers  of  Lewin's  Mead  chapel, 
Bristol.  Rev.  Dr.  John  P.  Estlin,  a  distinguished  Unitarian,  was 
his  colleague  until  181 7.  Then,  and  until  Mr.  Rowe's  death, 
this  position  was  occupied  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lant  Carpenter,  another 
Unitarian.  So  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  Mr.  Rowe's  own  senti- 
ments. He  was  a  "serious,  earnest  and  impressive"  preacher, 
and  it  is  very  certain  that  in  those  days  much  theology  was  called 
"  heterodox"  which  is  well  received  in  our  times,  as  being  more 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Master  than  that  which  condemned  it. 

In  January,  183 1,  Mr.  Rowe  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and 
in  1832  he  gave  up  his  charge,  and  proceeded,  with  his  daughter, 
to  Italy.  He  had  been  sorely  afflicted  in  the  loss  of  different 
members  of  his  family,  and  this  sole  surviving  daughter  closed  his 
eyes  at  Siena,  July  2d,  1832.  He  died,  "  perfectly  resigned  and 
composed,"  in  his  sixty-ninth  year. 

The  present  hymn  dates  from  181 2. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  163 

Gently,  Lord,  oh,  gently  lead  us. — Hastings. 

Dr.  Thomas  Hastings  was  born  in  Washington,  Litchfield 
County,  Conn.,  October  15th,  1784.  His  parents  removed,  in 
1796,  to  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  making  their  way  through  what  was  then 
an  unbroken  wilderness,  in  sleighs  and  ox-sleds.  The  lad  was 
thus  inured  to  the  hardships  of  a  pioneer  life,  and  his  early  youth 
was  spent  in  the  routine  duties  of  the  farm.  But  with  the  winter 
months  came  the  eager  desire  for  knowledge,  to  gratify  which  he 
counted  it  no  hardship  to  go  six  miles  daily,  on  foot,  to  the 
school.  He  had  already  begun  the  study  of  music  from  a  six- 
penny primer  of  four  small  pages.  Next  he  became  fifth  chorister 
in  the  village  choir,  and  his  musical  career  was  commenced  in 
earnest.  Deriving  from  a  treatise  on  music  many  valuable  ideas, 
he  puzzled  out  its  difficult  places,  and  finally  mastered  its  contents. 
Then  he  turned  to  what  was  to  be  his  profession,  and  endeavored 
to  secure  a  situation  in  some  school  to  teach  music.  At  first  this 
was  a  failure  ;  but  finally,  in  1806-7,  ne  was  invited  to  Bridge- 
water,  Oneida  County,  and  Brookfield,  Herkimer  County. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  singing-schools  of  that  time 
and  region  were  by  no  means  places  of  hard  work.  Those  who 
went  were  mainly  young  people,  bent  on  fun  and  flirtation. 
Hence  a  conscientious  instructor  had  no  sinecure.  But  Mr.  Hast- 
ings was  inflexible  in  his  purpose,  and  he  not  only  enforced  his 
rules,  but  managed  to  obtain  very  apparent  good  results  by  the 
end  of  the  third  season.  In  1 8 1 6,  after  a  period  of  five  years 
spent  in  business  and  on  the  farm,  Mr.  Hastings  returned  to 
music,  and  compiled,  with  Professor  Norton,  the  famous  Musica 
Sacra.  In  18 18  he  was  invited  to  Troy,  and  at  this  date  he  ap- 
pears to  have  given  his  first  distinctive  attention  to  religious  music. 

The  year  1822  witnessed  the  outcome  of  these  thoughts,  in  a 
work  On  Musical  Taste.  In  this  he  took  the  ground  that  "  re- 
ligion has  the  same  claim  substantially  in  song  as  in  speech." 
And  it  was  under  this  banner  that  he  fought  all  the  rest  of  his  life. 

In  his  management  of  the  singing  at  Dr.  Chester's  church  in 
Albany  he  carried  these  views  into  immediate  practice,  and  with 
the  best  results.  He  had  arranged  his  singers  so  that  the  congre- 
gation was  really  led  by  several  trained  voices,  though  it  seemed  as 
if  he  stood  forward  alone  as  precentor.  The  church  became  cele- 
brated for  its  congregational  singing,   and    Mr.    Hastings   wrote 


1 64  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

articles  upon  this  new  departure  for  the  Utica  papers.  As  one 
thing  usually  leads  to  another,  this  led  to  his  being  invited  to  the 
editorial  chair  of  a  religious  newspaper,  called  The  Recorder.  His 
salary  was  fixed  at  six  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  half  the  amount 
being  conditioned  on  the  support  which  the  paper  received. 

He  accepted  these  meagre  terms,  and  in  1823  he  removed  to 
Utica.  The  Recorder  was  first  issued  as  a  fortnightly  publication  in 
January,  1824.  It  was  an  era  of  revivals,  followed  by  equally 
great  dissensions — facts  which  have  indelibly  stamped  their  record 
on  the  population  of  Oneida  County.  The  editor  continued  his 
relations  with  the  paper  until  its  ninth  volume  had  appeared.  He 
never  lost  sight  of  the  interests  of  sacred  music  in  these  years,  and 
hence  he  came  to  be  known,  more  and  more  widely,  as  the  advo- 
cate of  many  reforms.  In  1832,  New  York  City  sought  his  aid  ; 
twelve  churches  combining  to  secure  him  for  the  metropolis. 
While  the  matter  was  tentative,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  old 
Broome  Street  (Presbyterian)  church.  At  this  Mr.  Hastings 
spoke,  and  with  suchpower  and  persuasiveness  that  the  case  was 
decided  at  once,  for  it  was  felt  that  he  must  be  obtained. 

From  1832  to  1872,  Dr.  Hastings  (as  we  must  now  style  him) 
was  a  resident  of  New  York  City,  devoting  himself  to  its  psalmody, 
and  affecting  the  entire  country  from  this  commanding  situation. 
To  him  church  music  had  become  a  sacred  duty,  "  an  holy  call- 
ing," and  he  gave  himself  up  to  it  in  all  its  aspects.  This,  of 
course,  included  the  hymns  themselves  ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  he 
composed  no  less  than  six  hundred  original  pieces.  He  also  cor- 
rected many  of  the  older  hymns,  according  to  a  more  elevated 
standard  of  taste.  To  do  this  without  detracting  from  their  piety 
was,  of  itself,  no  slight  achievement.  Dr.  Hastings,  however,  was 
a  man  eminent  in  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  of  a  truly 
devout  spirit.  His  Church  Psalmist,  published  in  1836,  was  there- 
fore a  marked  example  of  his  methods.  It  was  severely  criticised, 
but  gained  a  wide  circulation,  as  Spiritual  Songs,  1833,  had  done 
before  it. 

The  educational  influence  of  all  these  various  publications  was 
becoming  more  and  more  apparent.  In  1844  his  connection  with 
William  B.  Bradbury  added  great  strength  to  the  cause.  It  would 
be  tedious  and  unnecessary  to  enumerate  the  different  works  which 
these  friends  produced,  alone,  or  in  partnership.    Of  them  all,  Dr. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  165 

Hastings  felt  that  Selak,  1856,  was  his  best.  The  Church  Melodies, 
1858,  was  the  pioneer  of  modern  works  of  the  combined  hymn- 
book  and  tune- book  class.  Like  the  Plymouth  Collection,  1855,  it 
aimed  to  secure  congregational  singing  in  public  worship. 

It  should  be  added  that  this  was  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to 
which  Dr.  Hastings  so  devotedly  consecrated  his  powers  of  mind 
and  will.  The  oppositions  and  discouragements  of  it  are  known 
to  those  who  have  trodden  the  same  path.  Its  success  is  seen  in 
the  present  opinions  which  prevail  in  the  deep  heart  of  the  Church, 
undisturbed  by  the  ambitious  designs  of  less  religious  professional 
musicians. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1872,  he  went  to  join  the  choir  of  the 
saints  about  the  throne.  It  is  simply  marvellous  (as  Mr.  A.  D. 
F.  Randolph  has  remarked,  in  the  little  memoir  which  furnishes 
our  facts)  that  Dr.  Hastings  should  have  accomplished  so  much. 

He  was  hampered  by  the  perpetual  drawback  of  imperfect  eye- 
sight, and  yet,  in  spite  of  this  and  other  hindrances,  he  carried  out 
a  life-work  which  is  its  own  best  memorial.  Whenever  "  Orton- 
ville"  or  "Rock  of  Ages"  is  sung,  there  is  still  the  presence  of 
the  singer  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches. 

Give  to  the  Lord,  ye  sons  of  fame. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  has  entitled  this  "  Storm  and  Thunder. "     It  is  his 
version  of  Ps.  29,  L.  M.,  in  six  stanzas. 

"  We  might,  no  doubt,"  says  Dr.  Andrew  Bonar,  "  apply  every  clause 
of  it  [the  Hebrew  Psalm]  to  the  Lord's  display  of  his  majesty  in  any 
thunder-storm.  An  awe-struck  spectator  cries,  as  the  lightning  plays  and 
the  thunder  rolls  :  '  The  God  of  glory  thundereth  !  '  (v.  5.)  '  The  voice 
of  Jehovah  is  breaking  the  cedars  ! '  and  as  the  crash  is  heard,  '  The  Lord 
has  broken  the  cedars  of  Lebanon.'  Travellers  tell  us  of  the  solemnity 
and  terrific  force  of  storms  in  the  East.  But  the  thunders  of  the  Great 
Day  shall,  most  of  all,  call  forth  these  strains  to  the  Lord  the  King." 

Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears. — John  Wesley,  tr. 

This  is  from  the  hymn  commencing  "Commit  thou  all  thy 
griefs,"  and  is  a  translation  from  the  "  Befiehl  du  deine  Wege"  of 
Paul  Gerhardt.  That  was  first  printed  in  1656,  and  is  founded  on 
Ps.  37  :  5.  The  sixteen  stanzas  of  the  translation  are  in  Chris- 
tophers' Epworth  Singers. 

Gerhardt  was  a  preacher  in  Brandenburg  in  1659,  and  the  story 
goes  that  this  hymn  was  the  result  of  his  sad  communings  when 


1 66  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

sent  into  banishment  by  the  Elector.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
celebration  of  the  bi- centenary  of  the  poet's  death  should  have  dis- 
proved, by  its  cognate  inquiries,  all  this  beautiful  legend.  Yet 
the  man's  lovely  character  is  not  affected,  though  the  facts  are 
changed. 

A  very  touching  incident,  however,  may  take  the  place  of  the 
vanished  story  of  the  hymn.  It  is  that  of  the  German  peasant, 
Dobry,  who  lived  near  Warsaw.  He  had  fallen  into  arrears  with 
his  rent,  and  his  landlord  was  about  to  eject  him  from  his  home. 
It  was  the  dead  of  winter,  and  the  poor  man  had  thrice  appealed 
for  mercy,  but  in  vain.  The  next  day  was  to  see  himself  and  his 
family  homeless  and  hopeless  in  the  midst  of  the  snow.  But 
Dobry  kneeled  down  and  prayed,  and  then  they  all  sang  this 
hymn.  At  length  they  came  to  the  words,  ' '  Dein  Werk  kann 
niemand  hinder n"  : 

"  Nothing  thy  work  suspending 
No  foe  can  make  thee  pause, 
When  thou,  thine  own  defending, 
Dost  undertake  their  cause." 

There  was  a  rap  at  the  window.  Dobry  went  to  it,  opened  it,  and 
a  raven  which  his  grandfather  had  trained  and  set  at  liberty,  hop- 
ped in  with  a  valuable  jewelled  ring  in  its  beak.  The  peasant 
took  it  at  once  to  his  minister,  who  identified  it  as  the  property  of 
King  Stanislaus,  and  to  whom  he  restored  it.  The  king  sent  for 
Dobry,  rewarded  him  handsomely,  and  the  next  year  built  him  a 
new  house,  and  gave  him  cattle  from  his  own  herds.  Over  this 
house  door,  on  an  iron  tablet,  appears  still,  it  is  said,  the  effigy  of 
a  raven  with  a  ring  in  his  beak.  Underneath  are  the  first  four 
lines  of  the  stanza  which  was  being  sung  :  "  Weg*  hast  du  aller- 
wegen, ' '  etc. ,  which  are  thus  rendered  in  the  admirable  version  of 
Mrs.  Charles  : 

11  All  means  always  possessing, 
Invincible  in  might  ; 
Thy  doings  are  all  blessing, 
Thy  goings  are  all  light." 

Another  incident  which  connects  itself  with  the  present  English 
hymn  is  the  story  of  the  closing  hours  of  the  eccentric  and  elo- 
quent "  Billy  Dawson,"  the  great  farmer- preacher  of  Barnbow, 
England.     These  words  of  Wesley  had  always  been  his  comfort. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  1 6) 

Once,  while  working  in  his  fields,  he  had  been  much  perplexed, 
and  very  anxious.  Taking  from  his  pocket  sundry  notices  which 
had  been  sent  to  him  to  be  read  from  the  pulpit  from  time  to 
time,  he  looked  them  over  to  divert  his  mind  ;  then,  as  they  were 
of  no  more  use,  he  tore  them  small  and  scattered  them  in  the  air. 
They  sailed  away  like  so  many  butterflies,  and  instantly  the  words 
of  the  hymn  came  home  to  him  : 

"  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears, 
Hope  and  be  undismayed  !" 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  he  should  turn  to  this  hymn  on  his 
death-bed.     Slowly,  and  with  evident  difficulty,  he  repeated  : 

"  Let  us  in  life,  in  death, 

Thy  steadfast  truth  declare," 

but  he  could  not  muster  strength  to  add  : 

"  And  publish,  with  our  latest  breath, 
Thy  love  and  guardian  care." 

After  an  effort  to  repeat  the  lines  he  crossed  his  hands  upon  his 
breast,  and  so  died,  July  4th,  1841. 

Nor  are  these  the  only  instances  where  this  hymn  and  its  trans- 
lations have  been  especially  blessed.  The  present  writer  on  one 
occasion  quoted  in  the  pulpit  a  portion  of  Gerhardt's  first  stanza, 
in  the  German  language,  following  it  with  several  lines  from  Mrs. 
Charles's  version.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  was  accosted  by 
a  German  recently  arrived  from  the  fatherland,  whose  sensibilities 
were  deeply  stirred  by  almost  the  only  words  which  he  could  com- 
prehend, as  his  knowledge  of  English  was  very  slight.  It  would 
appear  that  to  this  poor  man,  also,  in  his  trouble,  the  familiar, 
1 '  Befiehl  du  deine  Wege ' '  had  come  like  a  message  of  hope  and 
trust. 

Gerhardt  composed  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  hymns,  and 
is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  and  most  spiritual  of  German  hymn 
writers,  unexcelled  even  by  Luther  himself. 

Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken. — Newton. 
This  hymn  is  in  the  Ohiey  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  60.  The  title, 
"  Zion,  or  the  City  of  God,"  has  a  reference  to  Book  II.,  No. 
24,  "  Asking  the  Way  to  Zion"  (Jer.  1  :  5),  and  to  the  hymn 
commencing,  "Zion,  the  city  of  our  God."  The  original  is 
plentifully  supplied  with  Scripture  texts,  which  we  give  so  far  as 


1 68  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

they  apply  to  this  form  of  the  hymn,  which  is  shortened  from  five 
to  three  stanzas  in  Laudes  Domini. 

Text  :  Isa.  33  :  20,  21. 

First  stanza  :  spoken,  Ps.  87  ;  abode,  Ps.  132  :  14  ;  founded,  Matt. 
16  :  18  ;  surrounded,  Isa.  26  :  1.  Second  stanza  :  love,  Ps.  46  :  4.  Third 
stanza  :  appear,  Isa.  4:5,  6. 

Newton's  admiration  and  love  for  the  87th  Psalm  undoubtedly 
found  expression  in  this  hymn. 

Glory  be  to  God  the  Father.  — Bonar. 

Rev.  Horatius  Bonar,  D.  D.,  is  one  of  our  most  successful 
modern  hymn- writers.  No  other  name  appears  so  frequently  as 
his  since  the  days  of  Watts  and  Wesley,  Newton  and  Cowper.  He 
has  had  the  rare  fortune  to  express  the  deepest  of  Christian  feel- 
ing and  the  loftiest  of  Christian  praise.  But,  strange  to  say, 
even  his  own  congregation  are  rigid  Psalm-singers  to  this  day. 
He  comes  of  a  poetical  family.  His  grandfather,  Rev.  John 
Bonar,  also  wrote  hymns,  some  of  which  found  acceptance. 

Dr.  Bonar  was  born  December  19th,  1808,  at  Edinburgh.  At 
the  High  School  and  the  University  there  his  education  was  re- 
ceived. His  theological  instructor  was  the  celebrated  Dr.  Thomas 
Chalmers,  and  few  scholars  have  reflected  more  credit  on  the  faith- 
ful men  that  gave  them  their  instruction  than  has  he  upon  that 
great  man  who  made  Scotland  even  greater  than  before.  At  the 
time  of  the  Disruption  he  followed  his  old  teacher,  and  Dr.  Guthrie, 
and  the  rest  of  the  illustrious  leaders,  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Free  Church,  with  which  he  has  ever  since  been  ecclesiastically 
connected.  He  is  the  brother  of  the  commentator,  Dr.  Andrew 
A.  Bonar,  of  Dundee,  and  his  wife  (just  deceased,  1885)  was  the 
sister  of  that  devotedly  pious  woman,  Mary  Lundie  Duncan. 

In  1837  he  was  ordained  and  settled  at  Kelso,  on  the  river 
Tweed,  near  the  English  border.  In  this  charge  he  succeeded 
his  father-in-law,  Rev.  Robert  Lundie.  In  1866  he  removed  to 
Edinburgh,  where  he  has  since  remained  the  pastor  of  the  Grange, 
or  "  Chalmers  Memorial  "  church.  His  pen  has  been  constantly 
busy  through  all  the  years  of  his  mature  life.  His  "  Kelso  Tracts" 
were  the  early  fruit  of  that  productive  zeal  which  has  so  enriched 
the  literature  of  the  Church  at  large.  He  has  seen  at  least  one 
extensive   revival  which  can  be  traced  to  those  pages  scattered 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  169 

broadcast.  Some  of  the  later  writings  of  this  spiritually-minded 
and  marvellously  acute  man  have  been  circulated  on  both  sides  of 
the  ocean  with  great  acceptance.  His  two  little  books,  God's  Way 
of  Peace  and  God's  Way  of  Holiness,  would  relieve  many  a 
troubled  Christian  if  he  would  turn  to  them  in  preference  to  ab- 
stract theology.  Like  all  that  Dr.  Bonar  does,  they  are  eminently 
scriptural  and  practical. 

His  hymns  are  to  be  found  in  Songs  for  the  Wilderness,  two 
series,  1843-4  ;  the  Bible  Hymn-Book,  1845  ;  Hymns,  Original  and 
Selected,  1850  ;  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  three  series,  1857,  1861, 
1866.  It  is  not  necessary  to  annotate  them  any  further  than 
this,  for  the  dates  of  composition  have  not  been  preserved,  and 
the  very  place  is  generally  unknown  to  the  author,  who  seems 
to  shrink,  with  much  sensitiveness,  from  any  reference  to  his  own 
share  in  their  production. 

A  visitor  to  Dr.  Bonar's  church  (about  1876)  has  given  this 
pen-portrait  of  him  : 

"  The  striking  feature  of  his  face  is  the  large,  soft,  dark  eye,  the  power 
of  which  one  feels  across  the  church.  There  are  no  bold,  rugged  lines  in 
his  face  ;  but  benevolence,  peace  and  sweetness  pervade  it.  The  first 
thought  was,  '  He  is  just  like  his  hymns — not  great,  but  tender,  sweet 
and  tranquil.'  And  everything  he  did  and  said  carried  out  this  impres- 
sion. His  prayer  was  as  simple  as  a  child's.  His  voice  was  low,  quiet, 
and  impressive.  His  address,  for  it  could  scarcely  be  called  a  sermon, 
was  founded  on  the  words,  '  The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  Come  !  '  '  the 
last  invitation  in  the  Bible.'  It  was  marked  by  the  absence  of  all  attempt 
at  originality,  which  is  to  an  American  so  striking  a  feature  of  most  for- 
eign preaching.  It  was  simply  an  invitation— warm,  loving,  urgent. 
His  power  over  the  audience  was  complete.  Even  the  children  looked 
steadily  in  his  face  ;  once  he  paused  in  his  discourse  and  addressed  him- 
self especially  to  the  Sunday-school  children  who  sat  by  themselves  on 
one  side  of  the  pulpit.  I  was  sure  the  little  ones  never  heard  the  Good 
Shepherd's  call  more  tenderly  given.  With  one  of  the  most  winning 
faces  I  ever  saw  he  closed  :  '  Whosoever— that  includes  yoit— whosoever 
will—  does  that  include  you  ?  '  " 

Glory  be  to  God  on  high. — C.  Wesley. 

This  fine  hymn  of  praise  comes  from  the  Hymns  and  Sacred 
Poems,  1739.     Its  theme  is  Luke  2  :  14,  and  it  has  seven  stanzas. 

As  Wesley's  strong  line,  "  Hear,  the  world's  atonement,  thou  !" 
strikes  the  ear,  it  recalls  an  incident  from  Luther's   experience. 


170  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

When  he  encountered  the  mighty  hymn  of  Ambrose,  "  Jesu, 
Redemptor  gentium, "  it  so  challenged  his  admiration  that  he  ex- 
claimed :  "  Nun  kommt  der  Heiden  HeilandT'' — "  Now  comes  the 
Saviour  of  the  heathen  !"  All  great  hearts  have  had  great  ideas 
of  God's  love. 

Glory,  glory  to  our  King  ! — Kelly. 

This  hymn  is  No.  22  of  Thomas  Kelly's  third  edition,  1809, 
based  on  Ps.  47  :  6.      It  has  four  stanzas. 

Glory  to  God  on  high. — J.  Allen. 

James  Allen  was  the  son  of  Oswald  Allen,  and  was  born  at 
Gayle,  Yorkshire,  England,  June  24th,  1734.  Though  he  was 
destined  for  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  his  con- 
science was  aroused  by  seeing  the  flagrant  wickedness  of  his  tutor 
tolerated,  and  even  extenuated,  by  that  ecclesiastical  authority. 
His  sentiments  then  assumed  a  character  which  fitted  him  to  join 
the  Methodists.  He  therefore  became  an  "  Inghamite,"  and  was 
sent  out  as  an  itinerant  preacher.  This  was  not  exactly  being  a 
"  Methodist,"  but  it  approached  it  so  nearly  that  Allen  knew  both 
the  perils  and  the  pleasures  of  field-preaching.  Once  he  was  saved 
from  a  mob  by  an  old  friend  who  had  been  with  him  at  St.  John's, 
Cambridge,  and  who  was  then — fortunately  for  the  preacher — the 
magistrate  of  the  place  which  he  was  stirring  up  to  righteousness. 
This  James  Allen  was  therefore  a  very  fit  man  to  write,  "  Sinners, 
will  you  scorn  the  message  ?" 

Charles  Wesley  records  in  his  journal,  October  17th,  1756,  that 
he  paid  a  visit  to  Haworth,  where,  it  seems,  he  met  James  Allen. 
"  A  young  preacher  of  Mr.  Ingham's  came  to  spend  the  evening 
with  me  at  Mr.  Grimshaw's.  I  found  love  for  him,  and  wished 
that  all  our  sons  in  the  Gospel  were  equally  modest  and  discreet." 

When  Allen  went  to  Scotland  with  Mr.  William  Batty  he  en- 
countered the  noted  preachers,  Glas  and  Sandeman.  The  effect 
of  this  intercourse  was  to  remove  him  from  one  schism  into 
another,  and  he  united  himself  with  the  "  Sandemanians, "  who 
have  been  kept  in  the  recollection  of  modern  readers  in  America 
by  the  singular  use  made  of  their  name  in  the  writings  of  Edward 
Everett  Hale. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Allen  bewailed  both  his  preaching  and  the 
hymn-book  he  had  been  so  forward  to  print,  in  1757,  at  Kendal. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


171 


The  brief  history  of  this  collection  is  a  matter  of  interest.  It  was 
compiled  by  Allen  as  principal  editor,  assisted  by  Christopher 
Batty,  William  Batty,  Thomas  Rawson,  James  Hartley,  John 
Green,  Alice  Batty,  Benjamin  Ingham,  and  a  certain  "  S.  M. " 
There  were  one  hundred  and  forty-two  hymns,  of  which  seventy- 
one  are  the  composition  of  Allen,  and  thirty  were  written  by  C. 
Batty.  To  this  book  an  Appendix  wis  printed,  in  1761,  and  in 
this  is  found  the  present  piece.  Another  hymn,  "  While  my 
Jesus  I'm  possessing,"  is  also  Allen's,  and  was  modernized  by 
Rev.  Walter  Shirley,  for  Lady  Huntingdon's  collection,  into 
"  Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing."  It  goes  without  saying 
that  these  hymns  of  Allen's  were  rude  and  inferior.  He  printed 
some  more,  with  the  title  of  Christian  Songs,  while  at  Gayle.  A 
second  edition  appeared  in  1805. 

Finally  Mr.  Allen  left  the  Sandemanians  also,  and  erected  a 
chapel  on  his  own  grounds  at  Gayle.  There  he  continued  to 
preach  until  his  death,  October  31st,  1804. 

Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night.  — Ken. 
In  the  Thumb  Bible,    prepared    by  Jeremy  Taylor,  this  hymn 
has  been  expanded  after  the  singular  fashion  which  once  obtained, 
of  making  a  hymn  in  two  metres.      It  reads  : 

"  Forgive  me,  dearest  Lord,  for  thy  dear  Son, 
The  many  ills  that  I  this  day  have  done, 
That  with  the  world,  myself,  and  then  with  thee, 
I,  ere  I  sleep,  at  perfect  peace  may  be. 

"  Teach  me  to  live  that  I  may  ever  dread 
The  Grave  as  little  as  I  do  my  Bed. 
Keep  me  this  night,  O  keep  me,  King  of  Kings, 
Secure  beneath  thine  own  Almighty  Wings. 
Amen." 

Elsewhere  we  give  an  account  of  the  good  bishop's  life,  but 
there  are  many  incidents  which  can  properly  be  placed  under  the 
present  heading. 

The  college  which  Ken  attended  was  Hart  Hall,  occupying  the 
site  afterward  to  be  covered  by  Magdalen  College,  Oxford.  Here 
he  was  a  member  of  various  musical  coteries,  and  "  sang  his  part." 
In  his  rooms  at  Winchester  he  had  an  organ,  which  was  left  behind 
on  his  departure,  and  about  which  there  is  an  interesting  anecdote. 
Rev.  Philip  Barton  was  his  immediate  successor  in  the  apartments, 


172  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  during  his  absence  one  of  the  boys  who  were  his  pupils  got 
access  to  the  instrument,  and  played  upon  it.  This  was  a  fault 
which  Mr.  Barton  was  not  slow  to  punish  ;  but  the  culprit  was 
that  Philip  Warton  who  has  transmitted  to  us  the  first  really  good 
history  of  English  poetry. 

Ken's  skill  in  music  was  by  no  means  despicable.  His  hymns 
were  composed  during  those  tranquil  days  when,  under  the  favor 
of  Bishop  Morley,  he  enjoyed  the  rectorship  of  Brixton,  in  the  Isle 
of  Wight.  They  are  all  adapted  to  a  melody  which,  while  it  is 
substantially  the  same  as  an  old  tune  written  by  Tallis,  neverthe- 
less owed  very  much  to  the  hand  of  the  poet.  Such  is  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  Bowles,  at  least ;  and  the  views  of  Bishop  Mant  respecting 
the  origin  of  the  actual  hymns  are  not  to  be  passed  in  silence, 
either.  v-  All  of  the  three  pieces,  the  Morning,  Evening,  and,  possi- 
bly, the  Midnight  Hymns,  can  be  traced  to  a  Latin  source.  From 
the  fourteenth  century  to  the  present  time  the  "  Jam  lucis  or  to 
sidere ' '  has  been  sung  by  the  Winchester  scholars  in  the  exercises 
of  the  college.  This  fact  undoubtedly  impressed  itself  on  the 
writings  of  Ken,  who  was  no  inferior  poet  in  other  respects.  Thus, 
1 '  Awake,  my  soul, ' '  is  the  ' '  A  so/is  ortus  cardi?ie, ' '  and  ' '  Glory 
to  thee"  would  be  the  "  Te  lucis  ante  terminum."  In  neither 
case  can  the  hymn  be  called  a  translation,  but  rather  a  transcrip- 
tion. /-This  can  be  said,  too,  about  the  hymn  of  Sir  Thomas 
Browne,  in  the  Religio  Medici,  "  The  night  is  come  like  to  the 
day." 

It  is  Bishop  Burnet,  in  the  History  of  His  Own  Times,  who  tes- 
tifies most  pointedly  to  the  pure  fidelity  of  Ken  in  the  instance  of 
the  dying  Charles  II.  He  states  that  he  "  applied  himself  to  the 
awakening  of  the  king's  conscience"  —  albeit  with  no  very  notable 
success. 

At  the  time  of  his  retirement  Bishop  Ken  lived  upon  the  bounty 
of  Lord  Weymouth,  who  allowed  him  £80  per  annum,  in  lieu  of 
property  valued  at  about  £700,  and  which  Ken  transferred  to  his 
patron,  retaining  only  his  books  and  musical  instruments.  It  is 
recorded  of  him  that  he  kept  with  him,  as  his  immediate  personal 
property,  "his  lute,"  and  a  Greek  Testament,  together  with  a 
favorite  but  "  sorry"  horse.  The  Testament  was  said  to  open,  of 
its  own  accord,  at  the  15th  chapter  of  1st  Corinthians. 

His  preaching  was  not  that  of  a  Boanerges,  but  of  a  Barnabas. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  173 

He  aimed  to  secure  his  hearers,  rather  than  to  stun  them.  And 
Dryden's  portrait  of  a  "  Good  Parson  "  is  enlarged  from  Chaucer's 
(supposed)  character  of  Wiclif  in  the  Canterbury  Tales,  and  is  con- 
sidered by  excellent  critics  to  have  been  Ken's  own  picture. 

Among  his  other  verses  are  certain  poems  which  the  exiled  bishop 
styled  Anodynes.  They  were  composed  in  waking  hours  of  the 
night,  and  hours  of  pain  by  day,  "  between  his  couch  and  his 
chair. ' '     Some  of  them  are  very  pathetic  : 

"  Pain  keeps  me  waking  in  the  night ; 
I  longing  lie  for  morning  light : 
Methinks  the  sluggish  sun 
Forgets  he  this  day's  course  must  run. 

0  heavenly  torch  !  why  this  delay 
In  giving  us  our  wonted  day  ? 

1  feel  my  watch,  I  tell  my  clock, 
I  hear  each  crowing  of  the  cock  ; 
Even  Egypt,  when  three  days 

The  heavens  withheld  the  solar  rays, 
And  all  in  thickest  darkness  dwelt, 
Night  more  affecting  never  felt." 

This  watch  was  so  contrived  that  the  sufferer  could  by  his  finger 
"  discern  the  time  to  half  a  quarter  of  an  hour."  It  still  remains 
in  the  possession  of  interested  parties,  and,  in  1838,  was  owned 
by  Dr.  Hawes.      Another  of  these  Anodynes  is  equally  touching  : 

"  As  in  the  night  I  restless  lie, 
I  the  watch-candle  keep  in  eye, 
The  innocent  I  often  blame 
For  the  slow  wasting  of  its  flame. 

"  My  curtain  oft  I  draw  away, 
Eager  to  catch  the  morning  ray  ; 
But  when  the  morning  gilds  the  skies, 
The  morning  no  relief  supplies." 

Glory  to  God  !  whose  witness  train. — Moravian,  fr. 
This  appears  in  the  later  editions  of  the  Moravian  Hymn-Book, 
where  it  is  in  present  use  as  a  hymn  of  six  stanzas,  and  is  marked 
as  a  translation.  The  original  is  doubtless  German,  but  in  that 
immense  source  of  hymnology  it  is  needless  to  search  for  it. 
Count  Zinzendorf  wrote  2000  hymns  ;  Schmolke,  11 88  ;  Heer- 
man,  400  ;  Bogatzky  as  many  more  ;  Garve  (a  Moravian),  368  ; 
Solomon  Frank,  300  ;  Spittaand  many  others,  100  each  ;  and  the 


174  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

instances  of  lesser  numbers  are  almost  infinite.  Knapp's  Lieder* 
schatz  alone  contains  3067,  and  is  regarded  merely  as  a  choice 
selection.  Latin  hymnology  is  more  manageable.  Four  thou- 
sand will  probably  cover  all  that  are  available  for  reference,  in- 
cluding those  in  the  Paris  Breviary. 

Go,  labor  on,  while  it  is  day. — Bonar. 
This  is   "The  Useful   Life, "  and  is  derived  from  Hymns  of 
Faith  and  Hope,  first  series,  1857.      It  has  eight  stanzas. 
Dr.  Bonar  prefixes  to  this  hymn  the  Greek  words, 

' 'Avacra,  tl  Kadevdeig  ; 

which  are  the  first  two  lines  of  a  beautiful  little  lyric,  found  in 
Daniel's  Thesaurus,  III.,  p.  128.  For  further  information  see 
the  opening  chapter  of  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their 
Hymns, ' '  where  these  lines  are  translated  into  English  verse. 

Go  to  dark  Gethsemane. — Montgomery. 

The  date  assigned  to  the  original  composition  of  this  hymn  is 
1820.  It  was  first  published  in  the  Christian  Psalmist,  1825. 
It  has  been  much  altered,  and  is  included  in  the  author's  Original 
Hymns,  1853,  where  it  is  No.  60,  with  the  title,  "  Christ  our 
Example  in  Suffering,"  and  has  four  stanzas. 

The  expression,  c '  dark  Gethsemane, ' '  is  a  very  natural  and  yet 
a  very  affecting  one,  when  we  take  it  in  connection  with  a  passage 
from  that  stirring  and  eloquent  book,  Tent  Life  in  the  Holy  Land, 
by  W.  C.  Prime.      Mr.  Prime  writes  : 

"  Here  I  saw  the  declining  sun  go  down  behind  the  battlements  of 
Moriah,  and  here  not  infrequently  the  round  moon,  coming  up  over  the 
holy  summit  of  Olivet,  silvered  the  leaves  of  the  old  trees,  and  shed  that 
radiance  on  the  spot  in  which,  best  of  all,  I  could  realize  the  scene  that 
so  thrills  the  hearts  of  Christian  men. 

"  Did  the  moon  shine  on  that  last  night  of  the  life  of  the  Lord  before 
the  sacrifice  ?  Did  the  full  moon,  in  whose  light  young  maidens  love  to 
hear  the  words  of  young  love,  behold  that  love  which  would  not  put  away 
the  cup  of  agony,  though  countless  angels  stood  ready  to  seize  the  chalice 
and  dash  it  down  to  hell  ? 

"  I  never  thought  of  it  before.  In  all  the  scenes  of  all  the  centuries 
that  I  have  imagined  the  moon  beholding,  and  of  which  I  have  striven 
sometimes  to  gather  some  intelligence  in  those  cold,  calm  rays,  I  never 
before  imagined  that  on  that  still  orb,  in  the  blue  sky  of  Judea,  the  tear- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  175 

dimmed  eyes  of  the   Lord  gazed  through  the  rustling  leaves  of  Geth- 
semane." 

Rev.  James  King,  in  Anglican  Hymnology,  has  a  striking  illus- 
tration to  the  same  effect  : 

"  A  few  years  ago,  while  making  a  sojourn  in  Jerusalem,  we  set  out 
for  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  evening  of  Holy  Thursday,  that  we  might 
visit  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  by  moonlight,  and  tread  the  scene  of  the 
Saviour's  agony  on  the  very  night,  and  at  the  very  hour,  when  his  soul 
was  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death.  Gethsemane  means  an  olive 
and  wine-press,  and  here  were  fulfilled  the  dark  words  of  the  Prophet : 
'  I  have  trodden  the  wine-press  alone,'  the  great  wine-press  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  the  wine-press  trodden  without  the  city.  Passing  Gethsemane 
we  walked  a  few  paces  up  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  sat  down  on  a  rock 
overlooking  the  garden.  The  moon  was  still  bright,  and  the  venerable 
olive-trees  were  casting  dark  shadows  across  the  sacred  ground.  The 
silence  of  night  increased  the  solemnity.  No  human  voice  was  heard, 
and  the  stillness  was  only  broken  by  the  occasional  barking  of  dogs  in 
the  city.  We  read,  by  the  light,  passages  bearing  on  the  agony,  and 
James  Montgomery's  solemn  hymn, 

'  Go  to  dark  Gethsemane, 
Ye  that  feel  the  tempter's  power.'  " 

Go  to  the  grave  in  all  thy  glorious  prime  ! — Montgomery. 
Mr.  Montgomery  entitled  this  hymn,  "  On  the  Death  of  a 
Minister,  cut  off  in  his  Vigour."  It  has  six  stanzas,  and  is  found 
as  No.  308  of  the  Original  Hymns,  1853.  In  point  of  fact,  it  was 
written  to  commemorate  the  death  of  the  Rev.  John  Owen,  one 
of  the  first  secretaries  of  the  "  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society," 
a  man  of  learning  and  eloquence.  The  date  is  about  1825.  The 
chorus,  "  Soldier  of  Jesus,"  etc.,  is  no  part  of  the  original  hymn. 

God  Almighty  and  All-seeing  ! — Pierpont. 
The  author  of  this  hymn  is  the  Rev.  John  Pierpont,  a  Unitarian 
clergyman  of  high  repute  as  a  poet.  He  was  the  son  of  James 
Pierpont  and  Elizabeth  Collins,  his  wife,  and  was  born  at  Lich- 
field, Conn.,  April  6th,  1785,  the  second  of  six  children.  He 
was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1804  ;  and,  after  teaching  in 
New  England  and  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  he  passed  some  years  in 
the  study  of  law.  In  181 2  he  was  admitted  to  the  Massachusetts 
bar,  at  Newburyport.  But  his  distaste  to  the  profession  induced 
him  to  give  it  up,  in  18 14,  and  to  devote  himself  to  literature  and 
mercantile  pursuits.      It  is  not  often  that  two  such  litterateurs  as 


176  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

John  Neal  and  John  Pierpont  are  partners  in  so  prosaic  a  calling 
as  the  dry-goods  business,  but  so  it  was  in  Baltimore.  And  no 
less  a  man  than  Joseph  L.  Lord  was  the  third  member  of  the  firm. 
Pierpont  was  his  brother-in-law,  having  married  his  sister  in  18 10. 
Inasmuch  as  we  find  our  author,  a  few  years  later,  a  student  at 
the  Divinity  School  in  Cambridge,  we  may  infer  that  he  felt  himself 
steadily  drawn  away  from  the  counter  to  the  desk.  In  1 8 1 8  he 
entered  the  ministry,  in  company  with  Jared  Sparks,  Palfrey,  and 
other  men  of  eminence  in  the  Unitarian  pulpit. 

Mr.  Pierpont  was  pastor  in  the  Mollis  Street  church,  Boston, 
from  1 81 9.  He  was  settled  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  in  1845,  and  over 
the  parish  in  Medford,  Mass.,  1849.  For  ten  years  he  continued 
in  this  position,  and  then  relinquished  the  active  ministry.  He 
preached,  however,  from  time  to  time,  and  when  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  broke  out  he  volunteered,  1861,  as  chaplain  of  the  2 2d 
Massachusetts  Infantry,  and  saw  service  in  Virginia.  This  was  in- 
deed an  achievement  for  a  man  who  was  over  seventy-five  years  of 
age.  In  1862,  his  friend,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  employed  him  to  make  a  digest  of  the  Treasury  decisions, 
an  .important  work,  and  one  that  demanded  both  skill  and  good 
judgment.  Between  November,  1861,  and  March,  1864,  he  com- 
pleted this  task  with  fidelity  and  neatness.  He  died  suddenly, 
August  27th,  1866,  while  on  a  visit  to  Medford. 

The  history  of  Mr.  Pierpont' s  life  reveals  him  as  a  devoted 
friend  of  the  temperance  cause,  whose  advocacy  led  to  a  request 
from  his  Hollis  Street  church  that  he  should  resign.  He  did  not 
possess  the  requisite  meekness  to  do  as  he  was  bidden,  and  fought 
the  matter,  from  1838,  before  an  ecclesiastical  tribunal,  which 
rendered  its  decision,  in  1841,  that  he  was  not  under  any  obliga- 
tion to  depart.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  controversialist  all  through  his 
career,  a  ready  and  effective  speaker,  a  fine  elocutionist,  and  an 
uncompromising  opponent.  He  was  as  vigorous  against  slavery 
as  he  was  against  intemperance,  and  his  muse  is  rather  to  be  named 
Bellona  than  Melpomene. 

Some  of  Mr.  Pierpont' s  hymns  merit  the  highest  praise.  That 
one  which  begins,  "  O  thou  to  whom  in  ancient  time,"  has  a 
real  stateliness  to  its  measure  which  must  commend  it  to  every  ad- 
mirer of  true  poetry.  His  stanzas,  "  Passing  away,"  and  "  I  can- 
not make  him  dead, "  are  well  known,  and  the  long  list  of  his  con- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  177 

tributions  to  literature  can  be  found  in  Allibone's  Dictionary  of 
Authors.  An  appreciative  sketch  of  his  life  by  his  old  friend,  the 
veteran  John  Neal,  is  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  December,  1866. 

God  calling  yet  !  shall  I  not  hear  ? — Borthwich,  tr. 

The  original  German  hymn  of  Gerhard  Tersteegen  commences, 
"  Gott  rufet  noch  j  sollt  ich  nicht  endlich  horenp  "  It  is  in  Schaffs 
Deutschcs  Gesangbuch,  and  it  is  from  this  hymn  that  the  translation 
has  been  made. 

Gerhard  Tersteegen  was  the  great  poet  of  that  mystical  school 
which  flourished  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  and 
which  was  founded  by"Angelus  Silesius,"  1624-1677.  A  full 
account  of  its  doctrines  and  ideas  can  be  found  in  Vaughan's 
Hours  with  the  Mystics,  II.,  p.  5.  Silesius  is  there  compared  with 
Emerson,  and  both  with  the  Persian  Sufis.  Of  this  same  school 
was  Tersteegen,  who  was  born,  November  27th,  1697,  in  the  town 
of  Mors,  in  Westphalia.  His  father,  a  pious  tradesman,  died  not 
long  afterward.  At  fifteen  the  lad  was  put  into  business  at  Mlihl- 
heim,  the  family  being  in  straitened  circumstances.  Here  he  ex- 
perienced the  power  of  religion,  and  changed  his  business  for  the 
manufacture  of  silk  ribbons,  as  this,  he  fancied,  was  more  con- 
ducive to  his  growth  in  grace.  It  did  not  interfere  with  opportu- 
nities for  meditation,  and  therefore  he  liked  it.  Next  he  associated 
with  himself  one  Sommer,  as  a  partner,  and  thus  gained  additional 
leisure.  His  religious  experience  was  singular.  While  an  ap- 
prentice at  Miihlheim  he  was  once  taken  with  spasms,  when  he  was 
alone  and  in  the  midst  of  a  wood  upon  a  journey.  He  prayed 
earnestly  that  his  life  might  be  spared,  in  order  that  he  might  pre- 
pare for  eternity.  His  prayer  being  immediately  answered,  as  he 
believed,  and  the  fit  passing  off,  he  dedicated  himself  without 
delay  to  the  service  of  Christ. 

His  earlier  austerities  were  revealed  to  him  as  hindrances  rather 
than  helps,  and  he  records  of  himself  that  the  Saviour  "  took  me 
by  the  hand,  he  drew  me  away  from  perdition's  yawning  gulf, 
directed  my  eye  to  himself,  and  instead  of  the  well-deserved  pit  of 
hell,  opened  to  me  the  unfathomable  abyss  of  his  loving  heart" 
Yet  this  tendency  to  asceticism  was  so  strong  in  him  that,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven,  he  wrote  out  a  covenant  between  himself;  and 
Christ  in  his  own  blood. 


178  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Three  years  after  this  there  was  a  great  religious  awakening  in 
Miihlheim,  and  Tersteegen  was  induced  to  address  the  people.  He 
gave  up  the  ribbon  business  ;  his  house  became  the  refuge  of  mul- 
titudes of  the  troubled  and  sick,  and  was  called  "  Pilgrim's  Cot- 
tage," from  that  fact;  and  he  was  compelled  consequently  to 
meet  many  demands  upon  his  purse,  either  from  the  savings  of 
his  own  frugality  or  from  the  gifts  of  friends.  His  own  soul  was 
absorbed,  for  the  most  part,  in  communion  with  God. 

Physically,  he  was  a  great  sufferer,  but  always  patient,  and  he 
bore  reproach  and  misjudgment  equally  calmly  with  his  bodily 
pains.  At  the  age  of  sixty  he  was  forced  to  restrict  his  labors, 
owing  to  his  overtaxed  strength,  and  on  the  30th  of  April,  1769, 
he  died  of  an  attack  of  dropsy.  Several  of  his  hymns  have  been 
translated  by  John  Wesley,  as,  notably,  "  Thou  hidden  love  of 
God  whose  height  "  ("  Verborgne  Gottes  Liebe,  Du  ")  arid  "  Lo, 
God  is  here,  let  us  adore."  ("  Gott  ist  gegenwdrtig.")  There 
are  one  hundred  and  eleven  of  his  hymns,  and  his  little  book, 
Crumbs  from  the  Master  s  Table,  has  been  very  popular,  both  in 
English  and  German. 

Tersteegen  was  a  member  of  no  sect,  and  for  this  reason,  and 
also  because  he  did  not  marry,  he  was  accused  of  keeping  people 
from  church  and  of  teaching  celibacy.  This  calumny  he  met  with 
loving  patience  ;  and  with  equal  firmness  he  refused  to  join  him- 
self to  the  Moravians,  though  they  entreated  him  often  to  be  one 
of  their  number.  His  verses  all  breathe  the  conviction  that  God 
is  present,  is  in  us,  and  is  in  communion  with  our  spirits  through 
Christ. 

The  present  translation  is  by  Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  and  is 
derived  from  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Luther,  whose  several  series 
run  from  1854-62.     This  is  from  the  earlier  series — about   1854. 

God  eternal,  Lord  of  all. — Millard,  tr. 

An  original  hymn,  commencing,  "  God  eternal,  mighty  King," 
was  contributed,  in  1848,  by  Dr.  Millard,  to  The  Devout  Chorister. 
It  is  from  that  piece  that  this  present  hymn  has  been  taken.  As 
can  easily  be  seen,  it  is  a  version  of  the  Te  Deum%  the  last  two 
four-line  stanzas  being  omitted  in  Laudes  Domini. 

James  El  win  Millard  was  born  in  the  year  182 1,  and  was  a 
graduate,  1845,  an<^  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College,   Oxford.     He 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  179 

received  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1859,  having  entered  the  ministry 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  1846.  His  first  position  was  that  of 
curate  at  Bradford,  Berkshire.  From  this  he  was  promoted  to  be 
Head  Master  of  Magdalen  College  School.  In  1864,  after  these 
years  of  service  as  a  teacher,  he  was  made  vicar  of  Basingstoke, 
Hampshire,  where,  at  last  accounts,  he  still  remains.  His  antique 
style  is  so  well  calculated  to  beguile  the  unwary  that  Mr.  J.  Cam- 
den Hotten,  in  1861,  published  Millard's  Christmas  carol,  begin- 
ning, "  Last  night  I  lay  a-sleeping, "  as  an  "  ancient  piece." 

God  is  in  his  holy  temple.  — Montgomery. 
This  hymn,  in  four  stanzas,  probably  dates  from  the  Original 
Hymns,  1853.  It  bears  the  title,  "  For  the  Great  Congregation." 
John  Burroughs  aptly  describes  the  nature  of  a  temple  without 
God  by  saying  of  St.  Paul's  in  London,  empty  in  its  vastness,  that 
it  "  makes  the  tenant  seem  cold  and  frivolous  and  in  danger  of 
being  lost  within  it. ' '  But  when  Tyndall  stood  under  Niagara  he 
declared  that  the  immense  cascade  above  him  produced  in  his  soul 
peace  and  good-will  to  all  mankind. 

God  loved  the  world  of  sinners  lost. — Mrs.  Stockton. 
This  hymn,  written  in  1871,  is  the  composition  of  Mrs.  Martha 
Matilda  (Brustar)  Stockton.     She  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  W.  C.  Stock- 
ton, of  Ocean  City,  Cape  May  County,  N.  J. ,  and  was  bom  June 
nth,  1821.     She  died  Oct.  18th,  1885. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way. — Cowper. 

This,  which  has  been  called  the  greatest  hymn  ever  written  on 
the  subject  of  divine  Providence,  owes  much  of  its  power  to  the 
circumstances  which  gave  it  birth.  It  was  composed  by  Cowper 
"  in  the  twilight  of  departing  reason,"  and  during  a  solitary  walk. 
So  says  one  account,  but  the  better  and  more  correct  version  of 
the  incident  is  slightly  different,  though  not  inconsistent  with  this 
statement. 

The  fact  is  that  it  constituted  his  last  contribution  to  the  Olney 
Hymns,  and  was  written  when  the  shadows  of  his  troubled  mind 
were  darkening  heavily  down  upon  him.  Believing  that  he  was 
doomed  to  end  his  life  in  the  river  Ouse,  he  had  ordered  a  post- 
chaise,  and  bidden  the  driver  to  proceed  to  a  certain  spot.  For 
some  reason  this  spot  could  not  readily  be  found,  and  as  the  poet 


180  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

considered  that  this  was  the  only  place  for  such  a  suicide,  he  re- 
luctantly gave  orders  to  turn  the  chaise  homeward.  Arriving  at 
home,  he  sat  down  and  composed  this  hymn — or,  it  may  be, 
started  forth  upon  a  solitary  walk,  during  which  it  was  produced. 

It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  be  more  exact,  and  it  seems  as  if  the 
reconciliation  of  accounts  here  attempted  is  the  proper  one.  The 
date  is  about  1773. 

Of  this  settled  melancholy  which  now  clouded  his  path  we  have 
a  pathetic  picture  in  his  own  language. 

"  I  have  never  met,"  he  says,  "  either  in  books  or  conversation,  with 
an  experience  at  all  similar  to  mine.  More  than  a  twelvemonth  has 
passed  since  I  began  to  hope  that,  having  walked  the  whole  breadth  of 
the  bottom  of  the  Red  Sea,  I  was  beginning  to  climb  the  opposite  shore, 
and  I  proposed  to  sing  the  song  of  Moses.  But  I  have  been  disap- 
pointed." Yet  he  can  still  say,  speaking  to  the  Saviour  :  "  I  love  thee, 
even  now,  more  than  many  who  see  thee  daily." 

It  was  such  agonies  as  these  which  have  given  Cowper's  hymns 
their  marvellous  hold  upon  the  heart.  To  his  brother,  John,  for 
instance,  who  was  a  man  of  no  vital  godliness,  though  a  clergy- 
man, the  poet  was  a  messenger  of  mercy  in  the  last  hour.  But 
with  this  piece  before  us  we  may  safely  regard  Cowper's  song  as 
coming  to  an  end.  He  composed  a  few  indifferent  Sunday-school 
verses  later  than  this  period,  but  they  deserve  no  approbation.  The 
broken  fragment  of  a  beautiful  hymn,  "To  Jesus,  the  Crown  of 
my  hope,"  was  all  that  ever  touched  the  old  music.  To  Mr.  Bull 
he  said,  in  1788  :  "  My  dear  friend,  ask  possibilities,  and  they 
shall  be  performed,  but  ask  not  for  hymns  from  a  man  suffering 
by  despair,  as  I  do.  I  could  not  sing  the  Lord's  song,  were  it  to 
save  my  life  !" 

Before  the  facts  of  Cowper's  personal  history  were  known,  and 
somewhere  in  the  year  18 10,  Josiah  Conder  had  penetrated  the 
secret  of  the  hymns.     These  are  his  words  : 

"  Doubtless  in  Cowper's  pathetic  effusions  there  are  bound  up  many 
painful  mental  histories,  many  a  mysterious  experience,  which  are  only 
to  be  even  guessed  at  by  those  who  have  known  something  of  the  same." 

Among. the  singular  and  suggestive  incidents  which  cluster 
thickly  about  this  beloved  lyric,  are  at  least  two  which  seem  to 
indicate  that  it  has  been  employed  by  those  who  had  a  hidden 
presentiment  of  approaching  death.      Rev.  Joseph   Entwisle  had 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  181 

just  announced  and  read  it  in  public  service  at  Moorside,  England, 
in  1864,  and  the  congregation  had  only  reached  the  fourth  line 
when  he  fell  back  in  the  pulpit  and  expired.  It  was  much  the 
same  with  Samuel  Potter,  of  Culmstock,  who  used  it  at  prayers  one 
evening,  and  the  next  morning  was  dead. 

Undoubtedly  in  the  mind  of  the  author  there  was  such  an  an- 
ticipation, now  and  then  mitigated,  but  always  gloomy.  On  one 
occasion  he  pathetically  described  his  mental  perplexities,  in  lan- 
guage which  shows  only  too  surely  how  he  was  doomed  to  brain 
disease.     He  said  : 

"  The  meshes  of  that  fine  net-work,  the  brain,  are  composed  of  such 
mere  spinner's  threads  in  me,  that  when  a  long  thought  finds  its  way  into 
them,  it  buzzes,  and  twangs,  and  bustles  about  at  such  a  rate  as  seems 
to  threaten  the  whole  contexture." 

We  may  still  add  to  our  annotations  upon  this  hymn.  Some  of 
the  incidents  which  have  occurred  in  our  reading  are  touching  and 
suggestive. 

In  a  letter  from  Archibald  Alexander,  D.  D. ,  to  Dr.  Nicholas 
Murray  ("  Kirwan"),  dated  at  Princeton,  December  16th,  1841, 
occurs  this  passage  :  "  Read  Cowper's  hymn,  '  God  moves  in  a 
mysterious  way,'  etc.  Christ  seems  to  say  :  '  What  I  do  you 
know  not  now,  but  you  shall  know  hereafter.  All  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God.'  "  Dr.  Murray  had 
lost  an  only  son  by  scarlet  fever,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  then  in 
the  deepest  grief. 

During  the  "  cotton  famine"  in  Lancashire,  in  1865,  just  after 
the  war  in  America,  one  of  the  mill-owners  called  his  hands  to- 
gether, and  told  them  he  must  close  the  mills.  It  meant  poverty  to 
them  and  ruin  to  him,  and  no  one  could  speak.  Suddenly,  how- 
ever, there  rose  up  the  clear  voice  of  a  girl — she  was  a  Sunday- 
school  teacher — and  she  started  the  words  of  the  stanza  : 

"  Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take, 
The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head." 

It  was  the  "  word  fitly  spoken." — Even  James  T.  Fields  felt 
that  to  be  the  author  of  such  a  hymn  was  an  achievement  that 
M  angels  themselves  might  envy." 

The  noble  song  receives  another  and  very  forcible  recent  illus- 


182  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

tration  from  the  experience  of  Dr.  Cullis,  of  the  Faith  Cure  and 
Consumptives'  Home  in  Boston.  He  had  been  hard  pressed  for 
money,  and  had  been  earnestly  praying  for  the  supply  of  his  large 
necessities.  On  the  6th  of  February,  1883,  a  friend  sent  him  the 
following  note  : 

"  Dear  Doctor  :  I  am  impressed  that  you  are  in  need  of  funds,  and 

the  Lord  inclines  me  to  send  you  help.     I  send  you,  by  express,  to-day, 

a  package  of  U.  S.   bonds,  say  $1000,  four  and  one  half  per  cent,  and 

$500,  four  per  cent— $1500  in  all.     This  amount  will  cover  the  pledge  I 

made  you  for  your  Foreign  Mission  work.     Yours  very  truly, 

««  »♦ 

The  same  day  Dr.  Cullis  received  another  letter,  which  read  as 

follows  : 

11  Ballardvale,  February  5,  1883. 
"  Dr.  Cullts  : 

*'  Dear  Sir  :  Somehow  it  keeps  ringing  in  my  ear,  '  Send  your  $1  to 
Dr.  Cullis's  work,  even  if  it  is  so  small  a  gift.  I,  the  Lord,  can  multiply 
'ft  a  thousandfold  ;'  and  so  with  the  promise  given  to  me  this  morning 
for  your  work,  I  will  send  the  Lord's  gift,  believing  that  the  mite  shall  be 
multiplied  by  the  thousandfold.  Yours  in  Christ, 

«'E.  A.  W." 

The  remarkable  part  of  the  story  now  remains  to  be  told.  Dr. 
Cullis  positively  asserts  that  the  $1  preceded  the  $1500,  and  that 
the  pledge  for  the  Foreign  Mission  work  was  $400.  ' '  The  one 
dollar,"  says  Dr.  Cullis,  "reached  me  last  evening;  the  $1500 
this  morning.  The  donor  of  the  one  dollar  I  do  not  know  ;  the 
donor  of  the  large  gift  I  have  not  seen  for  many  months.     Truly, 

"  *  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform.'  " 

God  is  the  refuge  of  his  saints. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  46,  1st  part  L.  M.,  in  six  stanzas, 
"  The  Church's  Safety  and  Triumph  among  National  Desola- 
tions." It  is  one  of  his  most  majestic  and  beautiful  strains.  Let 
any  person  who  would  use  this  hymn  aright  make  of  the  idea  of 
"  sanctuary  "  a  Bible-reading,  using  these  passages  of  Scripture  : 

Hos.  14  :  5-7  ;  Deut.  33  ;  Num.  2  :  12  ;  Deut.  32  :  11  ;  Ps.  17  :  8  ;  57  : 

I  ;  61  :  4  ;  46  :  1  ;  27  :  5  ;  31  :  20  ;  63  :  7  ;  62  :  7,  and  especially,   Ezek. 

II  :  16  ;  Ps.  go  :  1  ;  91  :  9,  and  Isa.  9  :  14.  God's  pavilion  is  "  darkness" 
(2  Sam.  22  :  12  ;  Ps.  18  :  11).  His  "  secret"  (Ps.  25  :  14)  is  with  them  that 
fear  him.  "  Mystery  "  is  that  with  which  we  have  fellowship  (Ps.  51:6; 
Isa.  45  :  3  ;    48  :  6  ;  John  16  :  13,  14,   15  ;    Eph.  3  :  9).       But   it    is   all 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  183 

•'  light  "  on  our  way  (1  John  1).     And  the  vision  of  the  holy  stream   is 
in  Ezek.  47  and  Rev.  22. 

God,  my  King,  thy  might  confessing.  — Mant. 

A  version  of  Ps.  145,  as  given  in  Bishop  ManVs  Book  of  Psalms, 

1824. 

God  of  my  life,  to  thee  belong.  — E.  Scott. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Scott  was  born  at  Norwich,  England,  probably  in 
1708,  and  died  at  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  June  13th,  1776.  She 
refused  the  hand  but  retained  the  friendship  of  Doddridge,  who 
made  her  acquainted  with  Colonel  Elisha  Williams,  who,  from 
1726  to  1739,  was  Rector  of  Yale  College.  Him  she  married  in 
1 75 1,  emigrated  with  him  to  Connecticut,  survived  him,  and  mar- 
ried in  1 76 1  the  Hon.  William  Smith,  of  New  York,  whom  she 
also  survived.  In  1769,  when  she  was  for  the  second  time  a 
widow,  she  returned  to  Wethersfield,  where  she  died.  Her  hymns, 
begun  at  her  father's  suggestion,  did  not  see  the  light  until  1740 
at  least,  and  perhaps  not  until  much  later.  Some  were  in  Dr. 
Dodd's  Christian  Magazine,  1763  ;  twenty-one  in  Ash  and  Evans  s 
Collection,  1769  ;  and  eight  of  these,  with  twelve  new  ones,  in 
Dobelts  Selection,  1806.  Her  entire  poetical  manuscripts  are  in 
the  library  of  Yale  College.  The  lady  is  now  much  set  aside  by 
our  modern  taste,  but  deserves  notice  for  the  present  hymn. 

God  of  the  passing  year,  to  thee.— A.  A.  Woodhull. 
Alfred  Alexander  Woodhull,  M.D.,  born  March  25th,  1810,  at 
Cranbury,  N.  J.,  wrote   this  Thanksgiving  hymn  (1828)  for  the 
Presbyterian  Psalms  and  Hymns.      He  was  a  pious  physician,  who 
died  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  October  5th,  1836. 

God  of  my  life,  thy  boundless  grace.— C.  Elliott. 

This  hymn,  written  in  her  favorite  stanza,  dates  from  1841. 
We  may  join  with  this  constant  longing  for  God  as  expressed  in 
her  hymns  the  exalted  language  of  another  hymn-writer,  Madame 
Guyon  : 

"When  I  had  lost  all  created  supports,  and  even  divine  ones,  I  then 
found  myself  happily  necessitated  to  fall  into  the  pure  divine,  and  to  fall 
into  it  through  all  which  seemed  to  remove  me  farther  from  it.  In  losing 
all  the  gifts  with  all  their  supports,  I  found  the  Giver.  Oh,  poor  creatures, 
who  pass  along  all  your  time  in  feeding  on  the  gifts  of  God,  and  think 
therein  to  be  most  favored  and  happy,  how  I  pity  you  if  ye  stop  here, 


1 84  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

short  of  the  true  rest,  and  cease  to  go  forward  to  God,  through  resigna- 
tion of  the  same  gifts  !  How  many  pass  all  their  lives  in  this  way  and 
think  highly  of  themselves  therein  '" — "  I  have  been,"  says  Miss  Elliott, 
11  many  years  learning  this  difficult  lesson,  and  even  now  am  but  little 
skilled  in  this  blessed  alchemy."  Yet  she  could  add,  "  The  struggle  is 
over  now,"  and  then  she  wrote,  "  Thy  will  be  done." 

God  of  our  salvation,  hear  us.  — Kelly. 
This  hymn  does  not  appear  in  the  third  edition  of  Kelly's 
hymns,  1809,  but  is  found  in  the  fifth  edition,  1820.  It  is  enti- 
tled, or  rather  is  placed  under  the  heading  of,  "  Commencing  and 
Concluding  Worship."  The  text  affixed  to  it  is,  "I  cried  unto 
thee,  save  me,"  Ps.  119  :  146.  It  has  four  stanzas,  and  the 
words  are  reprinted  correctly  in  Laades  Domini. 

God  of  pity,  God  of  grace.  — Mrs.  Morris. 
Mrs.  Eliza  Fanny  (Goffe)  Morris  was  born  in  London  in  182 1, 
and  in  1849  married  Mr.  Josiah  Morris,  editor  of  the  Malvern 
News.  Her  hymns  are  included  in  The  Voice  and  the  Reply,  1858, 
and  in  Life  Lyrics,  about  1866.  The  author  says  of  her  book, 
The  Voice  and  the  Reply,  that  "  there  is  a  regular  progression  of 
Christian  Experience  running  through  the  volume."  The  first 
part — "  The  Voice" — consists  of  eighteen  pieces.  The  second — 
11  The  Reply" — is  man's  answer  to  conscience,  and  embraces 
sixty-eight.  She  calls  the  present  hymn — which  is  found  in  Part 
II.  — ' '  The  Prayer  in  the  Temple. ' '  It  was  written  September  4th, 
1857. 

God  of  the  world  !  thy  glories  shine. — Cutting. 

The  Rev.  Sewall  Sylvester  Cutting,  D.  D. ,  was  born  at  Windsor, 
Vt.,  January  19th,  1813.  He  came  remotely  of  English  parent- 
age, his  ancestors  having  arrived  in  Watertown,  Mass.,  about  1634. 
Here,  in  the  New  England  colonies,  the  family  continued — his 
parents  being  both  of  them  from  Vermont.  When  the  boy  was 
only  an  infant  they  removed  across  Lake  Champlain  to  Westport, 
in  New  York,  and  there  his  early  years  were  spent.  There,  too, 
he  joined  the  Baptist  Church,  in  May,  1827.  At  sixteen  he  began 
to  study  law,  but  the  next  year  it  seemed  to  him  that  his  vocation 
was  the  ministry.  He  therefore  studied  at  South  Reading,  Mass., 
and  entered  Waterville  College  in  his  eighteenth  year.  After  a 
year  had  passed  he  removed  to  the  University  of  Vermont,  whence 
he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1835.      He  received  no  regular 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  185 

theological  training,  but  was  ordained  at  West  Boylston,  Mass., 
March  31st,  1836,  and  settled  there  over  the  Baptist  church.  He 
was  at  Southbridge  from  1837  to  1845,  and  then  ceased  from 
pastoral  labor,  as  it  proved,  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

From  1845  t0  ^55  he  was  engaged  in  editorial  work,  on  jour- 
nals connected  with  his  own  denomination.  He  was  on  the  staff 
of  The  Recorder,  the  Watchman  and  Reflector,  and  the  Christian 
Review,  and  aided  to  establish  The  Examiner.  In  all  of  these 
duties  he  displayed  unusual  ability.  He  was  well  read  in  public 
affairs,  and  was  eminently  qualified  as  an  historian  of  Baptist 
opinions  and  debates.  As  a  writer  he  was  somewhat  stately,  pos- 
sessing more  imagination  than  he  suffered  to  be  prominent,  and 
having  a  tendency  toward  the  philosophy  of  Coleridge.  In  poetry 
he  did  more  at  a  later  period  of  his  life  than  at  this  time. 

He  was  appointed  in  September,  1855,  t0  tne  chair  of  Rhetoric 
and  History  in  the  University  of  Rochester,  where  he  continued 
until  January,  1868.  He  then  resigned  and  took  the  secretary- 
ship of  the  Baptist  Educational  Commission.  Into  this  brief,  and 
apparently  fruitless  undertaking,  he  threw  his  best  energies,  and 
those  who  have  knowledge  of  the  results  which  came  from  it  say 
that  it  is  impossible,  even  now,  to  measure  its  power  for  good. 

Dr.  Cutting,  in  1876,  became  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Home 
Mission  Society,  and  held  that  position  for  three  years,  residing 
in  Europe  afterward  for  about  a  year,  and  pursuing  special  studies. 
His  former  associate,  writing  of  him,  speaks  of  this  as  a  character- 
istic feature  of  his  life— a  life  not  massed  in  one  direction  but  dif- 
fused, and  taking  advantage  of  every  providential  opportunity  to 
develop  itself.  There  was  decided  catholicity  in  his  spirit  of 
Christian  brotherhood,  and  we  have  this  exemplified  in  his  funeral. 
He  directed  in  a  final  memorandum,  "  That  a  minister  of  another 
denomination  than  my  own  may  take  some  part  in  the  funeral 
service,  as  my  last  testimony  to  the  proper  fellowship  of  Christian 
believers  who  share  in  the  same  redemption,  and  look  for  the  same 
heavenly  rest." 

On  the  1 6th  of  January,  1882,  while  seated  at  table,  at  noon,  in 
Brooklyn,  he  received  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  for  which  his  friends 
had  indeed  been  partially  prepared.  By  the  7th  of  February  he 
was  at  rest.  According  to  the  request  mentioned  above,  Dr.  S. 
Irenceus  Prime  had  part  in  the  funeral  services,  and  thus  a  devout 


1 86  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  faithful  man  was  laid  in  the  tomb.     We  are  indebted  to  his 
son  for  these  particulars. 

God  reveals  his  presence. — Mercer,  tr. 

Major  Crawford,  in  his  Biographical  Notes  to  the  Hymnal  of  the 
Irish  Episcopal  Church,  states  that  this  hymn  is  a  translation  by 
the  Moravian  bishop,  Frederick  William  Foster,  in  1789  ;  that  it 
appeared  in  the  Moravian  Hymn- Book,  and  was  revised  by  the  late 
Rev.  William  Mercer.  It  is  the  hymn,  ' '  Golt  ist  gegenwdrlig, ' ' 
of  Gerhard  Tersteegen,  1 697-1 769.  The  original  is  in  Dr. 
Schaff's  Deulsches  Gesangbuch.  In  the  Moravian  book  of  1789  it 
appears  in  five  stanzas,  and  the  discrepancies  between  that  version 
and  Mercer's  are  very  sharply  defined,  but  Mercer's  rendering  is 
no  great  improvement  on  Foster's.  The  piece  in  Laudes  Domini 
is  plainly  a  revision  of  a  revision,  and  with  better  results. 

William  Mercer  was  born  at  Barnard  Castle,  county  of  Durham, 
England,  about  181 1.  He  was  graduated  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  in  1835,  and  entered  the  ministry  as  a  deacon  in  the 
Church  of  England  in  1836.  In  1839  ne  was  appointed  to  the 
rectory  of  Trinity  church,  Habergham  Eaves,  Lancashire.  In 
1840  he  became  curate  of  the  large  church  of  Burnley,  two  miles 
distant.  In  1841  he  took  the  perpetual  curacy  of  St.  George's  in 
Sheffield,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  at  Leavy  Greave, 
August  21st,  1873. 

For  some  years  the  poet  Montgomery  was  a  member  of  his 
congregation,  and  assisted  him  in  preparing  the  well-known 
Mercer  s  Collection,  whose  proper  title  is  The  Church  Psalter  and 
Hymn-Book,  1854.  This  book  of  praise  in  1864  had  the  remark- 
able annual  sale  of  about  a  hundred  thousand  copies,  and  was  used 
in  fifty-three  of  the  London  churches,  not  to  mention  the  remain- 
der of  the  "  thousand  churches,  cathedrals  and  royal  chapels," 
which  had  by  this  date  adopted  it.  It  undoubtedly  was  the  vol- 
ume by  whose  aid  many  of  the  best  pieces,  now  in  use  in  America, 
were  started  on  their  way. 

Mercer's  own  powers  as  a  translator  were  good.  His  hymno- 
logical  morals,  judging  by  the  specimen  before  us,  did  not  rise 
above  the  desire  to  amend,  without  possessing  the  ability  to  im- 
prove, the  original  text.  It  is  this  alteration  for  the  mere  sake  of 
altering  which  gives  abundant  ground  for  the  complaints  against 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  187 

M  hymn-mending"  or  "  hymn-tinkering."  But,  then,  Mercer  at 
that  time  was  working  in  an  atmosphere  saturated  by  the  methods 
of  Cotterill  and  Montgomery,  and  it  is  due  to  him  to  say  that  many 
of  his  alterations  have  been  cordially  adopted.  A  copy  of 
Mercer's  Psalter,  annotated  by  D.  Sedgwick,  is  in  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary  library,  New  York  City.  The  veteran  has 
assigned  the  present  hymn  to  ''Jeremiah  Stegen,  tr.  F.  Miller  and 
William  Mercer."  "  Jeremiah  Stegen"  is  charitably  supposed  to 
be  phonetic  for  "  Gerard  Tersteegen."  This  is  another  case  where 
Homer  nodded  ! 

God,    that    madest   earth  and   heaven. — Heber,    Whately   and 

Mercer. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  "  Compline  Antiphon"  may  have  fur- 
nished the  idea  of  the  third  stanza  of  this  hymn.  The  piece  itself 
is  a  composite  production,  and  before  we  speak  more  particularly 
of  its  spiritual  meaning,  we  may  as  well  notice  its  origin. 

The  first  of  these  four  stanzas,  as  given  in  Laudes  Domini,  is  by 
Bishop  Heber,  and  appeared  posthumously  in  1827.  The  second 
and  fourth  are  by  William  Mercer,  1864.  The  third  is  by  Arch- 
bishop Richard  Whately,  i860.  The  hymn  is  usually  found  in  a 
two-stanza  form,  the  first  and  third  verses  going  together.  To 
these  Mercer,  in  his  Church  Psalter  and  Hymn-Book,  added  the 
rest.  All  of  these  singers  have  gone  to  join  the  "  choir  invisible," 
but  their  combined  music  helps  to  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Church 
on  earth,  and  they  being  dead,  yet  speak. 

The  internal  structure  of  the  piece  is  eminently  suggestive, 
though  it  is  not  in  our  power,  owing  to  lack  of  space,  to  pursue 
the  theme  beyond  a  short  distance.  Here,  for  example,  is  the 
"  Compline  Antiphon"  : 

1 '  Salva  nos,  Domine,  vigilantes  j  custodi  nos,  dormientes  ;  ut 
vigilemus  in  Christo,  et  requiescamus  in  pace. ' ' 

There  is  a  prayer  which  stands  very  near  to  this  in  the  Breviary. 
It  commences  : 

"  Deus,  a  quo  sancta,"  etc. — We  translate  it  thus  : 

"  O  Lord,  from  whom  all  holy  desires,  right  counsels,  and  just  woiks 
proceed,  grant  unto  thy  servants  that  peace  which  the  world  cannot  give  ; 
that  our  hearts,  devoted  to  thy  precepts,  and  our  times  set  free  from  the 
fear  of  the  enemy,  may  alike  be  at  rest  beneath  thy  protection.  Through 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord." 


1 88  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

And  here  is  another,  from  which  Heber  may  have  taken  his 
inspiration.      It  begins  : 

"  Visita,  qucesumus,  Domine,"  etc. — Our  rendering  of  it  is  as  follows  ; 

"  Visit,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  this  habitation,  and  drive  far  away 
therefrom  all  snares  of  the  enemy  ;  let  thy  holy  angels,  who  defend  us  in 
peace,  keep  guard  in  it  ;  and  let  thy  benediction  be  upon  us  evermore." 

Richard  Whately  was  born  in  London,  in  1 787  ;  educated  at  Oriel 
College,  Oxford,  1808,  where  he  was  a  Fellow  in  181 1,  and  re- 
ceived his  degree  of  M.A.  in  181 2.  He  was  named  as  the  Bamp- 
ton  lecturer  for  1822.  In  the  same  year  he  was  given  the  rector- 
ship of  Halesworth,  and,  three  years  later,  became  principal  of  St. 
Albans'  Hall,  Oxford,  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  After  spending 
five  years  he  was  made  professor  of  Political  Economy  at  Oxford  ; 
and,  a  year  later,  1831,  he  attained  to  the  archepiscopate  of 
Dublin.  At  Dublin,  in  1863,  he  died.  He  was  a  man  of  such 
distinction  that  this  brief  outline  of  his  career  is  all  that  is  required 
in  these  pages.  But  we  may  well  pause  to  commend  his  vigorous 
championship  of  Low  Church  opinions  in  the  Church  of  England. 
His  was  a  logical  as  well  as  a  satirical  mind,  and  he  was  a  formid- 
able opponent  to  the  Ritualists.  That  he  was  equally  unpleasant 
to  sceptics,  his  Historic  Doubts  Relative  to  Napoleon  Bonaparte  will 
easily  demonstrate.  Taking  an  undeniable  historic  character,  he 
applies  to  it  the  method  of  the  German  rationalists,  and  triumph- 
antly exhibits  Napoleon  as  a  myth — the  unreal  creation  of  times 
and  circumstances,  non-existent,  and  incredible  ! 

God  with  us  !  oh,  glorious  name  ! — Slinn. 

This  hymn  was  written  by  a  lady  named  Sarah  Slinn,  and  this 
is  probably  her  maiden  name.  The  date  is  fixed  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  1779.  The  hymn  itself  is  in  Dobell 's  Collection,  credited 
to  ' '  Wood' s  Coll. , ' '  and  is  in  five  stanzas.  Dobell' s  Scriptures  are  : 
Matt.  1  :  23  and  1  Tim.  3  :  16.  The  original  publication  was 
made  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  1779. 

This  resembles  a  German  hymn  by  Dr.  Johann  Peter  Lange 
(written,  however,  about  1830),  and  which  commences  :  "  Gott 
miluns/     Mil  uns  auf  Erdeti." 

Goodly  were  thy  tents,  O  Israel. — Wolcott. 
Dr.  Wolcott  has  been  heartily  identified  both  with  Foreign  and 
Home  Missions.     To  the  latter  cause  this  hymn  belongs.     The 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  189 

present  hymn,  as  he  kindly  informed  us,  was  written  in  the  epring 
of  1 88 1,  while  he  was  in  the  service  of  the  American  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  (Congregational),  as  a  State  Secretary  and  Super- 
intendent. His  death  occurred  at  Longmeadow,  Mass.,  February 
24th,  1886. 

In  1 88 1  Dr.  Wolcott  also  wrote  a  very  successful  hymn,  set  to 
Bradbury's  "  Sing  of  his  Mighty  Love,"  which  commences,  "  O 
gracious  Redeemer  !     O  Jesus  our  Lord  I" 

Golden  harps  are  sounding. — F.  R.  Havergal. 

This  hymn  is  in  Miss  Havergal' s  Poems,  p.  50.  It  has  three 
stanzas;  its  title  is  "Ascension  Song. — Eph.  4  :  8."  The 
author's  date  is  1871. 

Frances  Ridley  Havergal  was  born  December  14th,  1836,  at 
Astley,  Worcestershire,  England,  where  her  father  was  rector  for 
twenty  years.  She  was  the  youngest  child  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Haver- 
gal, known  widely  as  a  musician  and  author  of  some  good  hymns. 
At  three  years  of  age  she  could  read,  and  at  seven  she  wrote 
verses.  She  had  an  active,  buoyant  temperament— what  she 
called  a  ' '  stormy-petrelism  of  nature, ' '  which  enabled  her  to 
' '  skim  any  waves  when  she  was  not  under  them. 

In  1845  her  father  was  appointed  to  the  rectory  of  St.  Nicholas, 
and  to  be  canon  of  Worcester  Cathedral.  He  therefore  removed 
to  Worcester,  where  the  early  years  of  Miss  Havergal  were  passed. 
She  received  her  education  at  English  and  German  boarding- 
schools,  and  enjoyed  exceptional  advantages  of  culture  and  travel. 
In  the  midst  of  it  all  her  Christianity  became  her  predominant 
characteristic,  and  her  piety  was  as  attractive  as  it  was  profound. 
She  mastered  languages  with  great  ease.  French,  German,  Ital- 
ian, Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  were  among  her  acquirements. 
She  even  learned  enough  Welsh  from  her  donkey-girl  to  take  part 
in  .the  Welsh  church  services.  The  scholarly  instinct  was  strong 
within  her,  and  her  Bible— noted  and  underlined— was  one  of 
the  best  of  proofs  that  she  applied  herself  earnestly  to  the  noblest 
themes.  She  was  also  finely  musical— a  performer,  vocalist  and 
composer,  whom  Heller  was  glad  to  approve— and  the  Songs  of 
Grace  and  Glory  furnish  good  proof  of  this.  In  poetry  she  was 
intensely  religious,  intensely  subjective,  and  intensely  sensitive  to 
all  beautiful  or  inspiring  things.     Many  of  her  verses    (like  the 


190  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Moonlight  Sonata,"  of  which,  by  the  way,  she  was  an  almost 
unrivalled  interpreter)  are  really  autobiographic. 

She  had  deep  trials  and  experiences — both  of  mental  and  physi- 
cal pain — which  mellowed  and  enriched  her  character.  In  i860 
she  appeared  in  Good  Words  as  a  poet — there  is  no  reason  why 
we  should  say  "  poetess."  From  that  period  she  contributed  with 
more  or  less  frequency  to  religious  periodicals.  Her  little  books 
of  hymns  and  verses  are  treasured  now  all  over  England  and 
America.  Perhaps  the  keynote  of  them  is  her  own  expression  : 
"  '  Thy  will  be  done '  is  not  a  sigh,  but  only  a  song  !" 

In  October,  1878,  she  and  her  sister  were  at  Caswell  Bay,  Swan- 
sea, South  Wales,  for  a  change  of  air.  Here  Miss  H.  took  a 
severe  cold  which  caused  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  When  told 
that  her  life  was  in  danger,  she  exclaimed  :  "  If  I  am  really  going, 
it  is  too  good  to  be  true  !"  At  another  time  she  said  :  "  Splen- 
did !     To  be  so  near  the  gates  of  heaven  ! ' ' 

Toward  the  last  she  sang,  clearly  but  faintly  :  "  Jesus,  I  will 
trust  thee,"  to  "  Hermas,"  one  of  her  own  tunes.  "  And  now," 
says  her  sister,  ' '  she  looked  up  steadfastly,  as  if  she  saw  the  Lord  ; 
and  surely  nothing  less  heavenly  could  have  reflected  such  a 
glorious  radiance  upon  her  face.  For  ten  minutes  we  watched 
that  almost  visible  meeting  with  her  King,  and  her  countenance 
was  so  glad,  as  if  she  were  already  talking  to  Him  !  Then  she 
tried  to  sing  ;  but,  after  one  sweet,  high  note  her  voice  failed,  and 
as  her  brother  commended  her  soul  into  the  Redeemer's  hand,  she 
passed  away." 

The  date  was  June  3d,  1879.  She  was  buried  at  Astley,  and  on 
her  tomb  was  carved  by  her  own  request  the  text  1st  John  1  :  7, 
11  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 

Grace,  'tis  a  charming  sound. — Doddridge. 
This  stands  among  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  as  No.  286.      "  Sal- 
vation  by  Grace"    is  the  title,  and   Eph.  2  :  5  the  text.      It  has 
four  stanzas. 

Gracious  Saviour,  thus  before  thee. — Bateman. 
Henry  Bateman,   a  nephew  of  Bishop  Daniel  Wilson,  of  Cal- 
cutta,  and  a  Swedenborgian,  was  a  surgeon,  born  at  Burton-on- 
Trent,   Eng.,   September  30th,    1806.     He  died  November  21st, 
1880,    at   the   Chestnuts,    Canonbury,    London,    N.      His  Heart 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  191 

Melodies  contain  "Three  Hundred  and  Sixty-five  Psalms  and 
Hymns  for  Public  Worship  and  Domestic  Use,"  1862.  He  is  to 
be  distinguished  from  Rev.  Christian  Henry  Bateman,  born  18 13. 
and  is  recorded  in  The  Lancet,  London,  November  27th,  1880. 

Gracious  Spirit,  dwell  with  me.  — Lynch. 
The  author  of  this  hymn  is  Rev.  Thomas  Toke  Lynch,  who  was 
the  son  of  John  Burke  Lynch,  M.D.,  of  Great  Dunmow,  Essex, 
where  he  was  born  July  5th,  181 8.  He  entered  the  Congrega- 
tional ministry  in  1848,  and  from  that  date  until  his  death  in  Lon- 
don, May  9th,  1 871,  he  was  marked  as  a  man  of  great  ability,  and 
of  talent  which  approached  to  genius.  His  personal  attractiveness 
in  conversation  and  the  suggestive  character  of  his  mind  were 
noticed  by  all  his  acquaintances.  On  the  publication  of  The  Riv- 
ulet, 1885  (2d  edition,  1856,  and  enlarged  edition,  1868),  his 
poems  were  attacked  with  severity  by  Dr.  John  Campbell,  who 
professed  to  see  in  them,  under  the  garb  of  poetry,  that  "  Negative 
Philosophy"  which  he  detested.  The  reply  of  Mr.  Lynch  was  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  was  widely  circulated.  "The  controversy 
was  aggravated,  and  assumed  greater  importance,"  says  Miller, 
"  because  seven  eminent  London  ministers,  of  the  same  denom- 
ination, put  forth  a  statement  in  vindication  of  their  friend  and 
brother  minister." 

Mr.  Lynch  was  for  several  years  the  pastor  of  the  Mornington 
Congregational  church,  Hampstead  Road,  and  his  hymns  are  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  in  number.  The  present  piece  is  from 
The  Rivulet,   1855. 

Gracious  Spirit,  Holy  Ghost.  — C.  Wordsworth. 
This  hymn,  by  Bishop  Wordsworth,  is  founded  on  the  words  of 
the  epistle  for  Quinquagesima  Sunday,  "And  now  abideth  faith, 
hope,  and  charity,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity. " 
It  was  first  published  in  his  Holy  Year,  1862. 

Gracious  Spirit,  Love  divine. — Stocker. 
It  is  among  the  singular  freaks  of  hymnology  that  this  lovely 
hymn— originally  containing  six  stanzas— is  printed  beside  a  bitter 
and  satirical  poem  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  for  July,  1777.  In 
"  The  Serpent  and  the  Fox  ;  or,  an  interview  between  Old  Nick 
and  Old  John"  [Wesley],  some  one  has  written  verses  so  scurril- 


192  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ous  that  Tyerman,  Wesley's  biographer,  declares  that  it  would  be 
a  crime  to  reprint  them.  Making  all  allowance  for  Methodist  sen- 
sitiveness, there  the  poem  is,  and  any  one  can  still  inspect  it,  as 
we  have.  It  is  a  pungent  commentary  on  the  editor's  lack  of 
Christian  charity,  and  would  not  be  tolerated  to-day. 

John  Stocker  remains  as  the  shadow  of  a  name.  No  investiga- 
tion detects  anything  beyond  the  facts  that  he  was  from  Honiton, 
Devonshire  ;  that  he  contributed  nine  hymns  in  all  to  the  Gospel 
Magazine  during  the  years  1776-77,  and  that  his  pieces  have  been 
reissued  by  D.  Sedgwick,   1861. 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  he  was  some  friend  of  Toplady. 
That  hymn-writer  had  become  the  editor  of  the  Gospel  Magazine  in 
1776,  and  to  him,  therefore,  the  enormity  of  the  publication  of 
"  The  Serpent  and  the  Fox"  must  be  charged.  He  had  been 
settled  not  far  from  Honiton  for  several  years,  and  may  thus  have 
known  Stocker. 

Great  Creator  !  who  this  day. — J.  A.  Elliott. 

Mrs.  Julia  Ann  Elliott,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Henry  Venn  Elliott, 
of  Brighton,  England,  was  the  sister-in-law  of  Miss  Charlotte 
Elliott.  Her  marriage  to  this  gentleman,  who,  at  the  time,  was 
perpetual  curate  of  St.  Mary's,  Brighton,  was  a  romantic  one. 
She  met  him  in  1827,  having  with  her  father  been  temporarily  in 
his  congregation,  and  the  acquaintance  thus  formed  resulted  in 
their  marriage,  October  31st,  1833.  She  was  much  beloved  by 
the  people  of  her  husband's  parish,  and  between  herself  and  Miss 
Charlotte  Elliott  there  was  a  deep  and  lasting  affection.  Mrs.  Elliott 
contributed  some  hymns  to  her  husband's  collection,  1835.  She 
died,  not  long  after  the  birth  of  her  fifth  child,  November  3d,  1841. 

Mrs.  Elliott  was  the  author  of  ' '  We  love  thee,  Lord,  yet  not 
alone."  The  present  hymn  is  the  second  part  of  a  hymn  given 
in  three  parts  in  Mr.  Elliott's  collection.     These  parts  commence  : 

I.   Hail,  thou  bright  and  sacred  morn. 
II.   Great  Creator  !  who  this  day. 
III.   Soon,  too  soon,  the  sweet  repose. 

Great  God,  now  condescend. — Fellows. 
Dr.  Hatfield  has  specially  noticed  John  Fellows,  and  Miller  has 
given  a  long  list  of  his  writings.     Dr.  Belcher  considered  him  a 
Baptist,  and  says  : 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  193 

"  Several  hymns  on  baptism,  which  appear  in  some  of  our  books,  were 
written  by  John  Fellows,  a  poor  shoemaker  of  that  denomination,  of 
Birmingham,  England,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century." 

Alii  bone,  following  Watts' s  Bibliotheca  Britannica,  speaks  of  him 
as  a  Methodist,  and  names  him  as  author  of  The  Holy  Bible  in 
Verse  (4  vols.,  i2mo,  1778).  These  and  other  investigations  re- 
sult in  the  positive  statement  which  can  now  be  made  that  Fellows 
was,  for  most  of  his  life,  a  Calvinistic  Methodist.  He  first  resided 
at  Bromsgrove,  Worcestershire,  thence  removing  to  Birmingham, 
and  becoming  a  Baptist.  In  1780  he  was  immersed  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Turner,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church  in  Cannon  Street. 

It  appears  that  Fellows  is  to  be  ranked  with  John  Pounds,  Gif- 
ford  the  critic,  and  Edwards  the  naturalist,  as  an  ornament  to  the 
cobbler's  bench.  He  was  a  man  with  some  fluency  in  verse,  who 
was  given  to  elegies,  hymns  and  paraphrases.  He  eulogized 
Whitefield,  Gill  and  Toplady  when  they  died  ;  and  between  1770 
and  1779  he  poured  out  upon  an  astonished  world  "  hymns  in  a 
great  variety  of  metres,"  and  other  similar  productions,  with  ease 
and  frequency.  Albeit,  we  must  sadly  add,  in  the  words  of  a 
judicious  biographer,  that  "  the  most  of  his  poetry  is  scarcely 
worth  the  name." 

He  died  at  Birmingham,  November  2d,  1785.  The  time  and 
place  of  his  birth  are  unknown.  The  date  of  the  present  hymn  is 
fixed  by  its  appearance  in  the  book,  Infants  Devoted  to  God  but 
not  Baptized,  1773,  of  which  Fellows  was  the  author. 

Great  God  !  attend  while  Zion  sings. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr   Watts' s  version  of  Ps.  84,  2d  part,  L.  M.,  "  God  in 
his  Church  ;  or,  Grace  and  Glory. ' '      It  has  five  stanzas. 

Great  God,  how  infinite  art  thou. — Watts. 
We  have  this  from  the  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts,  Book  II.,  No.  6j, 
"  God's  Eternal  Dominion."     It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

Great  God,  the  nations  of  the  earth. — Gibbons. 
For  some  time  this  hymn  was  credited  to  Rev.  William  Ward 
(b.  Derby,  England,  1769  ;  d.  India,  182 1),  a  companion  of 
Marshman  and  Carey.  Dobell  assigns  it  to  "  Gibbons,"  and  it 
is  found  as  part  of  a  hymn  of  forty-six  stanzas  in  the  collection  of 
Thomas  Gibbons,  D.  D.,  1769,  and  with  his  name  attached. 


194  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Dr.  Gibbons  was  born  at  Reak,  in  the  parish  of  Svvaffham  Prior, 
near  Newmarket,  England,  May  31st,  1720.  After  receiving  a 
grammar  school  and  academy  education  until  1742,  he  was,  on 
the  5th  of  July  in  that  year,  licensed  to  preach  by  the  "  London 
Association  of  Independent  Ministers."  He  then  assisted  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Bures  of  Silver  Street  Presbyterian  chapel,  and  was 
ordained  October  27th,  1743,  to  the  charge  of  the  Independent 
church  in  Haberdasher's  Hall,  Cheapside,  London.  Here  he 
continued  during  the  rest  of  his  life. 

In  1754  he  was  tutor  of  Logic,  Ethics,  and  Mathematics  in  the 
Mile  End  Academy,  and  was  one  of  the  Sunday  evening  lect- 
urers at  Monkwell  Street  Meeting-House.  When  President  Samuel 
Davies,  of  Princeton,  visited  England,  Dr.  Gibbons  aided  in  secur- 
ing funds  for  the  college,  and  this  was  the  origin  of  the  compli- 
mentary "D.D."  tendered  to  him  by  the  "College  of  New 
Jersey. ' '  Four  years  later  (1 764),  the  University  of  Aberdeen  con- 
ferred the  same  degree. 

As  the  biographer  of  Dr.  Watts  and  the  author  of  the  present 
hymn  and  of  "  Now  let  our  souls  on  wings  sublime,"  Dr.  Gib- 
bons will  not  be  easily  forgotten.  The  date  of  the  piece  before 
us  is  1769. 

Our  author  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  February  2 2d,  1785, 
leaving  behind  him  a  number  of  literary  and  religious  composi- 
tions. He  was  the  friend  of  Lady  Huntingdon  and  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  piety  and  zeal. 

Great  God,  to  thee  my  evening  song. — Steele. 
In  Miss  Steele's  Poems,  1760,  this  is   entitled   "An  Evening 
Hymn."     It  is  in  nine  stanzas.     The  last  is  seldom  quoted,  but 
it  deserves  notice  : 

"  Let  this  blest  hope  my  eyelids  close, 
With  sleep  refresh  my  feeble  frame  ; 
Safe  in  thy  care  may  I  repose 

And  wake  with  praises  to  thy  name." 

Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear. — Collyer. 
The  author,  or  perhaps  we  should  rather  say  translator,  of  this 
hymn  was  Rev.  William   Bengo  Collyer,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  a  popu- 
lar Nonconformist  minister  in  London,  and  pastor  for  half  a  cen- 
tury of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Peckham.     He  was  born  at 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  1 95 


Blackheath  near  London,  April  14th,  1782,  and  it  is  reported  of 
him  that,  even  in  his  early  years,  he  displayed  a  liking  for  the 
pulpit,  and  was  quite  well  known  as  an  "  exhorter  "  when  he  was 
but  fourteen.  The  church  in  Surrey,  at  Peckham,  had  been  Pres- 
byterian, but  was  much  debased  in  doctrine,  and  was  only  able  to 
muster  a  membership  of  ten,  while  its  congregation  had  declined 
to  about  four  times  that  number.  They  cast  their  eyes  on  the 
young  Collyer,  who  was  then  but  eighteen,  and  besought  him  to 
undertake  their  pastorate.  In  1801,  when  he  was  ordained,  he 
had  increased  the  attendance  tenfold,  and  the  gentry  and  nobility 
were  among  his  hearers. 

In  this  position  he  continued  faithfully  during  his  life,  being  in- 
debted to  the  favor  of  the  Duke  of  Kent  for  his  degree  from  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  His  collection  of  hymns— in  which,  by 
the  way,  are  the  original  seven  which  bear  the  name  of  Mrs.  Voke 

was  issued  in  181 2.     At  the  close  of  the  volume  he  has  placed 

some  fifty-seven  of  his  own  compositions.     Two  or  three  of  them 
have  been  generally  received  ;  the  others  are  obsolete. 
Dr.  Collyer  has  given  us  : 

"  When  bending  o'er  the  brink  of  life,"  1805. 

"  Return,  O  wanderer,  return,"  1806. 

"  Another  fleeting  day  is  gone,"  1812. 

"  Morning  breaks  upon  the  tomb,"  1812. 

These  hymns  have  been  styled  "stilted  and  sensational,"  but 
the  man  himself  was  a  sincere  and  devoted  pastor  and  preacher, 
and  died  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  January  9th,  1854.  It  was, 
oddly  said  of  him  that  he  closely  resembled  in  person  his  attached 
friend,  the  Duke  of  Sussex.  On  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Belcher, 
who  knew  him,  he  was  simple,  earnest  and  effective  in  the  pulpit, 
and  often  closed  his  sermon  by  the  use  of  a  hymn  written  to  ac- 
company it,  according  to  the  manner  of  Doddridge  and  Watts. 

The  hymn  before  us  is  a  translation  from  the  stanzas,  "  Es  ist 
gewisslich  an  der  Zeit"  of  Bartholomaeus  Ringwaldt.  The  two 
first  stanzas  of  it  Dr.  Collyer  "conveyed"  from  the  verses  by 
Johann  Christian  Jacobi,  included  in  a  collection  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns  printed  at  Sheffield,  in  1802.  The  third  and  fourth  stanzas 
are  of  his  own  composition,  and  he  acknowledges  Jacobi's  trans- 
lation which  was  made  for  Psalmodia  Germanica,  1722.  The  Ger- 
man original  is  considered  to  be  a  free  rendering  of  the  "Dies 


196  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Irce"  and  there  is  another  English  version  by  Arthur  Tozer  Rus- 
sell. That  in  the  Moravian  book,  "  'Tis  sure  that  awful  time 
will  come,"  is  Jacobi's. 

This  hymn  of  Ringwaldt's  is  found  in  almost  every  German 
collection.  Sometimes  (incorrectly,  of  course)  it  is  ascribed  to 
Luther.  Ringwaldt  was  born  at  Frankfort-on-the-Oder  in  1530, 
and  died  {circa  1598)  at  Langfeld  in  Prussia,  where  he  had  been 
a  faithful  Lutheran  pastor.  His  whole  life  was  a  struggle  with 
"pestilence,  famine,  fire,  floods  and  other  calamities,"  and  to 
comfort  himself  and  those  about  him  he  wrote  many  hymns,  which 
are  not  unlike  Luther's.  The  tune  to  which  this  hymn  is  sung  is 
sometimes  known  as  "Luther's  Judgment  Hymn,"  but  it  may 
not  be  his,  though  it  is  said  to  have  been  his  first  composition. 
The  present  piece  originally  appeared  in  1585,  in  six  stanzas. 

There  is  a  German  story  that,  on  the  8th  of  August,  1702,  John 
Schmidtgens,  a  gardener  in  Conzendorf,  Saxony,  took  refuge  under 
an  oak-tree  during  a  thunderstorm.  He  began  to  sing  this  hymn, 
and  had  come  to  the  close  of  the  final  stanza,  when  the  lightning 
struck  the  tree,  and  he  was  instantly  killed. 

The  English  version  was  sung  at  the  funerals  of  both  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  and  the  Prince  Consort  of  England,  ' '  Albert  the 
Good." 

Great  God,  we  sing  that  guiding  hand. — Doddridge. 

In  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  this  is  No.  257.  "  Help  obtained 
of  God,  Acts  26  :  22."      It  is  "  A  hymn  for  New  Year's  Day." 

Great  God,  when  I  approach  thy  throne. — Bathurst. 

Rev.  William  Hiley  Bragge-Bathurst,  born  at  Cleve  Dale,  near 
Bristol,  England,  August  28th,  1796,  is  the  author  of  this  and 
other  excellent  hymns.  His  father's  name  was  Charles  Bragge, 
Member  of  Parliament  for  Bristol,  who  assumed  the  name  of 
Bathurst  on  succeeding  to  his  uncle's  estate.  The  son  studied  at 
Oxford  (Christ  Church  College),  whence  he  was  graduated,  and 
proceeded  in  18 19  to  take  orders  in  the  Church  of  England.  In 
1820  he  was  appointed  rector  of  Barwick-in-Elmet,  Yorkshire, 
from  which  he  retired  in  1852. 

In  May,  1863,  he  succeeded  to  his  paternal  estate  of  Lydney 
Park,  Gloucestershire,  on  the  death  of  an  elder  brother.  His  own 
death  occurred  November  25th,    1877,  at  Lydney  Park.      From 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


197 


his  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Public  and  Private  Use,  1830,  we  de- 
rive the  most  of  what  we  owe  to  him.  He  issued  a  translation 
of  the  Georgics  of  Virgil,  and  another  small  volume  of  verses 
about  1849.  Ifc  is  astonishing  that  so  admirable  a  hymnist  should 
not  be  noticed  in  Prescott's  Christian  Hymn-Writers.  We  have 
but  few  particulars  of  his  life,  but  there  is  one  which  has  some  sig- 
nificance. In  1852  he  resigned  his  living  of  Barwick-in-Elmet 
owing  to  his  conscientious  scruples  about  portions  of  the  Burial 
and  Baptismal  services  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  remained 
from  that  date  in  private  life,  until  the  time  of  his  death. 

Great  God  !  whose  universal  sway. — Watts. 
As  we  have  it  in  Dr.  Watts' s  Psalms,  this  is  Ps.  72,  1st  part, 
*'  The  Kingdom  of  Christ."     It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

Great  is  the  Lord  our  God. — Watts. 
This  is   Ps.  48,  of  Dr.  Watts' s  version,  1st  part,  S.  M.     "  Vv. 
1-8,  The  Church  is  the  Honor  and  Safety  of  a  Nation."     It  has 
seven  stanzas. 

Great  Sun  of  Righteousness,  arise  ! — Watts. 
The  last  two  stanzas  of  a  preceding  hymn  in  Laudes  Domini  are 
here  separated  into  a  piece  by  themselves.      The  previous  verses 
begin,  "  The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  Lord." 

Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah. — W.  Williams. 
Mr.  Christophers  records  an  interview  with  an  excellent  old  lady, 
a  "  widow,  indeed,"  at  "  a  retired  villa  a  few  miles  out  of  Lon- 
don, amid  fruit  trees,  honeysuckles  and  jasmine." 

"  There,"  he  says,  "  was  a  summer-like  drawing-room,  looking  out, 
on  one  side,  upon  a  lawn  bounded  by  stately  trees  and  fringed  with  flow- 
ers, and  on  the  other  opening  into  a  little  paradise  of  a  conservatory  ; 
there  the  dear  old  woman  sat  in  a  small  elbow-chair,  and  looked  like  a 
pattern  of  antique  simplicity  and  gracefulness.  She  was  dressed  in  a 
black  silk  gown,  open  at  the  neck  so  as  to  show  a  snowy  neckerchief 
folded  and  pinned  under  the  chin,  with  a  small,  neatly  fringed,  cream- 
colored  shawl  brought  over  the  shoulders  and  fastened  at  the  waist  in 
front,  with  its  corners  falling  over  a  white  muslin  apron.  She  wore  a 
mobbed  cap,  with  a  modest  crown,  and  a  neat  close  border,  yet  not  so 
close  as  to  hide  a  clear,  open  brow,  beautiful  still  ;  and  it  seemed  more 
sweetly  beautiful  with  its  silvered  locks  than  when  it  had  been  more 
richly  adorned  in  the  prime  of  womanhood.  .  .  .     Her  eyes  revealed  a 


198  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

spiritual  depth  of  kindness  and  peace.  .  .  .  Dear  old  saint  !  she  soon 
left  her  earthly  paradise.  Not  long  after  an  interesting  chat  with  her,  in 
which  she  seemed  more  at  home  with  Wesley  and  Romaine  than  with  the 
visible  things  of  my  own  generation,  she  was  called  for  from  above.  She 
had  lived  nearly  a  century  ;  but  her  mind  was  as  clear  as  an  evening 
in  spring.  ...  As  she  lay  murmuring  a  song  in  sweet  undertones,  it 
was  asked,  '  What  are  you  singing  ?  Shall  I  join  you  ? '  'I  was  sing- 
ing,' said  she, 

4  When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan, 

Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside; 
Death  of  death  and  hell's  destruction, 
Land  me  safe  on  Canaan's  side  : 

Songs  of  praises 
I  will  ever  give  to  thee  ! ' 

"  Her  love  was  perfect.  Her  tuneful  spirit  caught  a  higher  strain,  and 
took  its  part  in  the  harmonies  of  Paradise." 

When  Robert  Flockhart,  a  well-known  field  and  street  preacher 
of  the  last  century,  was  in  battle  at  the  Isle  of  France,  as  a  sol- 
dier against  the  French,  he  was  suddenly  moved  to  sing.  So  he 
lifted  up  his  voice,  and  sang  : 

"  Plagues  and  death  around  me  fly, 
Till  he  bid  I  cannot  die  ; 
Not  a  single  shot  can  hit, 
Till  the  love  of  God  sees  fit ;" 

following  it  with  the  stanza  : 

"  When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan 
Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside." 

This  was  the  cheerful  spirit  he  always  showed.  To  one  who 
asked  him  how  he  could  manage  to  preach  every  night,  he  an- 
swered :  "  Man,  I  have  grand  pipes  !"  Of  his  preaching  this 
may  serve  as  an  example.      Speaking  of  the  Bible,  he  said  : 

"  I  have  just  been  sitting  under  its  shadow  with  great  delight,  and 
finding  its  fruit  sweet  to  my  taste.  There  are  grand,  sweet  apples  on 
that  tree.  There's  the  apple  of  justification  :  '  Justified  freely  by  his 
grace  ! '  There's  the  apple  of  sanctification  :  '  We  are  made  partakers  of 
his  holiness.'  There's  the  apple  of  adoption  :  '  Now  are  we  the  sons  of 
God  ?'  And,  best  grace,  there's  the  golden  apple  of  glorification— we'll 
get  that  by  and  by  ;  but  '  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be.'  I 
mind  when  I've  been  in  tropical  countries,  I've  seen  trees  whose  fruit 
seemed  as  if  it  wanted  to  drop  into  your  mouth,  it  was  so  rich  and  ripe. 
And  doesn't  the  Lord  say  to  us,  when  we  come  to  this  blessed  Book 
now,  '  Open  thy  mouth  wide  and  I  will  fill  it  ! '  " 

This  hymn  before  us  was  first  written  in  Welsh,  and  then  trans- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  J99 

lated  into  English.  Its  present  form  is  due  to  the  amendments  of 
Keble.  In  the  Free  Church  Hynm-Book,  1882,  the  first  line  in  the 
Welsh  tongue  is  given  as,  "  Argkuydd,  arwain  trwy  r  anialwchr 
The  translation  was  published  by  William  Williams,  as  a  leaflet, 
in  1773  with  the  following  heading  :  "  A  Favourite  Hymn  sung 
by  Lady  Huntingdon's  young  Collegians.  Printed  by  the  desire 
of  many  Christian  Friends.  Lord,  give  it  thy  blessing  !"  The 
facsimile  of  the  original  leaflet  as  discovered  by  Mr.  W.  T.  Brooke 
was  used  for  the  text  of  the  Free  Church  collection.  There  is  a 
fourth  stanza  which  is  not  printed.  The  first  stanza  is  said  to  be 
the  translation  of  Peter  Williams,  1771,  the  second  and  third  are 
supposed  to  be  by  William  Williams  himself. 

Rev  William  Williams  was  born  at  Cefncoed,  near  Llandovery, 
Caermarthenshire,  in  17x7.  He  was  originally  intended  for  the 
medical  profession,  but  under  the  vigorous  preaching  of  Howell 
Harris  in  Talgarth  churchyard,  he  was  converted,  devoted  him- 
self to*  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  was  ordained  as  deacon  in 
1740  in  the  Church  of  England.  He  officiated  at  first  in  two 
small  churches  in  Breconshire-Henry  Vaughan's  county-and 
did  not  bv  any  means  confine  himself  to  his  parish  in  preaching 
the  Gospel.  The  result  was  that  he  was  summoned  before  the 
authorities  a  score  of  times,  and  was  denied  full  ordination.  But 
this  diaconate  ordination  proved  enough  for  Mr.  Williams,  who 
became  a  Calvinistic  Methodist,  and  took  Wales  at  large  for  his 
parish.      For  forty-five   years  he  went  everywhere    preaching  the 

Word.  ,  ,  ' 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  he  was  not  only  an  orator  but  a 
poet.  Being  urged,  in  consequence  of  this,  by  his  brethren,  he 
prepared  a  collection  of  hymns  for  them,  which  is  substantially  the 
same  as  that  in  use  to-day.  The  first  issue  he  called  the  Allelma 
I745_47,  and  it  was  printed  in  six  parts  at  Bristol.  The  book 
called  Hosannah  was  published  at  Bristol  in  i759,  and  in  it  were 
fifty-one  of  his  hymns  in  the  English  language.  In  1859,  Mr.  D. 
Sedgwick  reproduced  this  and  a  later  collection. 

Mr.  Williams  merited  and  received  the  praise  of  his  contempo- 
raries as  a  poet  of  real  fire  and  genius.  He  did  for  Wales  what 
Wesley  and  Watts  did  for  England,  or  what  Luther  did  for  Ger- 
many. In  1791,  on  the  nth  of  January,  he  died  at  his  home  in 
Pantycelyn,  near  Llandovery,  having  suffered  long  from  a  painful 


200  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

illness.      He  was  another  of  that  famous  company  which  centred 
at  Lady  Huntingdon's  drawing-room. 

Hail,  happy  day  !  thou  day  of  holy  rest. — S.  Browne. 
One  of  the  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  hymns,  designed  as  a 
supplement  to  those  of  Dr.  Watts,  written  by  Rev.  Simon  Browne, 
who  was  the  eccentric,  and  possibly  insane  pastor  of  the  Old  Jewry 
congregation,  London,  for  many  long  and  useful  years.  This 
piece  breathes  the  very  spirit  of  religious  devotion  and  content. 
We  have  been  told  that  the  Pythagoreans  would  not  allow  their 
disciples  to  pay  homage  to  any  of  their  deities  in  a  thoughtless  or 
careless  manner.  They  insisted  that  they  must  come  to  the 
temple  prepared  by  meditation  at  home  for  their  solemn  worship. 
Their  minds  were  to  be  disengaged  from  mere  secular  occupation, 
so  that  all  their  souls'  fervor  might  be  thrown  into  their  prayers, 
or  the  gods  would  not  hear  or  answer  them.  If  such  was  the  rev- 
erence demanded  of  their  devotees  by  even  the  heathen  teachers,  how 
much  more  energetically  should  we,  in  the  Christian  assemblies, 
bid  earth's  vanities  move  from  our  sight  and  leave  our  souls  alone  ! 

Hail,  Holy  Spirit  !   bright  immortal  Dove  ! — S.  Browne. 
This  hymn  is  from   a  piece  containing  twelve  stanzas,  and  the 
date  is  1720.      It  is  reprinted  at  large  in  the  Hymns  of  the  Spirit. 

Hail,  sacred  day  of  earthly  rest. — Thring,  altered. 
This  hymn  is  by  Rev.  Godfrey  Thring.  The  second  line  in 
each  of  the  stanzas  has  been  changed,  in  order  to  adapt  it  to  the 
music  which  is  set  to  it.  It  is  an  exquisite  piece  for  the  close  of 
the  Lord' s  Day.  It  is  said  in  the  Jewish  Talmud  that,  when  a 
man  leaves  the  synagogue  for  his  home  on  the  Sabbath  eve,  two 
angels,  one  of  good  and  one  of  evil,  accompany  him.  If  he  finds 
the  table  spread  in  his  house  and  the  Sabbath  lamps  lighted,  the 
wife  and  children  being  all  ready  in  their  proper  attire  for  the 
sacred  day,  then  the  good  angel  says  :  "  May  the  next  Sabbath, 
and  all  thy  Sabbaths,  be  like  this  !  Peace  unto  this  dwelling, 
peace  !"  And  to  this  blessing  the  angel  of  evil  is  forced  to  add, 
11  Amen  !"  But  if  the  house  is  not  ready,  and  no  preparations 
have  been  made  for  the  holy  day,  then  the  angel  of  evil  speaks, 
and  says  :  "  May  all  thy  Sabbaths  be  like  this  !"  And  the  good 
angel  answers  with  tears,  "  Amen  !" 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  201 

Hail,  the  day  that  sees  him  rise.  — C.  Wesley. 
This  is  a  hymn  "  For  Ascension  Day,"  in  ten  stanzas,  1739. 
The  amendments  of  this  hymn  have  been  to  its  advantage. 
"  Glorious"  triumph  was  originally  "  pompous"  triumph  ; 
"  Great  Forerunner  of  our  race"  was  "  Harbinger  of  human  race" 
— and  so  on.  The  "  hymn-mender"  is  not  by  any  means  to  be 
rashly  despised  ;  and,  while  the  original  form  of  Wesley's  hymns 
is  generally  too  good  to  be  amended,  there  are  cases — like  the 
present— where  some  one  has  "mended"  without  "marring." 
In  the  preface  to  John  Wesley's  hymn-book,  1779,  he  says,  and 
we  quote  from  the  original  page  now  before  us  : 

"  And  I  here  beg  leave  to  mention  a  thought  which  has  been  long  upon 
my  mind,  and  which  I  should  long  ago  have  inserted  in  the  public  papers, 
had  I  not  been  unwilling  to  stir  up  a  nest  of  hornets.  Many  gentlemen 
have  done  my  brother  and  me  (though  without  naming  us)  the  honor  to 
reprint  many  of  our  hymns.  Now  they  are  perfectly  welcome  so  to  do, 
provided  they  print  them  just  as  they  are.  But  I  desire  they  would  not 
attempt  to  mend  them  ;  for  they  really  are  not  able.  None  of  them  is 
able  to  mend  either  the  sense  or  the  verse.  Therefore  I  must  beg  of  them 
one  of  these  two  favors  :  either  to  let  them  stand  as  they  are,  to  take 
them  for  better  or  worse  ;  or  to  add  the  true  reading  in  the  margin,  or 
at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  that  we  may  no  longer  be  accountable  either 
for  the  nonsense  or  for  the  doggrel  {sic)  of  other  men." 

Of  hymn-mending,  Christophers  has  this  to  say  further  : 

"  The  Wesleys  are  seen  mending  Herbert  and  Watts  ;  Toplady  and 
Madan  are  found  hashing  and  re-cooking  Charles  Wesley.  Somebody 
else  is  trying  to  improve  Toplady.  Heber  makes  free  with  Jeremy  Tay- 
lor. Montgomery  is  altering — and  altered.  Keble  and  Milman  and 
Alford  are  all  pinched  and  twisted  and  re-dressed  in  turn.  Among  all 
these  menders,  John  Wesley  was  perhaps  one  of  the  best.  He  was  posi- 
tively sure  that  nobody  could  mend  his  own  hymns,  but  he  was  not 
scrupulous  in  mending  other  people's." 

The  whole  subject  is  exhaustively  discussed  by  Professor  Park  in 
Hymns  and  Choirs,  Andover,  i860. 

Hail,  thou  God  of  grace  and  glory. — Aveling. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  William  Baxter  Aveling,  D.  D. ,  the  author  of 
this  hymn,  was  born  at  Castletown,  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  May  nth, 
181 5.  He  was  of  Irish  descent  on  his  mother's  side,  a  fact  which 
sufficiently  accounts  for  his  fervid  eloquence  in  the  pulpit. 

In  early  life  Dr.  Aveling  had  no  religious  help  from  his  parents, 


202  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

who  were  not  pious  people.  His  education  was  received  in  the 
school  of  Mr.  James  Smith,  in  Cambridgeshire,  where  he  after- 
ward became  an  usher.  He  then  entered  Highbury  College  to 
study  for  the  Congregational  ministry.  After  four  years  at  High- 
bury he  was  ordained  at  Kingsland,  a  suburb  of  London,  October 
nth,  1838.  In  this  charge  he  has  continued  from  that  date  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  July  3d,  1884.  Dr.  Aveling  was  at  first 
co-pastor  with  Rev.  John  Campbell,  the  African  traveller,  but  suc- 
ceeded him  at  his  death  two  years  later  and  retained  his  post, 
honored,  beloved,  and  attracting  large  congregations  to  the  close 
of  his  life.  His  pastorate  covered  a  period  of  forty-six  years.  Dr. 
Aveling  died  at  Reed  ham,  where  for  thirty-six  years  he  had  been 
honorary  secretary  of  the  Asylum  for  Friendless  Children.  Within 
those  walls  he  finally  passed  away. 

The  present  hymn  is  one  of  four  which  were  sung  at  the  Jubilee 
of  the  old  Congregational  Chapel,  Kingsland,  June  16th,  1844. 

Hail  the  night,  all  hail  the  morn. — Anon.,  1837. 
This  piece  is  from  an  anonymous  volume  of  Christmas  Carols, 
London,   1837.      In  the  Sabbath  Hymn-Book  it  is  No.  278,  and  is 
marked  as  "  From  the  German." 

Hail,  thou  once  despised  Jesus. — Bakewell. 
The  author  of  this  hymn  was  John  Bakewell,  the  friend  of 
Thomas  Olivers,  at  whose  house,  in  Westminster,  Olivers  wrote 
his  famous  lyric,  ' '  The  God  of  Abraham  praise. ' '  The  present 
composition  may  justly  be  considered  as  a  hymn  of  equal  merit, 
for  its  solemn  and  pathetic  melody  of  praise  and  love.  We  have 
nothing  else  authentic  from  Bakewell' s  pen.  The  brief  particu- 
lars of  his  life  by  no  means  represent  his  Christian  activity  and 
success.  He  was  born  in  Derbyshire,  England,  at  Brailsford,  in 
the  year  1721.  When  about  eighteen  he  was  much  affected  by 
reading  Boston's  Fourfold  State,  and,  in  the  year  1744,  he  is 
known  to  have  begun  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  his  own  neighbor- 
hood. He  was  next  associated  with  the  Wesleys  and  the  Methodist 
connection  in  London,  where  he  carried  on  the  "  Greenwich 
Royal  Park  Academy,"  and  was  (from  1749)  a  local  preacher. 
He  frequently  appeared  in  the  pulpit,  and  he  wrote  other  hymns, 
but  this  is  the  only  one  of  whose  authorship  we  feel  quite  secure. 
Mr.  Bakewell  finally  gave  it  to  Toplady,  who  altered  it  to  suit  his 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  203 

own  views,  and  published  it  in  his  Collection,  in  1776.  It  had 
appeared  in  an  abridged  form,  in  1760,  in  Madaivs  hymn-book. 
It  was  first  included,  however,  in  a  collection  of  Hymns  Ad- 
dressed io  the  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Triune  God,  in  1759.  The 
original  form  is  found  in  Christophers'  Epworth  Singers,  and  the 
form  in  Laudes  Domini  is  that  given  by  Lord  Selborne  in  the  Book 
0/ Praise.  This  differs  merely  in  a  few  words  from  what  Bakewell 
originally  wrote,  and  these  changes  may  be  fairly  supposed  to  have 
received  his  sanction. 

His  life  was  not  more  useful  than  it  was  long.      His  tombstone, 
near  that  of  his  friend  John  Wesley,  in  City  Road  Chapel,  reads  : 

Sacrrtf  to  tije  JSUmorg 

OF 

JOHN  BAKEWELL, 

LATE    OF    GREENWICH, 

WHO    DEPARTED    THIS    LIFE    MARCH    1 8,     1819, 

AGED     NINETY -EIGHT. 

HE    ADORNED    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    GOD,     OUR    SAVIOUR, 

EIGHTY   YEARS, 

AND    PREACHED    HIS    GLORIOUS    GOSPEL 

ABOUT    SEVENTY  YEARS. 

"  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed." 

When  he  was  beyond  his  fourscore  and  ten  years  he  wrote  a 
letter  on  brotherly  love,  published  in  The  Methodist  Magazine  for 
July,  1 8 16.  The  hymn  "  Jesus  hail  enthroned  in  glory,"  is  part 
of  'this  present  piece,  as  is  also  "Paschal  Lamb  by  God  ap- 
pointed." 

It  is  instructive  for  us  to  add  to  this  hymn  Bakewell's  prayer, 
written  when  he  was  very  old,  and   published  in  the  Methodist 

Magazine  :  . 

"  May  God  of  his  infinite  goodness  grant  that  we  and  all  serious 
Christians  of  every  denomination,  may  labor  for  a  perfect  union  of  ove, 
and  to  have  our  hearts  knit  together  with  the  bond  of  peace,  that,  follow- 
ing after  those  essential  truths  in  which  we  all  agree,  we  may  all  have 
the  same  spiritual  experience  and  hereafter  attain  one  and  the  same  king- 
dom  of  glory." 


204  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Hail  to  the  brightness  of  Zion's  glad  morning. — Hastings. 

The  date  of  this  hymn  is  ^1830.  Its  four  stanzas  appear  in 
Spiritual  Songs,   1833. 

Hail  to  the  Lord's  anointed. — Montgomery. 

The  poet  recited  this  hymn  at  the  close  of  an  address  in  the 
Wesleyan  Chapel,  Liverpool,  April  14th,  1822,  Dr.  Adam  Clarke 
being  in  the  chair.  Dr.  Clarke  was  so  pleased  with  it  that  he  beg- 
ged the  manuscript  and  printed  it  in  his  own  commentary  beside 
the  7 2d  Psalm,  of  which  it  is  a  version. 

In  the  Original  Hymns  of  Montgomery,  1853,  this  is  No.  267, 
and  is  entitled  "  The  Reign  of  Christ  on  Earth.  Ps.  72."  The 
date  is,  of  course,  1822. 

Hail  to  the  Sabbath-day.  — Bulfinch. 
Rev.  Stephen  Greenleaf  Bulfinch,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Boston, 
June  1 8th,  1809,  and  was  the  son  of  Charles  Bulfinch,  who  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  the  architect  of  the  National  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington. To  that  city  the  architect  removed  his  family  in  18 18, 
and  his  son  was  graduated  at  Columbian  University,  Washington, 
1827,  and  at  the  Theological  School  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  1830. 
Dr.  Bulfinch  was  a  Unitarian,  and  commenced  his  public  work  as 
an  evangelist  in  Georgia.  He  was  ordained  by  Rev;  Samuel  Gil- 
man,  D.D.,  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  January  9th,  1831.  During  the 
succeeding  years  he  had  settlements  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  1837  ; 
Washington,  D.  C,  1838  ;  Nashua,  N.  H.,  1845  ;  Dorchester, 
Mass.,  1852  ;  and  at  East  Cambridge,  Mass.,  1865.  His  death 
was  caused  by  a  sudden  attack  of  heart  disease,  at  East  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  October  12th,  1870.  This  hymn  is  an  excellent  one  ;  it 
appears  in  its  original  form  in  Contemplations  of  the  Saviour,  1832, 
and  was  reprinted  in  the  Poems,  1834,  and  in  Lays  of  the  Gospel, 
1845.  In  trie  latest  revision,  following  a  practice  not  always  to 
be  commended,  the  author  added  three  stanzas,  of  no  especial 
value,  to  his  former  work.  The  abilities  of  this  writer  are  liable 
to  be  underrated.  In  poetry  he  was  chiefly  known  to  his  own  de- 
nomination, and  his  best  repute  was  of  his  religious  hymns. 
When  his  first  little  volume  of  poems  was  issued  in  Charleston, 
1834,  there  were  (so  Dr.  Putnam  states)  only  five  copies  sold,  of 
which  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gilman  considerately  bought  three. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  205 

Hallelujah  !  best  and  sweetest.  — Chandler,  tr. 

This  line  is  sometimes  written  "  Alleluia,  best,"  etc.  It  is  a 
translation  from  the  ""Alleluia,  dulce  carmen,"  attributed  by  some 
to  the  thirteenth  century.  See  "  The  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and 
their  Hymns." 

Hallelujah  !  fairest  morning. — Borthwick,  tr. 

This  is  taken  from  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Luther,  and  is  the 
translation,  by  Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  of  the  hymn,  "Hallelujah, 
schdner  Morgen, ' '  by  Rev.  Jonathan  Krause,  who  published  it  in 
1732.  It  has  been  sometimes  wrongly  ascribed  to  Schmolke,  who 
wrote,  "Hallelujah,  Jesus  ledt,"  which  is  itself  often  confused  with 
the  "  Hallelujah,  Jesus  lebt"  of  Christian  Garve,  174 2-1 798. 
Jonathan  Krause  was  born  in  Silesia  in  1701,  and  was  pastor  in 
Liegnitz. 

Hark  !   my  soul,  it  is  the  Lord. — Cowper. 

The  eloquent  words  of  Archdeacon  Farrar  are  an  appropriate 
comment  on  this  hymn  : 

"  And  when  I  think  on  all  this,  when  I  remember  that  love  is  '  not  so 
much  a  virtue  as  a  substratum  of  all  virtues,  the"  virtue  of  virtue,  the 
goodness  of  goodness  ;'  when  I  think  that  '  God  is  love;'  when  I  read 
that  amid  the  unnumbered  choirs  of  heaven,  each  shall  retain  his  individ- 
ual life,  and  have  a  name  which  none  knoweth  save  himself  ;  when  I  see 
the  latent  germs  and  possibilities  of  goodness  which  exist  even  in  the 
worst  ;  when  I  think  that  a  wretched,  sinful  man  is  but  the  marred  clay  of 
some  sweet,  innocent  and  lovely  child  ;  when  I  read  how  Jesus  so  loved 
our  race  that  he  left  the  glory  of  heaven  to  die  amid  its  execration  ;  when 
the  Gospel  tells  me  Who  it  is  that  searches  for  the  lost  sheep  until  He 
finds  it  ;  Who  wept  on  the  neck  of  the  prodigal  ;  Who  suffered  the  harlot 
to  bathe  His  feet  with  tears  ;  Who  prayed  for  His  murderers  ;  Who  with 
one  look  of  tenderness  broke  the  heart  of  His  backsliding  apostle  ;  Who 
in  one  flash  of  forgiveness  made  of  the  crucified  robber  a  saint  of  God  ; 
when  the  boundless  promises  of  Scripture  crowd  upon  my  mind  ;  when  I 
recall  the  hymn  which  we  sing  : 

4  Mine  is  an  unchanging  love, 
Higher  than  the  heights  above, 
Deeper  than  the  depths  beneath, 
True  and  faithful,  strong  as  death,'— 

when  I  read  that  God  will  not  forget  His  people  though  the  mother 
may  forget  her  sucking  child,  then  there  come  into  my  mind  two  thoughts  : 
of  hope  for  ourselves,  and  of  hope  for  all  the  world  !" 

Our  hymn  was  first  published  in  the  Gospel  Magazine,  1771. 
We  find  it  also  in  the   Olney  Hymns,  1779,  in  six  stanzas,  under 


206  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  heading  "  Lovest  thou  Me  ?"  It  is  Book  I.,  No.  1 18,  and  is 
based  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  21  :  16.  We  do  not  a  little  ad- 
mire and  rejoice  when  we  discover  that  the  very  next  hymn  in  the 
Olney  Collection  is  written  by  Newton  upon  the  same  Scripture, 
and  is  the  no  less  known  and  no  less  loved  lyric,  "  'Tis  a  point 
I  long  to  know. ' ' 

Hark,  hark,  my  soul  !  angelic  strains  are  swelling. — Faber. 

In  the  Poems  of  Rev.  F.  W.  Faber  this  is  a  hymn  chosen  from 
the  seven  stanzas  of  "  The  Pilgrims  of  the  Night."  The  metre 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  famous  "  St.  Paul,"  of  F.  W.  H.  Myers. 

Hark  !  ten  thousand  harps  and  voices. — Kelly. 

The  author  of  this  hymn,  Rev.  Thomas  Kelly,  was  born  in 
Kelly ville,  near  Athy,  County  Queens,  Ireland,  July  13th,  1769. 
His  education  was  received  at  the  University  of  Dublin.  He  was 
intended  for  the  bar,  and  was  in  a  fair  way  to  start  well,  as  he  was 
the  friend  of  Edmund  Burke.  But,  being  led  by  his  perusal  of 
Hutchinson's  Principia  into  the  study  of  Hebrew,  he  was  thus 
drawn  to  consider  religious  truth.  One  of  the  works  written  by 
the  pious  Romaine  fell  in  his  way,  and  he  was  so  deeply  affected 
by  the  volume  that  he  renounced  the  world  and  its  legal  allure- 
ments, and  gave  himself  up  to  the  study  of  theology.  For  a  time 
his  anxiety  and  earnestness  of  mind  quite  took  the  form  of  fanati- 
cism. He  really  endangered  his  health  by  his  ascetic  practices, 
but  after  awhile  he  found  the  way  of  justification  by  faith,  and  in 
this  he  walked  to  the  end  of  his  days. 

In  1792  he  was  ordained  in  the  Established  Church,  one  of  his 
associates  being  Rev.  Walter  Shirley,  Lady  Huntingdon's  cousin. 
Evangelical  religion  had  but  little  esteem  in  Ireland  at  that  period, 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  young  man  and  his  friends  should 
have  attracted  the  notice  of  Rowland  Hill.  In  company  with  Mr. 
Hill,  Kelly  shared  the  fate  of  being  silenced  because  his  preaching 
was  too  spiritual  for  the  rector  of  St.  Luke's,  in  Dublin.  Dr. 
Fowler,  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  closed  the  pulpits  of  his  whole 
diocese  to  these  two  preachers. 

Thus  Mr.  Kelly  became  a  Dissenter,  and  established  chapels  at 
several  different  points.  In  this  procedure  he  had  the  opposition 
of  his  family,  as  well  as  that  of  the  archbishop.    But  he  persevered, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  207 

and  consecrated  his  learning  and  his  musical  and  poetical  abilities 
to  the  service  of  Christ.  What  this  meant  it  may  be  well  for  us  to 
pause  and  think.  This  man  was  to  be  the  hymnist  of  Ireland  in 
that  giant  generation  of  hymn-writers  as  Williams  was  of  Wales, 
or  Michael  Bruce  of  Scotland. 

When  about  thirty  years  of  age,  Mr.  Kelly  married  a  lady  of 
similar  views  to  his  own,  and  of  considerable  property.  He  con- 
tinued in  his  chosen  path  of  duty  until  1855,  when  he  had  a  stroke 
of  paralysis,  and  died  on  the  14th  of  May,  aged  eighty-six.  His 
last  words  were,  "Not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done";  and  when 
one  at  his  side  repeated  to  him,  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,"  he 
responded,  "  The  Lord  is  my  everything . " 

The  sincerity  and  humility  of  his  life  are  apparent  in  his  hymns. 
His  first  edition  of  the  book  in  which  he  collected  them  was 
printed  in  1804.  The  third  edition,  now  before  us,  is  dated  1809. 
The  fifth  edition,  also  before  us,  with  the  name  of  Mr.  Divie 
Bethune  upon  its  fly-leaf,  came  out  in  1820.  The  seventh  and 
last  edition  appeared  in  1853,  and  drew  from  the  old  man  the  re- 
mark that  the  seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  hymns  which  it  con- 
tained, had  spanned  a  space  of  sixty  years,  but  that  there  was  no 
difference  in  the  doctrine  of  the  verses,  whatever  might  be  the  dif- 
ference in  their  age. 

It  is  noticeable  that  Kelly's  hymns  have  lately  revived  in  popu- 
larity, owing  to  the  fine  tunes  to  which  Miss  Havergal  has  set  them. 
Thus  :  ' '  From  Egypt  lately  come, "  "  Through  the  day  thy  love 
hath  spared  us,"  "In  thy  name,  O  Lord,  assembling,"  and  "  See 
from  Zion's  sacred  mountain,"  are  among  our  best-known  modern 
pieces.  The  date  of  the  hymn  before  us  is  that  of  Kelly's  second 
edition,  1806. 

Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing. — C.  Wesley. 

This  is  the  only  hymn  by  Charles  Wesley  which  has  been  in- 
cluded in  the  Church  of  England's  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Its 
history  is  singular  enough.  It  was  written  and  published  in  1739, 
and  appeared  in  a  revised  form  in  1743.  Its  place  in  the  Hymns 
and  Sacred  Poems  secured  for  it  the  early  esteem  of  the  Methodists, 
and  its  popularity  was  great.  In  1760,  or  thereabouts,  Martin 
Madan  (or,  as  Prescott  hints,  John  Wesley)  changed  the  first  line 
to  its  present  shape  from  the  original,  "  Hark,  how  all  the  welkin 


208  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

rings."  He  (or  some  one  else)  having  done  this,  and  also  cut 
out  three  stanzas,  gave  circulation  to  this  abridged  form  in  his  Col- 
lection. No  one  can  tell  how  it  came  into  the  Prayer-book,  unless 
in  the  same  way  as  some  of  Doddridge's  pieces.  The  '*  Univer- 
sity printer"  who  did  it  certainly  showed  his  good  judgment  in 
the  selection.  We  have  elsewhere  given  the  most  reliable  account. 
But  the  curious  fact  remains  that,  being  in,  there  has  been  no  get- 
ting it  out.  Ritualists  have  fought  against  this  especial  lyric,  but 
in  vain.  As  it  could  not  be  settled  how  it  got  in,  so  there  is  no 
possibility  of  breaking  over  that  Anglicanism  which 

"  Broadens  down 
From  precedent  to  precedent," 

and  thus  reversing  the  authority  which  put  it  there  !  Hundreds 
of  thousands,  therefore,  sing  this  truly  catholic  hymn,  and  it  is  a 
great  favorite  at  Christmas-time. 

Hark,  the  hosts  of  heaven  are  singing. — Plumptre. 
Rev.  Edward  Hayes  Plumptre,  D.D.  (pronounced  plum-tree),  is 
the  present  dean  of  Wells.  He  was  born  August  6th,  1821,  and 
graduated  at  University  College,  Oxford,  with  the  highest  honors 
("double  first-class"),  in  1844.  He  took  his  M.A.  degree  in 
1847  J  at  which  time  he  had  been  for  three  years  a  Fellow  of 
Brasenose  College.  His  ecclesiastical  career,  like  that  of  other 
writers  chronicled  in  these  pages,  is  a  significant  and  instructive 
commentary  on  the  cause  of  preferment  in  the  Anglican  Church. 
It  run  thus  : 

Chaplain,  King's  College,  London,  1847  ;  Professor  of  Pastoral  Theol- 
ogy there,  1853  ;  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's,  1863  ;  Professor  of  New 
Testament  Exegesis,  1864  ;  assistant  preacher,  Lincoln's  Inn,  1851-58  ; 
Select  preacher,  Oxford,  1851-53,  1864-66  and  1872-73  ;  Boyle  lecturer, 
1866-67  ;  rector  of  Pluckley,  Kent,  1869  ;  exchanged  parishes  with  Rev. 
E.  J.  Selivyn,  vicar  of  Briekley,  1873. 

Pursuing  another  line  we  find  the  mention  of  his  name  as, 
from  1869  to  1874,  one  of  the  Old  Testament  Company  of  Re- 
visers of  the  Bible  ;  as  Grinfield  lecturer  on  the  Septuagint  at  Ox- 
ford, 1872-74  ;  as  Examiner  in  the  Theological  School,  Oxford, 
1872-73,  and  as  Principal  of  Queen's  College,  Harley  Street, 
1875-77.      He  was  installed  as  dean  of  Wells,  December  21  st,  1881. 

It  is  as  a  poet  and  as  a  scholar  that  Dean  Plumptre  has  his  re- 
pute.     He  has  written  Lazarus,  and  Other  Poems,  1864  ;  Master 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  209 

and  Scholar  [Poems],  1866,  and  has  frequently  published  essays 
and  sermons  and  papers  on  scholarly  topics.      The  Bible  Educator 
— an  invaluable  compendium  of  biblical  knowledge — was  under 
his  editorial  care  during  its  four  volumes. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  about  1866. 

Hark  !  the  song  of  jubilee. — Montgomery. 
The  Moravians  have  always  been  most  devoted  missionaries  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  Their  zeal  was  infused  into  the  being  of 
James  Montgomery,  whose  father  and  mother  died  in  the  West 
Indies,  sent  thither  by  their  denomination  upon  this  errand. 
Hence  this  hymn,  in  which  the  hearty  and  hopeful  spirit  of  the 
followers  of  Zinzendorf  can  be  plainly  observed.  In  Montgomery's 
Original  Hymns,  1853,  this  bears  the  title  "Hallelujah."  Its 
date  is  181 9. 

Hark  !  the  sound  of  holy  voices. — C.  Wordsworth. 
This  chorus  of  triumph  was  written  by  Bishop  Wordsworth  as 
the  hymn  for  All  Saints'  Day,  and  appeared  in  his  Holy  Year,  in 
1862.  The  words  on  which  it  is  based  are  the  familiar  ones  found 
in  Rev.  5:6.  "  Hark  !  the  sound  of  angel  voices"  is  an  anony- 
mous combination  of  the  sentiment  and  style  of  Bishop  Words- 
worth's and  John  Ca wood's  hymns. 

Hark  !  the  voice  of  love  and  mercy. — J.  Evans  (?) 
The  authorship  of  this  hymn  has  been  disputed,  but  it  seems  to 
be  Evans's  production.  It  is  first  found  in  Rippo?i  s  Selection, 
1787.  Mr.  Miller  has  quite  a  monograph  upon  it  (p.  298),  from 
which  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  authorship  had  better  not 
be  decided  ex  cathedra  by  anybody.  In  Burder  s  Collection, 
"  Come,  thou  soul-transforming  Spirit,"  it  is  assigned  to  Evans  ; 
but  there  is  no  name  given  with  this  present  hymn.     In  Rippon's 

book  it  is  ascribed  to  "  F , "  whoever  that  may  be.     Some  have 

conjectured  "  Francis,"  some  "  Foleshill, "  where  Evans  lived. 
The  piece  does  not  appear  in  the  manuscript  book  of  Evans,  to 
the  best  of  Rev.  G.  L.  Wither' s  recollection,  who  was  his  successor 
at  Foleshill. 

Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Rogers,  editor  of  Lyra  Britannica,  carefully 
supervised  a  second  edition  of  his  work  in  1868.  Of  this  issue 
but  two  hundred  and  forty  copies  were  printed,  as  he  testifies  over. 


210  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

his  own  signature  in  the  book  from  which  these  notes  are  enriched. 
It  is  the  property  of  Dr.  S.  Austin  Allibone,  of  the  Lenox  Library, 
New  York  City,  and  we  gratefully  acknowledge  the  kindness 
which  has  placed  it  at  our  disposal.  In  this  edition  Dr.  Rogers 
follows  Belcher,  who,  in  1859,  unhesitatingly  gave  the  hymn  to 
Evans.  Rev.  James  King,  in  Anglican  Hymnology,  1885,  repeats 
the  statement  that  Evans  is  presumably,  but  not  certainly,  the 
author. 

Hark  !  what  mean  those  holy  voices. — Cawood. 

A  Christmas  hymn.  The  original  form  is  in  Lyra  Britannica, 
to  which  it  was  contributed  by  the  poet's  son  from  his  father's 
manuscript.  It  has  six  stanzas,  and  is  one  of  the  thirteen  hymns 
which  were  composed  by  Mr.  Cawood,  and  found  their  way  into 
print  without  the  author's  connivance.  The  date  is  considered 
uncertain,  but  as  we  have  found  the  hymn  in  six  stanzas  in  the  Re- 
ligious Magazine,  1829,  credited  to  the  Youths  Instructor,  1829, 
we  feel  confident  that  year,  at  least,  can  be  safely  assigned  to  it. 
Miss  Havergal,  in  Hymns  of  Grace  and  Glory,  fixes  on  the  year 
1 8 16 — for  what  reason  we  cannot  say.     Others  give  18 19. 

Hasten,  Lord  !  the  glorious  time. — Auber. 

Miss  Harriet  Auber  wrote  this  hymn  in  seven  stanzas,  and  it  was 

printed  in   her   Spirit  of  the  Psalms,  1829.      Its  reference  is    to 

Ps.  72. 

He  comes  in  blood-stained  garments.  — Bancroft. 

Mrs.  Charitie  Lees  (Smith)  Bancroft  contributed  this  hymn  in 
seven  double  stanzas  to  Lyra  Britannica,  1866.  It  commences, 
"  The  King  of  glory  standeth,"  and  its  title  is,  "  Mighty  to  Save." 
The  date  of  composition  is  i860. 

He  gave  me  back  the  bond.  — Sabine. 
This  is  No.  300  in  Bickersteth's  Hymnal  Companion,  1876, 
where  it  is  credited  to  "Sabine."  It  is  in  five  stanzas,  with  a 
Scripture  reference  to  Luke  7:42.  It  also  appears  in  Rev.  J.  H. 
Brooke's  Gospel  Hymns  (St.  Louis,  1871),  where  it  is  marked 
"  Anon. "  The  name,  "  Charles  Sabine,"  is  sometimes  attached, 
with  the  date  1857,  to  the  hymn,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  ;" 
but  a  hymn  with  that  first  line  is  also  credited  by  the  compilers  of 
Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,  to  Matthew  Bridges,  1848.  "  Charles 
Sabine"   is  given  as  the  author  of   "  The fewel and  the  Star,"  a 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  211 

volume  of  poems  published  in  London,  1855,  but  not  containing 

this  piece. 

He  has  come  !  the  Christ  of  God. — Bonar. 

The  title  given  to  this  piece  by  its  author  is  "  A  Bethlehem 
Hymn."  It  is  in  six  stanzas,  and  is  accompanied  by  the  quota- 
tion, "Mundum  implens,  in  prcesepio  jacens"  from  Augustine.  We 
find  it  in  the  first  series  of  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  1857. 

He  is  gone — a  cloud  of  light. — Stanley. 

The  fine  Ascension  hymn,  "  He  is  gone,  and  we  remain,"  from 
which  this  piece  is  taken,  has  seven  stanzas.  It  was  written  by 
Dean  Stanley  in  1859,  for  the  use  of  a  private  family,  and  was 
first  published  in  Macmillari s  Magazine,  June,  1862.  As  origi- 
nally composed  its  first  stanza  begins,  "  He  is  gone  beyond  the 
skies,"  etc. 

Dean  Alford,  in  his  Year  of  Praise,  1862,  is  responsible  for  the 
alterations.  Differing  arrangements  are  given  in  The  Church 
Praise  Book  [of  H.  P.  Main  and  M.  W.  Stryker],  1881,  and 
Laudes  Domini,  1884.  These  include  six  of  the  seven  stanzas. 
It  only  remains  for  us  to  add  that  the  entire  hymn  (from  the 
author's  manuscript  furnished  to  Dr.  Philip  Schaff,  on  Ascension 
Day,  May  6th,  1869)  is  printed  in  the  Schaff-Gilman  Library  of 
Religious  Poetry,  p.  789. 

He  lives,  the  great  Redeemer  lives. — Steele. 
In  Miss  Steele's  Poems,  1760,  this  hymn  is  entitled  "  The  In- 
tercession of  Christ. — Heb.  7  :  25."     It  has  five  stanzas. 

He  that  goeth  forth  with  weeping.  — Hastings. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1836,  at  which  time  Dr.  Hastings  pre- 
pared the  Christian  Psalmist.  He  had  been  assiduously  laboring 
to  improve  the  standard  of  current  hymnody,  and  this  hymn  may 
be  taken  as  a  true  expression  of  his  own  feelings  in  sowing  pre- 
cious seed. 

He  that  hath  made  his  refuge  God. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Isaac  Watts' s  version  of  Ps.  91,  L.  M.  It  is  en- 
titled "  Safety  in  Public  Dreads  and  Dangers,"  and  has  six  stan- 
zas. A  very  quaint  story  is  told  in  the  Talmud  about  Rabbi 
Akiba.  He  was  once  journeying,  and  had  with  him  a  rooster,  an 
ass  and  a  lamp.     At  nightfall  he  sought  shelter  in  a  village,  but 


212  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

was  inhospitably  refused.  "  All  that  God  does  is  well,"  he  said, 
and  proceeded  to  the  forest.  There  he  lit  his  lamp,  but  the  wind 
would  not  suffer  it  to  burn.  "  All  that  God  does  is  well,"  he  re- 
peated. The  ass  then  escaped,  and  was  quickly  devoured  by  wild 
beasts,  and  even  to  this  he  made  the  same  pious  response.  Then 
the  fowl  flew  away  without  eliciting  so  much  as  a  murmur  from 
his  lips.  But  in  the  morning  he  perceived  that  the  enemy's  troops 
had  passed  that  way  ;  the  village  was  destroyed,  and  he  owed  his 
own  safety  to  the  darkness  and  the  silence.  If  the  lamp  had 
burned,  or  if  the  ass  had  brayed,  or  if  the  cock  had  crowed,  he 
would  have  been  noticed,  and  might  have  been  instantly  killed. 
So  that,  as  he  set  out  upon  his  journey  once  more,  it  was  with  a 
repetition  of  his  old  saying,  "  All  that  God  does  is  well." 

He  who  once  in  righteous  vengeance. — Caswall,  tr. 
In  these  stanzas  Mr.  Caswall  has  versified  the  ' '  Ira  justa  condi- 
toris" — an  anonymous  hymn  of  the  Roman  Breviary.  It  has  five 
stanzas  in  Lyra  Messianica,  1865,  but  as  reprinted  in  Annus 
Sanc/us,  1885  (corresponding  to  the  original  Latin),  it  has  six, 
and  is  styled  a  "  Matins  Breviary  Hymn." 

Head  of  the  Church  triumphant. — Wesley. 

This  noble  hymn  of  praise  was  composed  by  Charles  Wesley,  in 
1745,  and  embraced  in  his  Hymns  for  Times  of  Trouble  and  Perse- 
cution. Those  were  days  in  which  England  was  engaged  in  the 
war  with  France  and  Spain,  and  was  also  occupied  at  home  with 
the  matter  of  the  Pretender,  Charles  Edward.  The  country  was 
in  a  disturbed  and  agitated  condition  ;  there  was  fear  even  when 
there  was  no  actual  violence,  and  there  was  always  enough  violence, 
especially  where  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  was  concerned.  We 
have  a  reference  to  this  hymn  in  the  story  of  the  last  days  of  Bishop 
Heber,  who  had  grown  up  under  the  traditions  of  that  time,  and 
to  whom  the  verses  of  Charles  Wesley  were  always  precious.  One 
who  was  much  with  the  good  bishop  in  the  latter  months  of  his 
life  tells  this  interesting  incident  in  connection  with  his  love  for 
this  particular  hymn  : 

'•  On  returning  from  church  in  the  morning  I  was  so  ill  as  to  be 
obliged  to  go  to  bed,  and,  with  his  usual  affectionate  consideration,  the 
bishop  came  and  sat  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  with  me.  Our  con- 
versation turned  chiefly  on  the  blessedness  of  heaven,  and  the  best  means 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  213 

of  preparing  for  its  enjoyment.  He  repeated  several  lines  of  an  old 
hymn  by  Charles  Wesley,  which,  he  said,  in  spite  of  one  or  two  expres- 
sions, he  admired  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  our  language  for  a  rich 
and  elevated  tone  of  devotional  feeling  : 

'  Head  of  the  Church  triumphant, 
We  joyfully  adore  thee.'  " 

Heal  me,  0  my  Saviour,  heal  me.  — Thring. 
Though  the  Rev.  Godfrey  Thring  commenced  hymn-writing  in 
1 86 1,  he  has  preferred  to  date  his  hymns  from  1866,  when  he 
published  them— in  the  form  preferred  by  him— in  Hymns,  Con- 
gregational  and  Others,  and  Hymns  and  Verses.  The  present  piece 
was  allowed  by  him  to  the  Hymnary,  1872. 

Hear  my  prayer,  0  heavenly  Father. — Miss  Parr. 

Miss  Harriet  Parr,  an  English  lady,  wrote  a  successful  novel 
called  Sylvan  Holt's  Daughter,  and  was  a  contributor  to  Charles 
Dickens's  Household  Words.  In  1856  she  prepared  a  portion 
of  the  Christmas  story,  The  Wreck  of  the  Golden  Mary,  which 
appeared  in  that  magazine.  The  thread  of  narrative  which  con- 
nects the  various  parts  is  that  the  "  Golden  Mary"  on  her  voyage 
to  California  encounters  an  iceberg  and  is  wrecked.  The  pas- 
sengers and  crew  take  to  the  boats,  and  to  pass  away  the  time  they 
are  supposed  to  relate  these  incidents  and  experiences.  "  Poor 
Dick"  Tarrant  tells  his  tale,  and  then  says  : 

"  'What  can  it  be  that  brings  all  these  old  things  over  my  mind? 
There's  a  child's  hymn  I  and  Tom  used  to  say  at  my  mother's  knee, 
when  we  were  little  ones,  keeps  running  through  my  thoughts.  It's  the 
stars,  maybe  ;  there  was  a  little  window  by  my  bed  that  I  used  to  watch 
them  at — a  window  in  my  room  at  home  in  Cheshire  ;  and  if  I  was  ever 
afraid,  as  boys  will  be  after  reading  a  good  ghost-story,  I  would  keep  on 
saying  it  till  I  fell  asleep.' 

"  '  That  was  a  good  mother  of  yours,  Dick  ;  could  you  say  that  hymn 
now,  do  you  think  ?     Some  of  us  might  like  to  hear  it.' 

"'  It's  as  clear  in  my  mind  at  this  minute  as  if  my  mother  was  here 
listening  to  me,'  said  Dick.     And  he  repeated  : 

"  '  Hear  my  prayer,  O  heavenly  Father,'  "  etc. 

Miss  Parr  has  written  over  the  signature  "  Holme  Lee,"  and 
this  is  her  only  hymn.  It  attracted  the  notice  of  Rev.  Henry 
Allon,  one  of  the  compilers  of  the  New  [English]  Congregational 
Hymn-Book.  He  applied  to  Mr.  Dickens  for  permission  to  use 
it,  who  gave  him  the  address  of  Miss  Parr,  at  York,  England,  and 


214  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

thus  the  hymn  entered  into  sacred  literature  to  its  author's  sur- 
prise. 

Hear  what  God  the  Lord  hath  spoken. — Cowper. 

We  find  this  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  65.  "The 
future  Peace  and  Glory  of  the  Church ."  It  is  based  on  Isa. 
60  :  15-20. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  several  of  Cowper' s  poems  and 
hymns — though  not  this  one  to  our  knowledge — were  retouched 
by  Joseph  Johnson,  the  publisher  of  the  Olney  Collection.  He  sug- 
gested to  Cowper,  through  Newton,  that  "  if  Mr.  Cowper  would 
not  be  offended,  he  could  point  out  lines  that  might  easily  be 
much  improved."  This  the  author  took  in  good  part — the  Chris- 
tian side  of  him  overcoming  the  irrilabile  genus  vatum — and  he 
writes,  July  7th,  1781,  giving  Johnson  permission  to  query  the 
lines  on  the  margin.  The  publisher  did  so,  and  the  poet  con- 
ceded the  justice  of  the  critiques  on  verses  that  "  he  or  his  objected 
to."  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  origin  of  the  stanza,  "Then 
hear,  O  Lord,"  etc.,  in  "  God  of  my  life,  to  thee  I  call." 

Heavenly  Father,  grant  thy  blessing. — Anon.,  1835. 

This  hymn  is  first  found  in  Sunday-school  Union  Hymns,  1835. 
Here  I  can  firmly  rest. — Winkworth,  tr. 

This  is  Paul  Gerhardt's  "  1st  Gott  fur  mich,  so  trete."  It  was 
composed  about  the  year  1656  (not  1664),  and  is  based  on  Rom. 
8:31-39.  It  can  profitably  be  compared  with  Luther's  "  Em' 
feste  Burg."  A  translation  appears  in  full  in  Lyra  Germanica, 
first  series,  p.  130,  "If  God  be  on  my  side."  It  is  in  twelve 
double  stanzas. 

From  this  rendering  the  present  hymn  in  Laudes  Domini  is 
taken,  beginning  with  the  second  stanza  and  utilizing  the  second, 
third,  fourth  and  ninth.  Montgomery's  hymn,  "  God  is  my 
strong  salvation,"  is  certainly  a  free  version  of  this  song  of  Ger- 
hardt.  It  exactly  carries  the  idea  of  the  two  opening  stanzas. 
There  is  also  a  translation  in  the  Moravian  book  (edition  of  1789), 
commencing,  "  Is  God  my  strong  salvation  ?"  It  is  in  eight  stan- 
zas, and  is  spirited  and  good.      It  is  retained  in  their  later  books. 

Another  and  equally  beautiful  hymn  has  been  also  formed  from 
the  same  translation,  commencing,  "Since  Jesus  is  my  Friend, 
and  I  to  him  belong." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  215 

The  Epistle  for  the  ' '  Fifth  Sunday  after  Trinity'  is  printed  by 
Miss  Winkworth  above  her  hymn  and  is  Rom.  8:31.  But  there 
is  a  collect  for  that  day,  which  deserves  place  also.  We  reprint  it 
from  the  hymn-book  prepared  by  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood,  and  in 
which  Rev.  S.  Longfellow's  vesper  hymn  reappeared,  1862. 

"  O  God,  the  protector  of  all  who  trust  in  thee,  without  whom  nothing  is 
strong,  nothing  is  holy  ;  increase  and  multiply  upon  us  thy  mercy,  that 
thou  being  our  ruler  and  guide,  we  may  so  pass  through  things  temporal, 
that  we  finally  lose  not  the  things  eternal.  Grant  this,  O  heavenly 
Father,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

Here  the  King  hath  spread  his  table. — A.  R.  Thompson,  ir. 

This  is  from  the  sacramental  hymn  of  Aquinas,  of  which  "  Sion 
to  thy  Saviour  singing,"  is  the  former  part.  Dr.  Thompson's 
translation  appeared  in  the  Sunday-school  Times  for  September 
29th,  1883,  and  is  in  six  stanzas. 

High  in  the  heavens,  eternal  God. — Watts. 
Dr.  Isaac  Watts  gives  this  as  his  version  of  Ps.  $6,  L.  M.      It 
has  six  stanzas,  and  is  entitled,  "  The  Perfections  and  Providences 
of  God  ;  or,  General  Providence  and  Special  Grace." 

"  I  once  joined  a  party  for  a  day's  pleasure  trip  in  the  west  of  Eng- 
land," says  an  old  rambler.  "  Our  plan  was  to  get  to  the  top  of  the 
highest  hill  in  the  neighborhood,  and  there  for  a  time  take  our  fill  of  joy 
from  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  scenes  around  and  beneath  us. 
Alas,  for  human  pleasures  !  The  morning  opened  with  rain,  and  we  were 
seemingly  doomed  to  disappointment.  At  length,  encouraged  by  some 
weather-wise  folks,  we  resolved  to  accomplish  our  purpose  even  at  the 
risk  of  wet  jackets  by  the  way.  We  climbed  the  steeps  in  spite  of  wind 
and  rain,  and  came  by  and  by  on  the  highest  peak,  to  some  steps  leading 
to  the  door  of  an  old  tower,  which  from  time  immemorial  had  withstood 
the  rush  of  years  and  storms.  As  we  mounted  these  steps  we  found,  to 
our  wonderment  and  delight,  that,  on  looking  out,  our  eyes  glanced  along 
the  upper  surface  of  the  clouds  ;  and  when  we  had  fairly  reached  the  roof 
of  the  old  tower,  there  was  nothing  of  our  native  earth  to  be  seen  but  the 
few  square  feet  of  stone-work  on  which  we  stood.  Beneath  us  was  an 
ocean  of  clouds  ;  above  us  were  the  bright  blue  heavens.  The  sun  had 
gone  down  just  to  the  horizon,  where  the  clear  sky  touched  the  cloud- 
billows.  The  faint-looking  crescent  of  the  new  moon  was  peeping  on 
us,  too,  from  above  the  offing  line  of  the  cloudy  deep.  We  could  hear 
the  carol  of  a  lark,  but  otherwise  the  silence  of  nature  was  profound  and 
solemn.  We  felt  ourselves  for  once  beyond  the  sight  and  sound  of  the 
world  which  gave  us  birth.  One  voice  uttered  the  key-note,  and  then, 
as  if  we  had  but  one  soul  we  sang  : 


216  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

41  '  High  in  the  heavens,  eternal  God, 

Thy  goodness  in  full  glory  shines  ; 
Thy  truth  shall  break  through  every  cloud 
That  veils  and  darkens  Thy  designs.'  " 

Holy  and  infinite  !  viewless  !   eternal  ! — F.  R,  Havergal. 
This  is  taken  from  her  Poems,  p.  31.      "  The  Infinity  of  God.— 
Ps.  139  :  6."     It  has  five  stanzas.      The  author's  date  is  1872. 

Holy  and  reverend  is  the  name. — Needham. 
The  Rev.  John  Needham  was  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  at 
Hitchin,  Hertfordshire,  England,  which  he  left  to  become  co- 
pastor  of  the  Pithay  Baptist  church,  Bristol,  England,  with  Rev. 
John  Beddome,  about  1746.  In  1752  there  was  a  dispute  as  to 
the  co-pastorate,  and  he  took  another  charge  at  Callowhill,  in  the 
same  city.  His  Hymns,  Devotional  and  Moral,  on  Various  Sub- 
jects (8vo),  were  published  in  1768.  As  we  have  record  of  his 
continuance,  until  1787,  in  his  Callowhill  pastorate,  it  is  inferred 
that  he  died  in  that  year. 

Holy  Bible,  book  divine. — John  Burton,  Sr. 

This  hymn  appeared  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine  for  June,  1805, 
signed  "  J.  B.,  Nottingham,"  and  is  in  four  stanzas.  The  author 
is  known  as  John  Burton,  Senior,  to  distinguish  him  from 
another  of  the  same  name — not,  however,  his  son.  He  was  born 
— probably  at  Nottingham — February  26th,  1773.  In  religious 
affiliations  he  was  a  Baptist,  and  was  closely  identified  with  Sun- 
day-school work.  In  1802  he  published  the  Youth 's  Monitor,  and 
followed  it  with  Hynuis  for  Sunday-schools,  in  two  parts,  whereof 
one  contained  thirty-six  and  the  other  sixty  hymns  of  his  compo- 
sition. The  latter  part  appeared  at  Nottingham,  1806.  Among 
the  number  of  his  Sunday-school  hymns  we  find,  "  Time  is  wing- 
ing us  away." 

In  1805  Mr.  Burton  married,  and  removed,  in  18 13,  to  Lei- 
cester. He  was  a  friend  of  the  famous  Robert  Hall,  of  Cam- 
bridge, edited  the  Nottingham  Collection  of  hymns  (ninth  edition, 
1823),  and  wrote  a  voluminous  mass  of  pieces  of  little  or  no  merit, 
which  are  painfully  evident  to  any  one  who  examines  the  files  of 
the  Evangelical  Magazine.  The  two  hymns  by  which  he  is  re- 
membered have  themselves  almost  escaped  into  the  limbo  of  for- 
getfulness.      Mr.  Burton  died  June  24th,  1822. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  217 

Holy  Father,  cheer  our  way.  — R.  H.  Robinson. 
No  other  hymns  bearing  the  name  of  Mr.  Robinson  are  known 
to  be  in  use.  He  has  himself  eluded  the  strictest  search  until 
recently  ;  but  we  are  now  well  assured  as  to  some  points  in  his 
personal  history.  His  full  designation  is  Richard  Hayes  Robin- 
son ;  he  was  born  in  1842,  and  he  is  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England.  Having  received  his  education  at  King's  College, 
London,  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1868.  The  curacy 
of  St.  Paul,  Penge,  which  he  held  from  1867  to  1869,  had  been 
given  him  when  he  was  still  a  deacon.  From  this  position  he 
was  transferred  to  be  the  minister  of  the  Octagon  chapel,  Bath, 
which  he  served  until  1871.  He  was  then  curate  of  Weston,  and, 
later  on,  we  find  him  the  rector  of  St.  Michael,  Bath,  where  he 
continued  until  1879.  His  present  residence  is  Sion-Hill  Place, 
Bath,  and  he  is  known  to  contemporary  literature  as  the  author  of 
Sermons  on  Faith  and  Duty,  1873.  This  book  has  been  issued  in 
a  second,  and  perhaps  also  in  a  third  edition. 

Holy  Father,  hear  my  cry. — Bonar. 

This  is  a  "  Child's  Prayer,  Prov.  8  :  17,"  in  Dr.  Bonar' s  Hymns 
0/ Faith  and  Hope,  first  series,  1857.      It  has  four  stanzas. 

Dr.  William  Reid,  in  his  Praise  Book,  third  edition,  1873,  in- 
cluded everything  of  his  friend's  composition  which  could  be 
utilized  for  religious  worship. 

Holy  Father,  thou  hast  taught  me. — Neale. 
It  is  probable  that  this  hymn  emigrated  to  America,  and  was 
recognized  first,  in  1864,  by  the  Hymns  of  the  Spirit,  where  it  is 
anonymous.  The  original  of  it  is,  "  Blessed  Saviour,  who  hast 
taught  me,"  which  is  one  of  Dr.  John  Mason  Neale' s  Hymns  for 
Children,  which  were  published  in  three  series,  1844,  and  later. 

Holy  Father,  we  address  thee. — Peters. 

Mrs.  Mary  (Bowley)  Peters  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  John  McWill- 
iam  Peters,  the  rector,  1822,  of  Quenington,  Gloucestershire.  In 
1825  he  became  vicar  of  Langford,  Berkeshire,  and  had  charge 
also  of  the  chapel  of  Little  Farringdon,  Oxfordshire.  He  died  in 
1834.  Mrs.  Peters' s  hymns  are  in  Hymns  Intended  to  Help  the 
Communion  of  Saints  (fifty-eight  in  number,  1847). 

Mrs.  Peters  was  the  daughter  of  Richard  Bowley,  of  Cirencester, 


218  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  was  born  in  that  borough.  She  wrote,  in  seven  volumes,  The 
World 's  History  f 7' o??i  the  Creation  to  the  Accession  of  Queen  Victoria 
— a  title  which  sadly  needs  punctuation.  She  died  at  Clifton, 
England,  July  29th,  1856.  Others  of  her  hymns  are  :  "  Jesus, 
how  much  thy  name  unfolds,"  and  "  Through  the  love  of  God, 
our  Saviour,"  by  which  last  she  is  best  known. 

Holy  Ghost,  the  Infinite. — Rawson. 
This  hymn  commences,  "  Come  to  our  poor  nature's  night," 
and  is   in   the  Leeds  Collection,    1854,   to  which  its  author  con- 
tributed it.      There  are  nine  stanzas. 

Holy  Ghost !  with  light  divine. — A.  Reed. 
The  Rev.  Andrew  Reed,  D.  D. ,  was  born  in  London,  Novem- 
ber 27th,  1787.  He  was  intended  for  a  commercial  life,  but  de- 
cided to  study  for  the  ministry,  and  took  the  regular  course  at 
Hackney  College.  He  was  then  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
church  of. which  he  was  a  member  (New  Road  Chapel),  and  was 
ordained  November  27th,  181 1.  Here  he  continued  a  popular 
and  successful  minister  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  In  1834  he  visited 
America,  and  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  by  Yale  Col- 
lege. He  published  a  Supplement  to  Walts  in  181 7,  and  in  1841 
he  issued  a  revised  and  greatly  enlarged  collection  of  hymns.  In 
this  there  are  twenty-seven  by  himself  and  nineteen  by  his  wife, 
who  was  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Holmes.  Dr.  Reed  died  at  Hackney, 
London,  February  25th,  1862.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  benev- 
olence and  spirituality. 

Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord. — Montgomery. 
In  the  Original  Hymns  of  Montgomery,  1853,  this  is  Hymn  I., 
11  Thrice  Holy  !"   with   the  Scripture  reference  to  Isa.  6  :  3.     It 
has  three  stanzas. 

Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty  ! — Heber. 
This  is  Bishop  Reginald  Heber's  "  Trinity  Hymn,"  and  one  of 
the  noblest  that  he  ever  wrote.  It  comes  from  the  collection  pub- 
lished in  1827,  which  was  a  posthumous  work,  and  contained 
hymns  by  Milman  and  others,  carrying  out  Heber's  original  de- 
sign of  connecting  these  pieces  with  the  Church  services — an  icka 
which  has  ever  since  been  worn  almost  threadbare. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  219 

It  may  be  useful  to  compare  with  this  splendid  song  of  praise 
another  and  almost  unknown  hymn,  which  is  found  in  Miss  War- 
ner's Hymns  of  the  Church  Militant,  New  York,  1858.  She  says 
of  the  hymn  in  question  :  ' '  The  old  leaf  whereon  I  found  '  The 
Saviour's  Merit'  (p.  351)  was  so  worn  through  with  use,  though 
the  rest  of  the  book  was  perfect,  that  some  few  of  the  words  had 
to  be  supplied."  There  is,  of  course,  a  very  great  deal  of  differ- 
ence between  Heber's  hymn  and  this  somewhat  crude  composition 
of  an  unknown  author.  But  whoever  the  Moravian  or  Methodist 
might  have  been  who  wrote  this  piece,  it  has  the  real  spirit  of 
adoration  in  it,  beyond  almost  any  of  our  best  lyrics  ;  and  it  is  for 
this  reason  worthy  of  comparison  with  the  smooth  and  elegant 
poem  before  us  : 

"  Saviour,  I  do  feel  thy  merit, 

Sprinkled  with  redeeming  blood, 
And  my  weary,  troubled  spirit 

Now  finds  rest  with  thee,  my  God  ; 
I  am  safe,  and  I  am  happy, 

While  in  thy  dear  arms  I  lie  ; 
Sin  and  hell  no  more  molest  me, 

While  I  feel  my  Saviour  nigh. 

*'  Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

Glory  be  to  God  on  high, 
Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

Sing  his  praises  through  the  sky  } 
Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

Glory  to  the  Father  give  ; 
Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

Sing  his  praises  all  that  live  ! 

*'  Now  I'll  sing  my  Saviour's  merit, 

Tell  the  world  of  his  dear  name, 
That,  if  any  want  his  Spirit, 

He  is  still  the  very  same. 
He  that  asketh  still  receiveth. 

He  that  seeks  is  sure  to  find  ; 
Whosoe'er  on  him  believeth, 

He  will  never  cast  behind. 

"  Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

Glorious  Christ  of  heavenly  birth  ; 
Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, — 

Sing  his  praises  through  the  earth. 


220  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

Glory  to  the  Spirit  be  ; 
Glory,  glory,  glory,  glory, 

To  the  sacred  One  in  Three  ! 

"  Now  our  Advocate  is  pleading 
With  his  Father  and  our  God  ; 
And  for  us  is  interceding, 

As  the  purchase  of  his  blood  ; 
Now  methinks  I  hear  him  praying, 

1  Father  !  save  them — I  have  died  !  * 
And  the  Father  answers,  saying  : 
'  They  are  freely  justified.' 

"  Worthy,  worthy,  worthy,  worthy, 

Worthy  is  the  Lamb  of  God  ; 
Worthy,  worthy,  worthy,  worthy, 

Who  hath  washed  us  in  his  blood. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  holy, 

Holy  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  holy, 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost !" 

Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord — God  of  hosts  ! — C.  Wordsworth. 
Like  all  of  Bishop  Wordsworth's  hymns,  this  dates  back  to  the 
Holy  Year,  1862,  where  it  has  eight  stanzas. 

Holy  night  !  peaceful  night  ! — Tr.  German. 
The  author  of  this  hymn  is  Joseph  Mohr ;  the  date  18 18.     It 
begins,  ' '  Stifle  nacht,  heiTge  nacht, ' '  and  is  a  favorite  Christmas 
carol.      The  music  is  Franz  Gruber's   (1787-1863).      Another 
version  begins, 

"  Silent  night,  holy  night, 
All  is  calm,  all  is  bright." 

The  words  of  the  original  are  in  Dr.  Wichern's  Unsere  Lieder. 

Holy  Spirit,  come  and  shine. — S.  W.  Duffield,  tr. 

This  is  a  translation  by  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Duffield,  of  the  Veni 
sancte  Spiritus,  of  Hermannus  Contractus,  the  crippled  monk  of 
Reichenau,  in  the  eleventh  century.  There  is  no  stranger  series 
of  events  than  that  which  now  brings  this  hymn  into  connection 
with  the  name  of  Hermannus,  instead  of  the  usual  ascription  to 
Robert  II.,  King  of  France.  See,  for  the  full  account,  "The 
Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns. " 

The  present  translation  first  appeared  in  Laudes  Domini,  1884. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  221 

There  is  another  rendering  with  the  same  first  line,    by  J.  D. 
Aylward  : 

"  Holy  Spirit,  come  and  shine 
On  our  souls  with  beams  divine." 
Holy  offerings,  rich  and  rare.  — Monsell. 
This  does  not  appear  in   Mr.  Monsell' s  Hymns  of  Love  and 
Praise.      Sir  Arthur  Sullivan's  Church  Hymns,  1881,  has  it  in  five 
parts,  amounting  in  all  to  ten  stanzas.     As  the  tune  to  which  it  is 
set  is  "  Holy  Offerings,"  and  the  composer  is  Richard  Redhead, 
it  is  safe  to  infer  that  the  Church  Hymns  was  the  place  of  its  first 
publication. 

Holy  Saviour  !  we  adore  thee. — S.  P.  Tregelles. 

The  hymns  of  Mr.  Deck  are  mainly  in  the  Plymouth  Brethren's 
Collection,  edited  by  him  and  entitled  Hymns  for  the  Poor  of  the 
Flock,  1838.  Others  appear  in  the  Wellington  Hymn- Book,  1857, 
which  contains  twenty-seven  ;  and  Hymns  and  Spiritual  Songs  for 
the  Children  of  God,  i860,  in  which  there  are  seventeen.  The  pres- 
ent hymn  is  now  ascribed  in  Deck's  collection  (1881)  to  S.  P. 
Tregelles. 

Holy  Spirit  !  gently  come. — Hammond. 

This  is  a  free  version  of  the  Veni  Creator  Spiritus,  of  Rabanus 
Maurus,  for  whom  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their 
Hymns. ' '  The  present  translation,  in  five  stanzas,  is  from  Ham- 
mond's /'Wot5,  Hymns,  a?id  Spiritual  Songs,   1745. 

Holy  Spirit  !  in  my  breast. — Mant. 
Bishop  Mant's  first  stanza  begins,  "  Come,  Holy  Ghost,  my  soul 
inspire  !"      Our  present,  in  a  different  metre,  is  the  second.     The 
title  is,  "  Hymn  to  the  Comforter  for  '  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity.'  ' 
The  original  has  six  stanzas,  and  is  found  in  the  bishop's  Ancient 
Hymns,  1837. 

Holy  Spirit  !   Lord  of  light. — E.  Caswall,  tr. 
This  is  Caswall' s  best  rendering  of  the  Veni  Creator.     It  bears 
date  1848,  and  is  from  Lyra  Catholica. 

Honor  and  glory,  thanksgiving  and  praise.  — Dayman. 
Rev.  Edwin  Arthur  Dayman  is  the  son  of  John  Dayman,  and 
was  born  at  Padstow,   in    Cornwall,   England,   July  nth,    1807. 
He  was  educated  at  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  of  which  he  was  a 


222  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Fellow  in  1828.  He  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  1835,  and  became  rector  of  Shilling-Okeford,  or  Shilling- 
stone,  near  Blandford,  in  Dorset,  1842.  He  was  rural  dean  in 
1849,  an(l  m  *862  became  a  prebendary  of  Salisbury  Cathedral. 
To  that  noted  list  of  ecclesiastical  books,  the  Sarum  Breviary,  the 
Sarum  Missal,  and  the  Sarum  Psalter,  Mr.  Dayman  helped  to  add 
the  Sarum  ("  Salisbury')  Hymnal,  of  which  he  had  been  one  of 
the  compilers  in  1868.  His  own  translations  from  ancient  hymns 
formed  quite  an  important  feature  of  the  collection.  He  was 
also  a  contributor  to  the  Hymnary,  Novello,  1872. 

Hope  of  our  hearts,  O  Lord  appear.  — Denny. 
This  hymn   is  taken  from   Sir  E.  Denny's  Millennial  Hymns, 
"  The  Church  waiting  for  the  Son  from  Heaven. — 1  Thess.  1  :  10  ; 
4:16-18."      It  has  eight  stanzas. 

Hosanna  !  raise  the  pealing  hymn. — W.  H.  Havergal. 

Rev.  William  Henry  Havergal,  M.A.,  son  of  Wm.  Havergal, 
was  born  at  High  Wycombe,  Buckinghamshire,  January  18th, 
1793.  He  was  rector  of  Shareshill,  Wolverhampton,  and  canon 
of  Worcester  Cathedral,  and  died  at  Leamington,  April  19th, 
1870.  His  hymns  appeared  in  the  Worcester  Diocesan  Hymn- 
Book,  1849,  which  he  compiled.  There  are  over  one  hundred  in 
all,  some  being  printed  as  leaflets.  Mr.  Havergal  is  not  merely 
known  as  one  of  the  best  musical  composers  of  his  day,  but  it  is  as 
the  father  of  Frances  Ridley  Havergal  that  he  will  be  held  in 
affectionate  memory. 

The  present  hymn  dates  from  1833,  and  was  copied  by  the 
author  for  Lyra  Britannica. 

Hosanna  to  the  living  Lord. — Heber. 

This  was  published  in  the  Christian  Observer,  October,  181 1. 
In  the  collection  issued  posthumously  in  1827,  it  was  assigned  to 
the  First  Sunday  in  Advent. 

How  are  thy  servants  blest,  O  Lord  ! — Addison. 

This  piece  was  originally  published  in  the  Spectator,  where  it  is 
described  as  the  production  of  "  a  gentleman  at  the  conclusion  of 
his  travels."  Like  Mrs.  Adams's  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee," 
this  hymn  has  been  attacked  because  it  contains  no  direct  refer- 
ence to  Christ.     The  critics,  perhaps,    forgot  that  the   book   of 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  223 

Esther  is  also  amenable  to  the  reproach  of  not  containing  the  divine 
name,  and  that  there  are  those  who  worship  with  the  lips  while 
the  heart  is  far  away.  In  a  word,  they  forgot  to  judge  righteous 
judgment. 

So,  too,  this  fine  hymn  has  been  censured  for  halting  rhyme, 
and  has  been  reduced  to  its  present  length  from  ten  stanzas.  Both 
of  these  judgments  are  narrow  and  unfair.  Hymns  are  made  to 
be  sung,  not  to  be  dissected,  and  especially  they  are  not  made  to 
be  dissected  by  very  bigoted  and  conventional  judges.  This  was 
the  third  of  five  hymns,  and  follows  a  paper  on  ' '  The  Sea, ' '  in 
the  Spectator,  No.  489,  in  171 2. 

The  poet  and  essayist  had  embarked  at  Marseilles  in  December, 
1 700,  for  a  foreign  tour.  While  sailing  near  the  shores  of  Italy  a 
great  storm  arose.  And  at  this  time,  while  others  gave  up  all  for 
lost  and  the  captain  in  despair  was  confessing  his  sins  to  a  Capu- 
chin friar,  the  English  traveller  solaced  himself  with  these  verses, 
which  he  composed,  partly  as  a  description,  and  partly  as  a  song 
of  trust  and  praise.  Hence  this  is  usually  called  the  "  Traveller's 
Hymn." 

The  late  Dr.  Kirk,  of  Boston,  and  his  companions,  travelling 
in  Syria  during  the  sickly  season  of  1857,  made  this  hymn  a  part 
of  their  regular  devotions. 

How  beauteous  are  their  feet. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts 's  Hymn  10,  of  Book  I.  It  was  first  used 
after  a  sermon  on  Isa.  52  :  7,  8,  9,  10  ;  and  Matt.  13:16,  17. 
The  title  given  to  it  is,  ' '  The  Blessedness  of  Gospel  Times  ;  or, 
the  Revelation  of  Christ  to  Jews  and  Gentiles,"  and  it  has  six  stan- 
zas.    The  date  is  fixed  as  1 707. 

How  beauteous  on  the  mountains.  — Gough. 
Benjamin  Gough,  born  1805,  at  Southborough,  Kent,  England, 
and  recently  dead,  1883,  was  a  Methodist  local  preacher  who  had 
amassed  a  fortune  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  London.  In  1832, 
while  living  in  London,  he  published  An  Indian  Tale  and  Other 
Poems,  and  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to  Methodist  journals. 
After  he  became  independent  in  property,  he  retired  to  Mount- 
field,  near  Faversham,  Kent,  whence  he  sent  out  Lyra  Sabbatica 
in  1865,  and  Kentish  Lyrics  in  1867.  His  hymns  are  to  be  found 
in  these  volumes.     Miller's  critique  is  that  they  are  "  pious  and 


224  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

pleasing,  without  reaching  the  very  highest  poetic  excellence." 
The  hymn,  "  Jesus,  full  of  love  divine,"  is  doubtfully  ascribed  to 
him,  as  it  is  not  in  his  works. 

How  beauteous  were  the  marks  divine. — Coxe. 

The  Rev.  Arthur  Cleveland  Coxe,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Western 
New  York,  is  the  son  of  Samuel  Hanson  Cox,  D.D.,  the  cele- 
brated Presbyterian  clergyman.  Between  father  and  son  there  was 
waged  for  years  a  curious  but  not  uninstructive  warfare,  respect- 
ing the  doctrines  on  which  they  differed,  and  also  with  regard  to 
the  spelling  of  the  family  name.  While  there  was  much  of  wit 
and  of  good  humor  on  both  sides,  it  gave  a  spice  of  novelty  to  the 
remarks  of  the  brilliant  veteran  to  hear  him  refer  to  his  son  as 
one  who  had  abandoned  his  original  creed,  and  had  even  added 
an  e  to  his  name  !  So,  with  the  utmost  of  kindly  feeling,  this  little 
odd  debate  would  be  constantly  renewed,  as  it  has  been  in  the 
hearing  of  the  writer. 

Bishop  Coxe  is  a  gentleman  of  distinguished  ability ;  a  scholar 
and  a  poet  as  well  as  a  man  of  affairs.  He  was  born  in  Mend- 
ham,  N.  J.,  May  ioth,  1818  ;  graduated  at  the  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  1838,  and  at  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary (Episcopalian)  in  1841.  He  was  ordained  in  St.  Paul's 
chapel,  New  York  City,  June  27th,  1841,  as  a  deacon,  and  be- 
came a  priest,  September  25th,  1842.  He  was  first  settled  at  Mor- 
risania  ;  then  in  Hartford  ;  then  in  Baltimore,  and,  finally  (1863) 
in  Calvary  church,  New  York  City.  While  rector  of  this  last 
church  he  was  elected  to  the  episcopate.  He  had  been  previ- 
ously chosen  to  be  bishop  of  Texas,  but  had  declined.  It  was 
during  this  rectorship  that  he  wrote  the  "Soul-Dirge,"  which 
has  lost  nothing  of  its  power  or  appropriateness  by  lapse  of 
time. 

From  January  4th,  1865,  he  has  been  the  Bishop  of  Western 
New  York,  with  his  residence  at  Buffalo  ;  and  his  writings  have 
been  frequent  and  scholarly.  He  has  contributed  prose  and  verse 
to  current  periodical  literature,  and  the  list  of  his  works  is  long 
and  valuable.  It  is  given  in  full  in  Batterson  s  American  Episcopate 
(Philadelphia,  1878).  His  Christian  Ballads,  1840,  have  had  a 
larger  popularity  than  any  other  of  his  poetical  productions.  Bishop 
Coxe  is  a  bold  and  even  impetuous  litterateur,  and  is  a  complete 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  225 

refutation  of  the  idea  that  a  bishop  is  not  expected  to  be  an  ag- 
gressive os*  outspoken  man. 

The  present  hymn  is  from  Christian  Ballads,  1840,  where  it 
appears  in  seven  double  stanzas. 

How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies.  — Barbauld. 

Mrs.  Anna  Laetitia  (Aiken)  Barbauld  was  born  June  20th,  1743, 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Aiken,  of  Kibworth,  Leicestershire, 
England.  She  was  the  sister  of  that  Dr.  Aiken  who  edited  the 
British  Poets,  and  her  early  years  were  spent  in  an  atmosphere  of 
thought  and  culture.  She  was  instructed  in  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages,  and  her  education  was,  in  point  of  fact,  precisely  that 
which  she  would  nowadays  receive  at  Wellesley,  or  Vassar,  or 
Smith,  or  Girton  colleges.  Personally  she  was  very  attractive, 
having  dark  blue  eyes,  a  slender  figure,  and  a  brilliant  mind. 

In  1774  this  incomparable  young  lady  was  married  to  Roche- 
mont  Barbauld,  one  of  her  father's  pupils,  a  young  man  of  French 
Protestant  descent,  and  not — so  her  niece,  Lucy  Aiken,  thought 
— her  equal  in  any  respect.  Indeed,  Barbauld  was  a  gesticulating 
Frenchman,  whose  position  in  the  Dissenting  ministry  was  nothing 
in  (or  to)  the  world.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  was  sufficiently  bitter 
on  the  subject  when  he  called  him  "  a  little  Presbyterian  parson, 
who  keeps  an  infant  boarding-school. ' ' 

This  was  really  the  occupation  to  which  she  was  condemned, 
and  the  Rev,  Rochemont  Barbauld  being  half- crazy  when  she 
married  him,  at  last  became  altogether  crazy,  and  finally  so  wildly 
furious  as  to  be  dangerous.  Once  he  attacked  her  with  a  knife. 
This  being  too  much,  even  for  her  forbearance,  she  separated  from 
him,  saw  that  he  was  secured  in  a  proper  asylum  near  London  ; 
and,  when  he  escaped,  in  1808,  and  drowned  himself  in  New  River, 
she  fulfilled  her  duty  by  writing  "an  affecting  dirge  on  the 
event. ' ' 

Five  of  Mrs.  Barbauld's  hymns  were  contributed  to  the  War- 
rington Collection  in  1772  ;  and  eleven,  including  these  five,  to 
Rees  and  Kippis' s  Collection,  1795.  She  was  a  sincere  Christian, 
who  bore  the  sorrows  of  her  life  without  complaint,  and  who  has. 
illustrated  her  faith  in  her  verses.  As  the  friend  of  Dr.  Doddridge, 
she  comes  within  the  scope  of  that  charmed  circle  of  hymnists- 
who  have  made  English  hymnody  illustrious.     After  an  old  age: 


226  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

which  was  benignant  and  beautiful,  she  died  March  9th,  1825, 
having  attained  to  over  fourscore  years.  By  the  side  of  this  hymn, 
and  as  its  fit  commentary,  we  transcribe  Mrs.  Barbauld's  lines  on 
life,  written  when  she  was  grown  old,  and  so  written  as  to  obtain 
the  admiration  of  Wordsworth  the  poet  : 

"  Life  !     I  know  not  what  thou  art, 
But  know  that  thou  and  I  must  part  ; 
And  when,  or  how,  or  where  we  met, 
I  own  to  me's  a  secret  yet. 

Life  !  we've  been  long  together, 
Through  pleasant  and  through  cloudy  weather  ; 
'Tis  hard  to  part  when  friends  are  dear— 
Perhaps  'twill  cost  a  sigh,  a  tear  ; 
— Then  steal  away,  give  little  warning, 

Choose  thine  own  time  ; 
Say  not  Good-night, — but  in  some  brighter  clime 

Bid  me  Good-morning." 

The  present  hymn  commences,  ' '  Sweet  is  the  scene  when  virtue 
dies.  "     It  has  five  stanzas,  and  was  composed  about  1773. 

How  brightly  shines  the  morning  star.  — Sloan,  tr. 

This  is  sometimes  given  as  the  translation  by  John  Morrison 
Sloan  from  the  hymn,  ' '  Wie  herrlich  st?-ahlt  der  Morgenstern, ' ' 
of  Johann  Adolph  Schlegel.  It  is  apparently,  however,  a  free 
rendering,  almost  a  paraphrase  of  the  famous  "  Wie  schon  leuchtet 
der  Morgenstern, "  of  Philipp  Nicolai.  A  comparison  of  the  stan- 
zas with  the  original  (in  Schaff's  Deutsches  Gesangbuch,  No.  311) 
will  show  correspondences  too  close  for  this  version  to  belong  to 
any  other  hymn  than  Nicolai 's  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  will 
reveal  a  freedom  which  makes  it  almost  a  paraphrase,  or  transcrip- 
tion, of  Nicolai's  theme.  The  structure  of  the  verse  is  the  same 
in  English  as  in  German. 

Philipp  Nicolai  was  pastor  in  Unna,  a  town  of  Westphalia. 
About  the  year  1597  a  terrible  pestilence  was  raging.  Fourteen 
hundred  persons  perished  ;  and  Nicolai,  from  his  windows,  saw 
the  sorrowful  processions  passing  by.  He  was  thus  led  to  medi- 
tate very  deeply  on  death  and  the  future  life,  and  this  hymn,  as 
one  of  the  compositions  in  which  he  expressed  his  emotion,  was 
first  printed  in  1599.  With  it  went  another,  both  being  appended 
to   his  book,    which    was  a  work   of  devout  reflection,    entitled 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  227 

"  Freudenspiegel  des  Ewigen  Lebens  /'  or,  "The  Joy-glass  of 
Eternal  Life." 

The  companion  piece  commences,  M  Wachet  auf  !  ruft  uns  die 
Stimme,"  "Wake,  awake,  for  night  is  flying;"  or,  "Sleepers, 
wake  !  a  voice  is  calling."  For  these  hymns  Nicolai  himself 
composed  chorales.  That  for  " 'Wachet  auf 7 "  has  been  intro- 
duced into  Mendelssohn's  oratorio  of  "  St.  Paul."  There  are 
other  and  closer  renderings  of  the  "  Marriage  Feast  Hymn,"  as 
this  present  piece  is  called.     One  is, 

"  O  morning  star  !  how  fair  and  bright 
Thou  beamest  forth  in  truth  and  light," 

and  is  by  Miss  Winkworth.  Another  is,  ' '  How  bright  appears 
the  morning  star,"  a  translation  by  Philip  Pusey  and  Algernon 
Herbert ;  and  still  another,  "  How  lovely  shines  the  morning 
star,"  by  Dr.  H.  Harbaugh. 

It  is  also  said  that  the  melody  of  the  chorales  was  suggested  to 
Nicolai  by  well-known  popular  songs  ;  and  that  the  one  borrowed 
by  Mendelssohn  was  caught  from  the  notes  of  the  watchman's 
horn. 

This  hymn  marks  an  era  in  German  hymnody.  Its  music  is  a 
familiar  feature  of  marriage  ceremonies,  and  many  bells  chime  it 
forth  above  the  cities'  noise.  All  critics  of  these  verses  notice  their 
poetic  fervor  and  personal  faith.  Indeed,  these  were  of  the  nature 
of  the  man,  for  Nicolai  was  born  August  10th,  1556,  in  Men- 
geringhausen,  the  son  of  a  clergyman  who  devoted  him  "  to  God 
and  the  Church, "  and  he  became,  after  a  thoroughly  Lutheran 
education  at  Erfurt  and  Wittenberg,  a  pastor  and  preacher  of 
notable  piety  and  excellence.  People  flocked  to  hear  him.  He 
resisted  Romanism  on  the  one  hand  and  Calvinism  on  the  other. 
In  1 601,  he  was  addressing  immense  audiences  in  Hamburg.  His 
Christology  is  his  most  celebrated  work,  but  his  hymns  have  been 
his  lasting  memorial.  He  died  in  Hamburg,  October  26th. 
1608. 

How  charming  is  the  place. — S.  Stennett. 

This  hymn,  by  Dr.  Samuel  Stennett,  is  one  of  forty  which  he 
contributed  to  Rippori 's  Selection,  1787,  and  is  therefore  so  dated. 
It  has  six  stanzas. 

General  Sir  Henry  Havelock  was  accustomed  to  assemble  his 
men  for  prayer  in  a  chamber  in  one  of  the  great  pagodas  in  India, 


228  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

with  idols  on  every  side.  It  was  at  Rangoon,  during  the  Burmese 
war  of  1824,  that  his  men  consequently  obtained  the  name  of 
"  Havelock's  saints."  "Call  out  Havelock's  saints/'  ordered 
Sir  Archibald  Campbell.  "  He  is  always  ready,  and  his  men  are 
never  drunk." 

How  condescending  and  how  kind. — Watts. 

The  Rev.  J.  Leifchild   tells  how  he  was  once  invited  to  preach 
in  Berkshire,  in  a  straggling  village  where  there  was  very  little  of 
the  Gospel  ever  heard.     The  rough  element  of  the  place  were 
greatly  against  the  service.     Shouts  and  disturbance  attended  the 
opening  of  the  meeting,  and  a  large  haystack,  the  property  of  his 
host,  was  set  on  fire.     But  Mr.    L.   persevered,  and  opened  the 
service,  with   a   somewhat   motley    crowd  of  hearers,  by   reading 
the  Scripture  in  a  solemn  and  earnest  manner.     Then  he  offered 
prayer,  and  felt  as  though  he  had  secured  somewhat  of  the  sym- 
pathy of  his  audience.      He  next  read   this  hymn,  and   especially 
emphasized  certain  words  in  its  concluding  stanza  : 
"  Here  we  receive  repeated  seals 
Of  Jesus'  dying  love  : 
Hard  is  the  heart  that  never  feels 
One  soft  affection  move." 

As  he  read  he  heard  a  dull  noise  near  the  door  like  that  of  a 
heavy  weight  falling.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  he  asked 
about  it — when  a  man  was  pointed  out  who  came  forward  and 
acknowledged  that  it  was  caused  by  a  great  stone  which  he  had 
brought  in  his  hand,  in  order  to  hurl  it  at  the  preacher  when  he 
announced  his  text.  "  But,"  he  said,  "  the  prayer  of  the  minis- 
ter, and  particularly  the  hymn  that  was  read,  touched  my  heart, 
and  no  sooner,  sir,  had  you  uttered  the  words, 

"  '  Hard  is  the  heart  that  never  feels 
One  soft  affection  move,' 

than  down  dropped  the  stone."  With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  then 
stayed  to  converse  with  the  clergyman,  and  at  length  became  a 
truly  devout  person,  and  was  even  a  religious  teacher  in  later 
years. 

The  hymn  which  produced  this  result  is  the  fourth  of  Dr. 
Watts' s  Book  III.  It  has  eight  stanzas,  and  its  title  is,  "  Christ's 
dying  Love  ;  or,  our  Pardon  bought  at  a  dear  Price. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  229 

How  did  my  heart  rejoice  to  hear. — Watts. 

This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  version  of  Ps.  122  C.  M.  It  has  six 
stanzas,  and  he  entitles  it,  ' '  Going  to  Church. ' ' 

Old  as  these  words  are — they  belong  to  the  year  171 9 — they 
express  ideas  which  are  still  fresh  and  new.  David's  language  was 
not  antiquated  in  Watts's  day  nor  is  Watts's  hymn  antiquated 
now.  More  than  ever  do  we  feel,  at  the  present  time,  the  value 
of  the  house  of  God  as  a  haven  and  refuge  for  the  soul.  Christi- 
anity has  a  vital  bearing  on  daily  life.  This  has  been  so  pointedly 
conceded  by  Robert  Buchanan,  the  poet,  in  his  novel,  The  New 
Abelard,  1883,  that  we  quote  his  exact  words  : 

"  He  had  refined  away  his  faith  until  it  had  become  a  mere  figment. 
Christ,  the  Divine  Ideal,  had  been  powerless  to  keep  him  to  the  narrow 
path,  whereas  Christ  the  living  Lawgiver  would  have  enabled  him  to 
walk  on  a  path  thrice  as  narrow,  yea,  on  the  very  edge  of  the  great  gulf, 
where  there  is  scarcely  foothold  for  a  fly.  I  who  write  these  lines,  though 
perchance  far  away  as  Bradley  himself  from  the  acceptance  of  a  Christian 
terminology,  can  at  least  say  this  for  the  Christian  scheme — that  it  is 
complete  as  a  law  for  life.  Oace  accept  its  facts  and  theories,  and  it 
becomes  strong  as  an  angel's  arm  to  hold  us  up  in  hours  of  weariness, 
weakness,  and  vacillation.  The  difficulty  lies  in  that  acceptance.  But 
for  common  work-day  use  and  practical  human  needs,  transcendental- 
ism, however  Christian  in  its  ideas,  is  utterly  infirm.  It  will  do  when 
there  is  fair  weather,  when  the  beauty  of  art  will  do,  and  when  even  the 
feeble  glimmer  of  aestheticism  looks  like  sunlight  and  pure  air.  But 
when  sorrow  comes,  when  temptation  beckons,  when  what  is  wanted  is 
a  staff  to  lean  upon  and  a  divine  finger  to  point  and  guide,  woe  to  him 
who  puts  his  trust  in  any  transcendental  creed,  however  fair  ! 

"  It  is  the  tendency  of  modern  agnosticism  to  slacken  the  moral  fibre 
of  men,  even  more  than  to  weaken  their  intellectual  grasp.  The  laws  of 
human  life  are  written  in  letters  of  brass  on  the  rock  of  Science,  and  it  is 
the  task  of  true  Religion  to  read  them,  and  translate  them  for  the  com- 
mon use.  But  the  agnostic  is  as  short-sighted  as  an  owl,  while  the  atheist 
is  as  blind  as  a  bat  ;  the  one  will  not,  and  the  other  cannot,  read  the  co- 
lossal cypher,  interpret  the  simple  speech  of  God." 

How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord.  — Keith  (?) 
This  was  first  given   to  the   Christian   churches  in    Rippon's 
Selection   of  Hymns  from   the  Best  Authors,  published  in    1787. 

There  appeared  only  the  letter  "  K "  to  fix  the  authorship. 

In  later  editions  of  that  book,  the  sign  was  changed  to  "  Kirk- 
ham  )'   but  examination  among  the  pieces  of  Thomas  Kirkham, 


230  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

published  in  1788,  does  not  show  this  one.  Neither  is  it  the  work 
of  Caroline  Keene,  nor  (as  D.  Sedgwick  held)  of  Rev.  William 
Kingsbury.  The  origin  of  the  hymn  is  only  conjectural  ;  but 
now  most  compilers  have  agreed  in  crediting  it  to  George  Keith, 
a  publisher  and  bookseller  in  London.  He  was  the  son-in-law 
of  Dr.  Jno.  Gill,  and,  as  the  clerk,  led  the  singing  in  the  congrega- 
tion for  many  years.  A  few  critics,  induced  by  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
hymn-book,  which  assigns  the  piece  to  "  Kirkham  or  Kennedy," 
are  lately  inclined  to  discredit  even  Keith.  But  Kennedy  also 
eludes  us  entirely.     Rippon  marked  four  hymns  with  "  K — ." 

In  its  original  form  the  hymn  was  called  "  Precious  Promises," 
and  had  seven  stanzas.  In  the  course  of  years  the  text  has  been 
much  altered.  One  peculiarity  is  noticeable  in  the  last  line  of 
the  closing  verse.  The  very  singularly  repetitious  grouping  of 
words  reminds  us  that  a  similar  style  of  expression  is  found  in 
the  passage  of  Scripture  (Heb.  13:5)  upon  which  the  hymn  is 
in  some  measure  constructed.  There  are,  in  the  Greek  text,  five 
negatives  grouped  in  a  single  sentence.  In  our  language,  the  rule 
says  :  "  Two  negatives  are  equivalent  to  an  affirmative."  Not  so 
here  ;  each  adds  its  meaning  with  all  the  intensity  of  a  cumulative 
force.  "  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee,"  as  in  the 
Common  Version,  is  strengthened  much  in  the  New  Revision,  so 
that  it  stands  :  "  I  will  in  no  wise  fail  thee,  neither  will  I  in  any 
wise  forsake  thee. 

"  Once  in  the  old  Oratory  at  evening  devotion  in  Princeton  Seminary," 
as  Dr.  C.  S.  Robinson  relates,  "  the  elder  Dr.  Hodge,  then  venerable 
with  years  and  piety,  paused  as  he  read  this  hymn,  preparatory  to  the 
singing,  and  in  the  depth  of  his  emotion  was  obliged  to  close  his  delivery 
of  the  final  lines  with  a  mere  gesture  of  pathetic  and  adoring  wonder  at 
the  matchless  grace  of  God  in  Christ,  and  his  hand  silently  beat  time  to 
the  rhythm  instead  : 

1  I'll  never— no,  never— no,  never— forsake  !  *  " 

In  the  Western  Sketch-Book,  by  Rev.  James  Gallaher,  he  men- 
tions a  visit  to  General  Jackson  at  the  Hermitage  in  September, 
1843  : 

"  The  old  hero,"  says  Mr.  Gallaher,  "  was  then  very  frail,  and  had  the 
appearance  of  extreme  old  age  ;  but  he  was  reposing  with  calmness  and 
confidence  on  the  promise  and  covenant  of  God.  He  had  now  been  a 
member  of  the  church  for  several  years."  During  the  conversation  which 
took  place,  General  Jackson  turned  to  Mr.  G.,  and  remarked  :  "  There 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


231 


is  a  beautiful  hymn  on  the  subject  of  the  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises  of  God  to  his  people.  It  was  a  favorite  hymn  with  my  dear 
wife,  till  the  day  of  her  death.  It  commences  thus  :  '  How  firm  a  foun- 
dation, ye  saints  of  the  Lord.'  I  wish  you  would  sing  it  now."  So  the 
little  company  sang  the  entire  hymn  in  its  seven  stanzas. 

How  gentle  God's  command. — Doddridge. 
In  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns   this  is  No.  340,  "  God's  Care  a 
Remedy  for  Ours. — 1  Peter  5:7."    It  has  four  stanzas.     In  the 
last  we  read  : 

"  His  goodness  stands  approved 
Down  to  the  present  day." 

This  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  prosaic  lines  which  intrude 
into  the  very  best  of  Doddridge's  verse.  It  must  be  conceded 
that  he  has  been  improved,  and  not  harmed,  by  the  labors  of  the 
hymn-mender.  He  might  appropriately  have  addressed  his  liter- 
ary critics  in  the  words  of  Milton  : 

"  What  in  me  is  dark, 
Illumine  ;  what  is  low,  raise  and  support." 

How  helpless  guilty  nature  lies.  — Steele. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  the  enlarged  collection  of  Miss  Steele's 
pieces,  published  by  her  friend,  Dr.  Caleb  Evans,  in  three  vol- 
umes, 1780,  but  it  is  not  in  the  previous  edition  (two  volumes, 
1 760).  Dr.  Evans  also  included  it  in  six  stanzas,  in  his  own  Col- 
lection. There  is  a  short-metre  modification  of  this  hymn  found 
in  the  present  Methodist  Episcopal  Hymnal,  which  has  been  formed 
by  obliterating  two  syllables  in  the  first  line  of  each  stanza.  It 
begins,  "  How  helpless  nature  lies." 

Antoninus,  arguing  with  Rabbi  Judah,  said  to  him  :  "  Cannot  the  soul, 
freed  from  the  body  at  the  day  of  judgment,  lay  the  blame  of  its  sin  on 
the  body  ?  Can  it  not  declare  that  the  sin  belongs  to  the  body  and  no 
longer  to  it,  since  the  body  alone  caused  it  to  sin  ?"  But  Rabbi  Judah 
answered  :  "  There  was  a  king  who  had  a  fine  orchard  of  fig-trees.  To 
guard  it  he  placed  two  watchers,  one  blind  and  one  lame,  thinking  that 
thus  he  would  prevent  them  from  being  themselves  tempted.  But  the 
lame  man  said  to  his  companion,  '  I  see  very  fine  figs.  Carry  me  to  the 
tree  that  we  may  partake  of  them.'  So  the  blind  man  carried  the  lame 
man,  and  the  figs  were  stolen.  Then  came  the  king  and  demanded  what 
had  become  of  his  choicest  figs.  The  blind  man  replied  :  '  I  do  not 
know  ;  I  cannot  even  see  them  ! '  And  the  lame  man  made  answer : 
■  Neither  do  I  know  ;  I  am  lame  and  cannot  even  approach  the  tree  '  ' 


232  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

But  the  king  was  wise.     '  Lo  !  I  perceive,'  said  he,  '  that  the  blind  car- 
ried the  lame.'  "     And  he  gave  orders  to  punish  them  both. 

"  Thus  it  is  with  us,"  continued  Rabbi  Judah,  "  the  soul  and  the  body 
are  but  one  man.  Neither  can  one  of  them  charge  the  commission  of  sin 
upon  the  other." 

How  pleasant,  how  divinely  fair. — Watts. 
The  title  given  to  this  hymn  is,  • '  The  Pleasure  of  Public  Wor- 
ship."     It  has  seven  stanzas,  and   is  the  version  of  Ps.  84,  first 

part,  L.  M. 

How  pleased  and  blest  was  I. — Watts. 

We  have  here  Dr.  Watts 's  version  of  Ps.  122,  P.  M.  "Going 
to  Church"  is  the  title,  and  it  is  in  five  stanzas. 

How  precious  is  the  book  divine. — Fawcett. 
This  is  from  Rev.  John  Fawcett's  Hymns  Adapted  to  the  Circum- 
stances of  Public  Worship  and  Private  Devotion,  1782.  It  is  sug- 
gested by  the  105th  verse  of  the  119th  Psalm,  "  Thy  word  is  a 
lamp  unto  my  feet."  The  hymn  receives  an  illustration  from  one 
of  those  old  parables  of  which  the  ancient  Hebrews  were  so  fond. 

A  traveller,  it  is  said,  was  passing  through  a  gloomy  forest  in  the 
night.  He  feared  the  robbers,  and  he  could  not  see  his  way.  Finally  he 
discovered  a  torch,  by  whose  light  he  went  on  without  fear  of  pitfalls 
and  wild  beasts.  But  still  he  was  in  mortal  dread  of  the  robbers.  At 
length  he  emerged  into  the  highway,  and  then  felt  at  ease.  The  darkness, 
so  the  interpreters  add,  is  the  lack  of  religious  knowledge  ;  the  torch  is 
God's  precepts  ;  the  forest  is  the  world  ;  beyond  the  forest  shines  out  the 
unclouded  sun  of  divine  love. 

How  sad  our  state  by  nature  is. — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Spencer's  Pastor  s  Sketches  occurs  a  very  suggestive  inci- 
dent connected  with  this  hymn.  He  had  given  out  the  piece  to 
be  sung,  forgetting  the  possible  application  it  might  have  to  the 
case  of  a  young  woman  then  under  deep  anxiety  of  mind.  The 
account  proceeds  : 

"  The  next  day  she  came  to  tell  me  that  she  had  made  a  new  discovery. 
1  Well,'  said  I,  '  what  is  it  that  you  have  discovered  ?  '  '  Why,  sir,'  said 
she,  '  the  way  of  salvation  all  seems  to  me  now  perfectly  plain.  My 
darkness  is  all  gone.      I  see  now  what  I  never  saw  before.' 

"  '  Do  you  see  that  you  have  given  up  sin  and  the  world,  and  given 
your  whole  heart  to  Christ  ?  ' 

"  '  I  do   not  think  that   I  am   a  Christian  ;  but   I  have  never  been  so 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  233 

happy  before.     All  is  light  to  me  now.     I  see  my  way  clear  ;  and  I  am 

not  burdened  and  troubled  as  I  was.' 

"  '  And  how  is  th's  ?     What  has  brought  you  to  this  state  of  mind  ?' 
"  '  I  do  not  know  how  it  is,  or  what  has  brought  me  to  it.     But  when 

you  were  reading  that  hymn  last  night,  I  saw  the  whole  way  of  salvation 

for  sinners  perfectly  plain,  and  wondered  that  I  had  never  seen  it  before. 

I  saw  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  trust  in  Christ : 

'  A  guilty,  weak  and  helpless  worm, 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall.' 

11  *  I  sat  all  the  evening  just  looking  at  that  hymn.  I  did  not  hear  your 
prayer.  I  did  not  hear  a  word  of  your  sermon.  I  do  not  know  your 
text.  I  thought  of  nothing  but  that  hymn  ;  and  I  have  been  thinking  of 
it  ever  since.  It  is  so  light  and  makes  me  so  contented.  Why,  sir,' 
said  she,  in  the  perfect  simplicity  of  her  heart,  never  thinking  that  she 
was  repeating  what  had  been  told  her  a  thousand  times, '  don't  you  think 
that  the  reason  that  we  do  not  get  out  of  darkness  sooner  is  that  we  don't 
believe  ? '  " 

Dr.  Doddridge  conversing  one  day  with  his  pupils  at  Northamp- 
ton on  the  various  ways  in  which  Christians  met  death,  said  :  "  I 
wish  that  my  last  words  may  be  those  lines  of  WTatts  : 

'  A  guilty,  weak  and  helpless  worm, 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall.'  " 

How  shall  I  follow  him  I  serve  ? — Conder. 
This  hymn  breathes  the  sentiment  most  conspicuous  in  Mr. 
Josiah  Conder' s  life.  It  is  not  a  great  hymn,  but  it  is  a  very  use- 
ful one,  and  has  its  commentary  in  the  experience  of  Rev.  William 
Kingsbury,  author  of  "  Let  us  awake  our  joys."  That  good  man 
said  : 

"  O  my  soul  !  preach  all  thy  sermons  repeatedly  to  thyself  ;  that, 
while  I  caution  others  against  counterfeits,  I  may  not  myself  lose  the 
reality."  "  I  have  found,"  he  said,  on  another  occasion,  "  that  the  edge 
of  the  soul  has  been  so  blunted  by  a  single  hour's  unprofitable  conversa- 
tion, as  to  injure  its  peace  and  advancement  for  many  days." 

How  shall  the  young  secure  their  hearts  ? — Watts. 
This  is  Ps.  119 — fourth  part,  CM.,  "  Instruction  from  Script- 
ure. ' '  Of  this  Psalm  Dr.  Watts  says  that  he  has  ' '  collected  and 
disposed  the  most  useful  verses  .  .  .  under  eighteen  different 
heads,  and  formed  a  divine  song  upon  each  of  them.  But  the 
verses  are  much  transposed  to  attain  some  degree  of  connection." 
The  present  piece  is  in  eight  stanzas. 


234  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

How  sweet  and  awful  is  the  place.  — Watts. 
This  hymn  is  No.  13  of  Book  III.,  with  the  title,  "  Luke 
14  :  17-22,  23.  Divine  Love  making  a  Feast,  and  calling  in  the 
Guests."  It  has  seven  stanzas.  It  is  a  well-beloved  communion 
hymn,  and  there  are  many  persons  who  have  associated  it,  beyond 
change,  with  the  old  tune  "  Dundee." 

How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds.  — Newton. 

It  is  probable  that  this  hymn  is  an  echo,  or  paraphrase,  of  the 
great  Latin  hymn  of  St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaulx,  for  whom  see 
"The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns."  In  the  Olney 
Hymns,  1779,  it  is  entitled  "  The  Name  of  Jesus,"  and  has  seven 
stanzas.     The  Scripture  text  is  Solomon's  Song  1  :  3. 

A  short  time  before  his  death,  Rev.  John  Deck,  a  devoted  ser- 
vant of  Christ,  in  Hull,  England,  asked  that  this  hymn  might  be 
sung.  There  was  a  most  pathetic  appropriateness  in  the  request 
when  we  remember  that  he  had  been  a  patient  curate  of  St.  Ste- 
phen's church,  and  that  his  missionary  work  was  from  door  to 
door,  and  was  environed  with  many  hardships  and  privations. 

How  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight.  — J.  Swain. 
The  author  is  Joseph  Swain,  born  in  1761,  at  Birmingham, 
England.  He  was  early  left  an  orphan  and  apprenticed  to  the 
trade  of  an  engraver.  It  is  reported  of  him  that  in  his  youth  he 
was  fond  of  wild  and  gay  society,  and  that  his  gift  of  song  was  em- 
ployed in  the  composition  of  such  lyrics  as  would  please  his  asso- 
ciates. He  is  said,  also,  to  have  written  some  plays.  But  after 
a  time  he  came  under  the  influence  of  serious  thoughts,  purchased 
a  Bible,  and,  by  reading  the  sacred  words,  was  hopefully  converted 
to  a  new  and  better  life.  His  memoir,  appended  to  the  last  edi- 
tion of  the  Walworth  Hymns,  1869,  gives  the  date  of  his  baptism 
by  Rev.  Dr.  John  Rippon,  as  May  nth,  1783.  From  this  pro- 
fession of  his  faith  he  never  afterward  departed,  and  he  gradually 
developed  into  an  active  and  useful  Christian  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary abilities.  This  led  to  his  entering  the  ministry,  and,  in  1791, 
he  took  charge  of  a  mission  field  in  East  Street,  Walworth,  Lon- 
don. The  Walworth  Hymns,  1792,  which  included  his  previous 
pieces,  and  which  consisted  entirely  of  his  own  compositions, 
numbered  one  hundred  and  ninety-two.  His  labors  were  blessed, 
and  his  church-membership  increased  from  twenty-seven  to  two 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  235 

hundred  in  a  very  short  time.  The  building  itself  was  enlarged 
on  three  occasions.  But  his  feeble  constitution  yielded  to  the 
strain  of  this  severe  work,  and  after  two  weeks'  illness  he  died,  in 
his  thirty-fifth  year,  April  14th,  1796. 

When  trouble  and  sorrow  are  the  portion  of  God's  people,  and  when 
the  faint-hearted  separate  from  their  brethren,  then,  the  Rabbins  say,  two 
angels  come  to  the  deserter.  They  lay  their  hands  on  his  head  and  pro- 
nounce against  him  the  solemn  sentence  :  "  This  one  shall  not  see  the 
comfort  of  the  congregation."  For  it  was  one  of  the  finest  of  the  old 
Jewish  rules  that  no  man  had  a  right  to  go  home  and  eat  and  drink  "  when 
trouble  came  to  the  congregation."  And  of  Moses  they  were  wont  to 
remember  that  he  sat  neither  on  a  chair  nor  a  cushion,  in  the  day  of  the 
battle  with  Amalek,  but  on  a  stone,  as  if  he  had  said  :  "  I  will  share  some- 
what of  their  hardship." 

How  sweet  to  leave  the  world  awhile. — Kelly. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  Thomas  Kelly's  third  edition,  1809,  and 
that  is  about  its  date.      It  has  six  stanzas,  and  is  based  on  Matt. 
18  :  20.     To  which  we  may  add  Gen.  28  :  17. 

How  vain  are  all  things  here  below. — Watts. 
We  encounter  this  as  the  forty-eighth  hymn  of  Dr.  Watts's 
Book  II.  It  has  five  stanzas,  with  the  significant  title  :  "  Love  to 
the  Creatures  is  Dangerous."  So  it  proved  ;  for  we  are  told  that 
the  hymn  was  written  after  he  had  been  jilted  by  Miss  Elizabeth 
Singer.  There  must  have  been  some  bitterness  in  the  good  Doc- 
tor's heart  when  he  wrote, 

"  Each  pleasure  hath  its  poison  too, 
And  every  sweet  a  snare." 

Miss  Singer  (1 674-1 737)  became  Mrs.  Rowe,  and  has  left  a 
record  as  the  friend  of  Bishop  Ken,  and  as  the  author  of  some 
hymns  published  posthumously  in  1739.  Five  of  them  are  in  C. 
Evans's  Collection  (fifth  edition,  1786),  including  "  Begin  the  high, 
celestial  strain." 

They  are  of  the  orotund  variety,  much  befretted  with  adorn- 
ments. Dr.  Watts,  on  the  contrary,  wrote  plainer  verse,  and 
remained  a  bachelor. 

How  vain  is  all  beneath  the  skies. — D.  E.  Ford. 
Rev.  David  Everard  Ford  is  indebted,  posthumously,  to  Rev. 
E.    F.    Hatfield,  D.D.,    for  rescuing  him   from   religious  uncer- 


236  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

tainty.  It  was  not  until  the  appearance  of  the  Poets  of  the 
Church,  1884,  that  Mr.  Ford  was  really  established  as  a  Congre- 
gationalism 

He  was  born  at  Long-Melford,  England,  a  name  indelibly  im- 
pressed on  the  memory  of  any  lover  of  George  Borrow' s  Lavengro 
and  Romany  Rye.  Here  his  father,  Rev.  David  Ford,  ministered 
for  forty-two  years.  The  son  was  the  eldest  of  three  brothers, 
and  pursued  his  studies  for  the  ministry  at  Wymondley  College, 
Hertfordshire.  He  received  his  ordination  October  nth,  1821, 
as  pastor  of  the  Old  Town  Congregational  chapel,  Lymington-on- 
the-Solent,  overlooking  the  Isle  of  Wight.  Here  he  remained 
twenty-two  years,  until  November,  1843,  when  he  accepted  a  call 
from  a  new  church — Greengate  chapel,  Salford,  Manchester. 

Mr.  Ford  was  a  musician,  and  began  in  1823  his  publication 
of  Psalm  and  Hymn  Tunes,  a  matter  which  has  occupied  much  of 
his  attention.  The  date  of  the  present  hymn  is  given  as  1828. 
It  is  one  of  the  Hyiiins  on  the  Parables  of  Christ. 

One  of  the  quaint  legends  of  the  Talmud  relates  that  Alexander  the 
Great  once  wandered  to  the  gates  of  Paradise,  and  there  demanded 
entrance.  The  guardian  angel  asked  who  was  there.  In  reply,  Alexander 
announced  his  name.  "  Who  is  Alexander  ?"  inquired  the  angel.  "  Alex- 
ander the  conqueror  of  the  world,"  was  the  answer.  "  We  know  him 
not,"  said  the  angel  ;  "  this  is  the  Lord's  gate,  which  only  the  righteous 
can  enter."  Then  Alexander  prayed  for  a  token  that  he  had  indeed 
reached  the  gate  of  Paradise,  and  he  received  a  bone  which  was  broken 
from  a  skull.  When  this  was  weighed  in  a  balance  against  gold,  silver, 
and  jewels,  it  turned  the  beam  in  spite  of  their  greater  bulk.  Then  was 
it  revealed  to  him  that  this  was  the  bone  from  the  eye-socket  of  a  man, 
since  nothing  can  satisfy  man's  desires  until  he  rests  in  the  dust. 

I  am  so  glad  that  our  Father  in  heaven.  — Bliss. 

Phillipp  Bliss  was  born  in  Clearfield  County,  Pa.,  July  9th, 
1838.  His  first  name  was  spelled  in  this  singular  fashion,  and, 
later  on  in  life,  he  divided  it,  and  wrote  "  Philip  P.  Bliss" — or, 
more  frequently,  "  P.  P.  Bliss" — as  his  signature.  When  he 
was  only  twelve  years  old  he  joined,  by  immersion,  the  Baptist 
church  of  Cherry  Flats,  Tioga  County,  Pa.  He  was  thrown 
much  among  the  Methodists,  however,  and  was  early  familiar  with 
camp-meetings  and  revival  services.  He  regarded  William  B. 
Bradbury  as  his  instructor  and  pioneer  in  sacred  song. 

In   1864  he  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Chicago,  where  he 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  237 

entered  the  service  of  Mr.  George  F.  Root,  and  for  nearly  ten 
years  conducted  musical  institutes  and  conventions  in  the  West. 
The  crisis  of  his  life  was  reached  when,  in  May,  1874,  he  was  ap- 
proached by  Mr.  Moody,  Major  Whittle,  and  others  with  a  view 
to  his  engaging  in  evangelistic  work.  As  a  result,  the  names  of 
"  Whittle  and  Bliss"  became  almost  as  widely  known  as  those  of 
"Moody  and  Sankey."  Indeed  it  was  Mr.  Bliss  who  had  the 
chief  share  in  making  Gospel  Songs.  His  personal  singing  was 
one  of  the  charms  of  any  service  in  which  he  was  engaged.  The 
writer  of  these  lines  knew  him,  loved  him  and  lamented  him. 
It  is  a  memory  to  be  treasured  when  one  has  heard  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bliss  sing  "  Waiting  and  Watching  for  Me." 

On  Friday,  December  29th,  1876,  they  left  Rome,  Pa.,  for 
Chicago.  During  the  journey  Mr.  Bliss  was  busy  with  his  Bible, 
and  the  notes  of  a  new  song  which  he  was  writing.  But  at  Ash- 
tabula, O.,  a  bridge  suddenly  broke  ;  the  entire  train  was  thrown 
into  the  stream  below  ;  the  cars  caught  fire,  and  all  that  is  known 
further  is  that  Mr.  Bliss  escaped  through  a  broken  window,  and 
lost  his  life,  finally,  by  returning  to  save  his  wife. 

At  the  memorial  meeting  held  in  Chicago  after  his  death  it  was 
remembered  that  the  last  time  he  sang  in  that  city  he  had  said  : 
' '  I  don' t  know  as  I  shall  ever  sing  here  again,  but  I  want  to  sing 
this  as  the  language  of  my  heart."  Then  he  sang  :  "  I  know 
not  the  hour  when  my  Lord  will  come." 

The  present  hymn  was  the  rallying  song  of  the  Scottish  revival. 
It  was  suggested  to  its  author  by  the  fact  that  we  sang  so  much 
about  our  love  to  Christ  and  so  little  about  His  love  to  us. 

Mr.  Sankey  relates  that  a  little  dying  girl,  one  of  his  Thursday 
evening  singing-class,  bore  beautiful  testimony  to  the  power  of 
this  hymn  : 

"Don't  you  remember,"  she  said,  "one  Thursday  when  you  were 
teaching  me  to  sing  '  I  am  so  glad  that  Jesus  loves  me,'  and  don't  you 
remember  how  you  told  us  that  if  we  only  gave  our  hearts  to  him  he 
would  love  us  ?  and  I  gave  it  to  him." 

"  What  that  little  dying  girl  said  to  me,"  adds  Mr.  Sankey,  "  helped  to 
cheer  me  on  more  than  anything  I  had  heard  before,  because  she  was  my 
first  convert." 

A  missionary  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union  sanguis 
song  in  a  hamlet  in  Missouri,  where  he  had  just  organized  a  Sun- 


238  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

day-school.  He  then  put  the  question  :  "  Axe  you  glad  ?  If  not, 
why?"  when  a  young  man  in  the  deepest  emotion  rushed  up  to 
him,  threw  his  arms  around  his  neck,  and  besought  his  prayers. 
"  Oh,  that  song  \"  he  cried.  "  I  could  not  get  away  from  it, 
and  it  has  saved  me!" 

I  am  trusting  thee,  Lord  Jesus. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  hymn  is  taken  from  her  Poems,  p.  255 — "  Trusting  Jesus.  " 
It  has  six  stanzas.      Miss  Havergal 's  date  is  1874. 

I  ask  not  now  for  gold  to  gild.  — Whittier. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1850.     It  is  taken  from  the  piece  en- 
titled "  The  Wish  of  To-Day,"  and  is  by  the  Quaker  poet,  John 
Greenleaf  Whittier. 

I  bless  the  Christ  of  God. — Bonar. 
This  is  from  a  hymn  in  twelve  stanzas,  found  in  Dr.  Bonar' s 
Hymns   of  Faith  and  Hope,   second  series,    1861,   with   the  title, 
' '  Not  what  these  hands  have  done. ' ' 

I  build  on  this  foundation.  —  Massie,  tr. 
Mr.  Massie  has  made  this  rendering  of  Paul  Gerhardt's  "1st 
Gott  fiir  mich,  so  trete."  The  first  line  is,  "  If  God  himself  be  for 
me,"  and  there  are  eleven  eight-line  stanzas.  Miss  Winkworth 
has  also  offered  a  translation  of  this  same  piece,  for  a  portion  of 
which  we  refer  the  reader  to  "  Here  I  can  firmly  rest." 

I  cannot  tell  if  short  or  long.  — Knowlton. 
This  hymn  is  by  a  lady,  Miss  H.  O.  Knowlton,  who  was  a 
school-girl  in  Illinois  at  the  time  of  its  composition.  Professor 
W.  F.  Sherwin  received  it  from  her,  through  the  good  offices  of 
one  of  her  teachers,  a  mutual  friend.  The  author  married,  re- 
moved to  Minnesota  or  Dakota,  and  disappeared  from  Mr.  Sher- 
win's  knowledge — as  he  writes  under  date  of  February  25th, 
1884.  Her  name,  merged  in  that  of  her  husband,  has  also 
escaped  observation. 

I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say.  — Bonar. 

The  title  of  this  hymn  is,  "The  Voice  from  Galilee. — John 
1:16."  It  appears  in  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  first  series,  1857, 
and  is  in  three  stanzas. 

"The   Almighty,"   says   De  Tocqueville,  "does  not  general- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  239 

ize."  The  essence  of  this  lovely  hymn  is  that  very  thought.  It 
is,  "Come  unto  me"  .  .  .  "Lay  down,  thou  weary  one,  thy 
head."  And  so  the  verses  proceed  :  "/came  .  .  .  /found  .  .  . 
He  has  made  we  glad."  "Now  the  care  of  Christianity,"  says 
Bishop  Warburton,  "  is  for  particulars." 

I  feed  by  faith  on  Christ,  my  bread.  —Montgomery. 
This  is  No.  130  of  James  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns,  1853, 
in  six  stanzas,  and  is  entitled  "  The  Lord's  Supper." 
I  hear  my  Saviour  say. — Mrs.  Hall. 
Mrs.  Elvina   Mabel   Hall  was  born   in  Alexandria,  Va.,  June 
4th,  1818.     This  hymn  was  written  in  the  spring  of  1865  on  the 
fly-leaf  of  the  New  Lute  of  Zion.     Moreover,  we  are  bound  to  add 
that  the  writer  was  in  the  choir  gallery  of  a  Baltimore  church,  and 
that  the  pastor  was  praying,  while  this  poetic  inspiration  was  ex- 
pressing  itself  in  verse.     For  some  years  Mrs.  Hall  resided,  a 
widow,  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  but  a  paragraph  in  the  daily  papers  of 
September  10th,  1885,  shows  that  we  must  now   record   her  by 
another  name  and  residence.      She  was  married,   near  that  date, 
to  Rev.  Thomas  Myers,  of  Woodberry,  Md.,  a  gentleman  of  about 
eighty  years  of  age. 

I  journey  through  a  desert  drear  and  wild.— Mrs.  Walker. 
Mrs.  Mary  Jane  (Deck)  Walker  is  a  ^daughter  of  John  Deck, 
Esq.,  of  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  England,  and  sister  of  James 
George  Deck,  the  hymn- writer.  She  married,  in  1848,  the  Rev. 
Edward  Walker,  rector  of  Cheltenham.  Her  hymns  were  mainly 
contributed  to  her  husband's  compilation  of  Psalms  and  Hymns 
for  Public  and  Social  Worship. 

I  know  no  life  divided. — Massie,  tr. 
This  rendering  is  made  from  the  hymn,  "  0  Jesu,  meine  Sonne," 
of  Spitta  (1801-1859),  1833.  We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Massie 
himself  for  much  of  the  information  which  we  possess  regarding 
Carl  Johann  Philipp  Spitta.  Dr.  Munkel  (1861)  has  also  given 
us  a  biography  of  his  friend. 

Spitta  was  of  humble  family.  His  father  was  French,  and  his 
mother  a  baptized  Jewess.  He  was  born  in  Hanover,  August  1st, 
1 80 1,  and  his  earliest  years  were  marked  by  the  presence  in  his 
character  of  gentle  and  pious  traits.      His  father's  death,  when  the 


240  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

child  was  but  four  years  of  age,  threw  his  care  and  training  entirely 
on  his  mother,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  woman  possessed  of 
much  more  than  ordinary  intellect  and  good  sense.  The  boy  was 
sick  from  his  tenth  to  his  fourteenth  year,  and  this  prevented  her 
cherished  design  of  preparing  him  for  the  university.  He  was  at 
length  apprenticed  to  a  watchmaker  ;  but  the  confinement  proved 
irksome,  and  he  solaced  himself  with  his  Bible  and  the  writing  of 
hymns.  In  1818  he  renewed  his  original  purpose  of  entering  the 
ministry,  and,  on  the  death  of  his  younger  brother,  he  set  about 
his  preparation  in  earnest.  At  first  he  studied  at  home.  He  then 
was  received  into  the  highest  class  of  the  school,  and  in  1821  he 
was  regularly  enrolled  at  the  University  of  Gottingen.  From  1824 
to  1828  he  was  a  private  tutor  near  Liineburg — a  place  a  ways  as- 
sociated, in  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  this  notice,  with  Ernestus,  its 
duke,  who  struck  certain  coins  on  which  was  the  motto,  Aliis 
servens  meipsum  contero — "  In  working  for  others  I  wear  myself 
away. ' '  Here  at  Liineburg,  Spitta  wrote  many  hymns  ;  and  in 
1828  he  began  his  labors  as  a  Lutheran  clergyman  at  Sudwalde, 
Hanover. 

As  might  have  been  anticipated  he  proved  to  be  a  devoted  pastor 
and  an  evangelical  preacher — a  man  whose  earnestness  excited  op- 
position as  well  as  approval.  In  1830  he  assumed  the  chaplaincy 
of  the  reformatory  and  garrison  at  Hameln,  in  Hanover,  and  in 
1833  he  published  his  Psaltery  and  Harp,  embracing  sixty-six 
hymns.  This  sprang  into  immediate  popularity,  and  in  1861  it 
had  attained  a  twenty-third  edition.  Again,  his  zeal  aroused  jeal- 
ousy and  resistance,  and  he  was  removed  in  1837  to  Wechold  in 
Hoya,  Hanover. 

He  had  been  married,  October  4th,  1837,  to  Joanna  Mary  Mag- 
dalene Hotzen,  and  was  ultimately  the  parent  of  seven  children. 
His  home  was  the  abode  of  peace  and  domestic  enjoyment,  and 
he  was  never  so  happy  as  when  he  was  singing  hymns  with  his 
daughters. 

In  1843  a  second  collection  of  his  pieces  was  issued,  which  had 
come  to  a  seventh  edition  in  1869.  He  removed  not  long  after- 
ward (1847)  to  Wittingen,  in  Liineburg,  where  he  became  super- 
intendent  mmister.  In  1853  he  was  made  chief  pastor  at  Peine, 
and  two  years  later  the  University  of  Gottingen  bestowed  on  him 
the  degree  of  D.D.     He  was  appointed  to  the  church  at  Burgdorf, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


241 


in  1859,  anc*  while  visiting  his  district  as  rural  dean  was  attacked 
by  gastric  fever,  and  died,  September  28th,  1859,  from  a  superven- 
ing disease  of  the  heart.  After  his  death  his  scattered  unpublished 
pieces  were  collected  under  the  title,  Nachgelassene  Geistliche 
Lieder.  Dr.  Huntington  adds  to  our  information  concerning  this 
writer  that  "  most  of  his  hymns  were  set  to  music,  and  that  he 
often  sang  them  at  evening  with  his  daughters,  perhaps  composing 
both  hymn  and  tune  together,  as  Luther  did, — the  harmony  of 
the  voices  and  the  melody  of  the  words  being  such  that  crowds  of 
people  used  to  gather  under  his  windows  to  listen." 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives — C.  Wesley. 
From  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1 74  2.     The  original  has  twenty- 
three  stanzas.      It  bears   the   title,  "Rejoicing  in  Hope. — Rom. 
12  :  12."     The  second  line  is,  "  And  ever  prays  for  me." 

I  lay  my  sins  on  Jesus. — Bonar. 
Dr.  Bonar  entitles  this  "  The  Substitute."     It  was  published  in 
his  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  first  series,    1857,  in  four  stanzas. 
The  inscription  indicates  that  it  was  founded  upon  a  portion  of  a 
Latin  hymn  of  about  the  fourteenth  century  : 

"  Jesu  plena  caritate 
Manus  tuae  perforata^ 
Laxent  mea  crimina." 

This  hymn  of  Dr.  Bonar  has  been  traced  to  the  Bible  Hymin- 
Book,  1844. 

I  left  it  all  with  Jesus,  long  ago. — Miss  Willis. 
The  name  of  Miss  Ellen  H.  Willis,  an  English  lady,  belongs 
with    this   piece.      It   appears  in  the  Gospel   Songs  of  Bliss  and 
Sankey. 

I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord. — Dwight. 

This  is  the  composition  of  the  author  of  the  Conquest  of  Canaan, 
the  Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  who  was  born  in 
Northampton,  Mass.,  May  14th,  1752,  and  died  in  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  January  nth,  18 17,  as  President  of  Yale  College.  He  had 
entered  the  college  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  was  graduated  in 
the  class  of  1769.  He  next  became  a  tutor,  and,  when  he  resigned 
this  post  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  the  students  were  unanimous 


242  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

for  his  election  as  president.  He  was  finally  chosen  in  1795,  and 
held  the  office  until  his  death.  The  interval  between  his  tutorship 
and  the  presidency  was  spent  as  a  chaplain  in  the  Revolutionary 
army  and  as  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Greenfield, 
Conn.  Dr.  Dwight  is  known  by  his  Theology,  which  contains  the 
views  of  a  moderate  Calvinist,  and  has  been  lately  reprinted  in 
England.  His  piety  was  pure  and  gentle,  and  this  hymn  expresses 
with  admirable  correctness  the  purpose  of  his  life.  He  was,  in 
fact,  one  of  the  broadest  and  most  scholarly  examples  of  American 
culture  at  that  period,  and  his  ability  had  no  small  share  in  de- 
termining the  opinion  of  other  nations  in  regard  to  the  United 
States,  and  the  trend  of  thought  and  education  at  home. 

Dr.  Dwight  had  been  requested  by  the  General  Association  of 
Connecticut,  in  1797,  to  complete  Watts' s  version  of  the  Psalms, 
a  task  left  unfinished  by  Joel  Barlow,  the  American  poet,  whose 
book  appeared  in  1785.  The  work  was  approved  in  1800,  and 
consists  of  a  revision  of  Dr.  Watts's  Psalms,  with  such  other 
hymns  and  additions  as  Dr.  Dwight  found  suitable.  In  the  edi- 
tion of  Dwight' s  Watts  now  before  us,  this  hymn  is  "  Ps.  137, 
third  part,  S.  M.,"  in  eight  stanzas. 

Dr.  Dwight  is  a  wonderful  example  of  energy  and  application 
under  great  physical  disadvantages.  His  sight  failed  him  after  his 
recovery  from  small-pox,  with  which,  in  the  barbarous  manner  of 
ancient  days,  he  had  been  deliberately  inoculated.  For  the  greater 
part  of  forty  years  he  was  seldom  able  to  read  consecutively  for 
fifteen  minutes  during  the  twenty-four  ;  and  for  days  and  weeks 
together  his  eyes  were  often  useless.  The  pain  behind  the  eye- 
balls and  in  the  frontal  region  of  the  brain  was  constant  and  ago- 
nizing. Yet,  in  defiance  of  all  this,  he  achieved  the  results  which 
we  have  but  partially  recorded. 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away. — Brown. 

Phcebe  Hinsdale  was  the  daughter  of  George  Hinsdale,  the  re- 
puted composer  of  the  old  tune  that  bears  that  name.  She  was 
born  at  Canaan,  N.  Y.,  May  1st,  1783,  and  was  left  an  orphan  at 
two  years  of  age.  Her  opportunities  for  education  were  slight 
enough.  She  never,  it  is  presumed,  had  more  than  three  months 
of  consecutive  school  instruction,  and  she  was  eighteen  before  she 
even  learned  to  read.      "  As  to  my  history,"  so  she  wrote  to  Rev. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


243 


Elias  Nason,  "  it  is  soon  told.    A  sinner  saved  by  grace  and  sanc- 
tified by  trials." 

Always  poor,  and  pressed  by  the  daily  ca-es  of  the  house,  she 
did  not  improve  her  worldly  fortune  by  marriage  with  Timothy  H. 
Brown,  a  house-painter,  who  took  her  with  him  to  Ellington, 
Tolland  County,  Conn.  Here  she  first  began  to  use  her  pen. 
Here  also  she  crept  away  at  dusk  from  her  children  and  her  pov- 
erty to  a  grove  near  by,  where  she  could  meditate  and  pray.  The 
gossips  who  observed  these  evening  excursions  did  not  fail  to  put 
their  own  coarse  construction  upon  them.  It  was  due  to  this  un- 
kindness  that  the  persecuted  woman  replied,  in  the  verses  which 
we  quote  in  their  original  form  : 

AN   APOLOGY   FOR   MY   TWILIGHT    RAMBLES,    ADDRESSED 
TO   A    LADY. 

{Ellington.  August,  1818.) 

Yes,  when  the  toilsome  day  is  gone, 

And  night,  with  banners  gray, 
Steals  silently  the  glade  along 

In  twilight's  soft  array, 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away 

From  little  ones  and  care, 
And  spend  the  hours  of  setting  day 

In  gratitude  and  prayer. 

I  love  to  feast  on  Nature's  scenes 

When  falls  the  evening  dew. 
And  dwell  upon  her  silent  themes, 

Forever  rich  and  new. 

I  love  in  solitude  to  shed 

The  penitential  tear, 
And  all  God's  promises  to  plead 

Where  none  can  see  or  hear. 

I  love  to  think  on  mercies  past. 

And  future  ones  implore, 
And  all  my  cares  and  sorrows  cast 

On  Him  whom  I  adore. 

I  lo-'e  to  meditate  on  death  ! 

When  shall  his  message  come 
With  friendly  smiles  to  steal  my  breath 

And  take  an  exile  home  ? 


244  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

I  love  by  faith  to  take  a  view 

Of  blissful  scenes  in  Heaven  ; 
The  sight  doth  all  my  strength  renew, 

While  here  by  storms  I'm  driven. 

I  love  this  silent  twilight  hour 

Far  better  than  the  rest  ; 
It  is,  of  all  the  twenty-four, 

The  happiest  and  the  best. 

Thus,  when  life's  toilsome  day  is  o'er, 

May  its  departing  ray 
Be  calm  as  this  impressive  hour 

And  lead  to  endless  day. 

The  compression  of  this  into  the  five  stanzas  which  form  our 
familiar  hymn  was  effected  by  the  Evangelist  Nettleton  in  his  Vil- 
lage Hymns.  He  found  Mrs.  Brown  "in  a  very  humble  cot- 
tage/' at  Monson,  Mass.  Her  own  account  of  the  origin  of  the 
hymn  is  as  follows  : 

"  I  had,  while  living  in  East  Windsor,  kept  a  kind  of  diary,  and  con- 
tinued it  in  Ellington,  Conn.  I  wrote  several  scraps  of  poetry  in  Elling- 
ton, which  were  published  by  my  brother,  Nathan  Whiting,  in  the  Relig- 
ious Intelligencer,  at  New  Haven.  It  was  in  Ellington  that  I  wrote  the 
1  Twilight  Hymn.'  My  baby  daughter  was  in  my  arms  when  I  wrote  it. 
I  had  been  out  on  a  visit  at  Dr.  Hyde's,  and  several  were  present.  After 
tea  one  of  my  neighbors,  who  I  had  ever  felt  was  my  superior  in  every 
way,  came  and  sat  down  near  me,  chatting  with  another  lady,  without 
noticing  me.  Just  as  I  was  rising  to  go  home,  she  turned  suddenly  upon 
me,  and  said  :  '  Mrs.  Brown,  why  do  you  come  up  at  evening  so  near 
our  house,  and  then  go  back  without  coming  in  ?  If  you  want  anything, 
why  don't  you  come  in  and  ask  for  it  ?  I  could  not  think  who  it  was,  and 
sent  my  girl  down  the  garden  to  see  ;  and  she  said  it  was  you.  That  you 
came  to  the  fence,  but,  seeing  her,  turned  quickly  away,  muttering  some- 
thing to  yourself.'  There  was  something  in  her  manner,  more  than  her 
words,  that  grieved  me.  I  went  home,  and  that  evening  was  left  alone. 
After  my  children  were  all  in  bed,  except  my  baby,  I  sat  down  in  the 
kitchen,  with  my  child  in  my  arms,  when  the  grief  of  my  heart  burst  forth 
in  a  flood  of  tears.  I  took  pen  and  paper,  and  gave  vent  to  my  op- 
pressed heart  in  what  I  called  '  My  Apology  for  my  Twilight  Rambles, 
addressed  to  a  Lady.'  It  will  be  found  in  its  original  form  in  an  old 
manuscript  among  my  papers.  In  preparing  it  (some  years  after)  for 
Nettleton's  '  Village  Hymns,'  some  three  or  four  verses  were  suppressed 
and  a  few  expressions  altered.     In  the  original  the  first  stanza  was  : 

4  I  love  to  steal   awhile  away 
From  little  ones  and  care.' 

This  was  strictly  true.     I  had  four  little  children  ;  a  small,  unfinished 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  245 

house  ;  a  sick  sister  in  the  only  finished  room  ;  and  there  was  not  a  place, 
above  or  below,  where  I  could  retire  for  devotion,  without  a  liability  to 
be  interrupted.  There  was  no  retired  room,  rock,  or  grove  where  I  could 
go,  as  in  former  days  ;  but  there  was  no  dwelling  between  our  house  and 
the  one  where  that  lady  lived.  Her  garden  extended  down  a  good  way 
below  her  house,  which  stood  on  a  beautiful  eminence.  The  garden  was 
highly  cultivated,  with  fruits  and  flowers.  I  loved  to  smell  the  fragrance 
of  both  (though  I  could  not  see  them),  when  I  could  do  so  without  neg- 
lecting duty  ;  and  I  used  to  steal  away  from  all  within  doors,  and,  going 
out  of  our  gate,  stroll  along  under  the  elms  that  were  planted  for  shade 
on  each  side  of  the  road.  And,  as  there  was  seldom  any  one  passing 
that  way  after  dark,  I  felt  quite  retired  and  alone  with  God.  I  often 
walked  quite  up  that  beautiful  garden,  and  snuffed  the  fragrance  of  the 
peach,  the  grape,  and  the  ripening  apple,  if  not  the  flowers.  I  never  saw 
any  one  in  the  garden,  and  felt  that  I  could  have  the  privilege  of  that 
walk  and  those  few  moments  of  uninterrupted  communion  with  God 
without  encroaching  upon  any  one  ;  but,  after  once  knowing  that  my  steps 
were  watched  and  made  the  subject  of  remark  and  censure,  I  never  could 
enjoy  it  as  I  had  done.  I  have  often  thought  Satan  had  tried  his  best  to 
prevent  me  from  prayer,  by  depriving  me  of  a  place  to  pray." 

The  singular  fact  regarding  this  account  is  not  that  it  is  given 
by  the  author  in  simple  and  touching  words,  but  that  it  comes  to 
us  from  the  Sandwich  Islands.  On  the  27th  of  January,  1879, 
Dr.  S.  R.  Brown,  of  Yokohama,  Japan  (Mrs.  Brown's  son),  sent 
to  Dr.  Damon  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  reply  to  his  request,  a 
long  letter  respecting  his  mother's  life  and  writings.  It  was  printed 
in  The  Friend,  Honolulu,  April,  1879,  an^  tne  statement  just 
given  is  taken  from  her  autobiography,  which  is  in  manuscript,  in 
the  possession  of  her  children.  This  personal  history  was  written 
at  their  urgent  entreaty  in  Chicago,  in  the  year  1849. 

Mrs.  Brown  lived  at  Monson  for  some  thirty  years,  until  about 
1849-50.  Subsequently,  she  removed  to  Henry,  111.,  and  there 
died,  October  10th,  1861.  Her  son,  who  died  recently,  was  the 
first  missionary  from  America  to  Japan,  and  went  out  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church.  The  autobiography 
and  poems  of  Mrs.  Brown  were  under  the  editorial  care  of  Rev. 
Charles  Hammond,  who  died  before  the  completion  of  his  task.  . 

Dr.  Brown  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Damon  gives  an  incident  which 
will  serve  to  show  how  deep  and  abiding  have  been  the  Christian 
influences  which  she  set  in  motion. 

"  A  month  ago  I  received  a  sprig  and  clover-blossom  from  her  grave, 
sent  me  by  a  gentleman  in   Walton  (N.  Y.),  who  always  visits  the  spot 


246  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

when  he  goes  to  Monson,  his  birthplace,  because  he  cannot  forget  his 
teacher,  having  been  a  member  of  an  infant  class  she  taught  there  for 
many  years.  It  was  a  large  class,  and  she  prepared  lessons  for  them  that 
were  published  by  the  Massachusetts  Sunday-school  Society.  .  .  .  Her 
record  is  on  high,  and  she  is  with  the  Lord,  whom  she  loved  and  served 
as  faithfully  as  any  person  I  ever  knew  ;  nay,  more  than  any  other.  To 
her  I  owe  all  I  am  ;  and  if  I  have  done  any  good  in  the  world,  to  her, 
under  God,  it  is  due.  She  seems  even  now  to  have  me  in  her  hands, 
holding  me  up  to  work  for  Christ  and  his  cause  with  a  grasp  that  I  can 
feel.  I  ought  to  have  been  and  to  be  a  far  better  man  than  I  am,  having 
had  such  a  mother." 

It  may  be  interesting  to  add  that  this  hymn,  which  is  before  us, 
was  (so  she  told  Dr.  Wolcott)  preserved  in  her  portfolio  for  a  long 
time  unpublished,  and  was  probably  rescued  by  Rev.  Lavius 
Hyde,  husband  of  the  hymn-writer,  Abigail  (Bradley)  Hyde.  It 
is  also  said  that  Nettleton  was  advised  by  Rev.  Alfred  Ely,  D.D. 
(Mrs.  Brown's  brother-in-law  and  pastor  of  a  church  at  Monson), 
to  apply  to  Mrs.  Brown  for  some  hymns,  and  this  and  three  others 
were  given  to  him  for  his  use. 

The  tune  "  Monson"  was  composed  for  this  hymn  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Samuel  R.  Brown,  her  son  ;  and  the  tune  "  Brown"  was  written 
for  the  same  purpose  by  William  B.  Bradbury,  and  named  in  her 
honor.  She  contributed  also  to  the  Parish  Hymns,  compiled  in 
Philadelphia  by  S.  C.  Brace,  in  1843,  and  her  pieces  were  desig- 
nated in  that  collection  by  the  reversed  initials,  "  B.  H.  P." 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  146,  P.  M.  It  is  entitled 
11  Praise  to  God  for  his  goodness  and  truth,"  and  consists  of  six 
stanzas.  It  was  with  the  words  of  the  opening  line  of  this  piece 
upon  his  lips  that  John  Wesley  rose,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight,  for 
his  last  day  upon  earth.  "  I  will  get  up,"  he  said,  and  began 
singing  the  stanza.  Seated  in  his  chair,  he  murmured  :  "  Lord, 
thou  givest  strength  to  those  that  can  speak,  and  to  those  that 
cannot.  Speak,  Lord,  to  all  our  hearts,  and  let  them  know  that 
thou  loosest  tongues.  "  Then  he  started  again  to  sing  what  proved 
to  be  his  final  song  on  this  side  of  the  City  : 

"  To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
Who  sweetly  all  agree." 

But  his  voice  was  exhausted,  and  after  gasping  a  moment  for 
breath,  he  said  :   "  Now  we  have  done  ;  let  us  all  go."     During 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  247 

the  few  hours  that  remained,  he  often  tried  to  repeat  this  hymn, 
but  could  only  manage  to  utter  :  "I'll  praise — I'll  praise."  And 
at  the  end,  he  said  nothing  more,  but — "  Farewell." 

I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord. — Watts. 

This  hymn  is  printed  at  the  close  of  a  sermon  on  2  Tim.  1:12. 
It  is  No.  103  of  Dr.  Watts's  first  book  of  hymns,  and  has  four 
stanzas,  with  the  title,  "  Not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel." 

In  relating  the  account  of  a  visit  paid  to  a  minister  much  broken 
in  health,  Dr.  Leifchild  says  : 

"  I  found  but  the  wreck  and  remnant  only  of  what  I  had  formerly 
known  him  to  be.  .  .  .  He  seemed  wholly  taken  up  with  trifles,  and 
was  muttering  a  request  for  sweetmeats,  as  though  he  were  in  reality 
again  a  child.  I  was  confounded  and  appalled  at  .what  I  saw,  and  ex- 
claimed :  '  What,  my  old  friend,  do  you  not  know  me  ? '  He  gave  no  re- 
sponse, but  simply  repeated  his  former  request.  One  of  his  daughters 
then  said  to  me  :  '  Ask  him  something  about  the  Scriptures  or  the  Saviour, 
and  you  will  soon  see  a  vast  difference.'  Upon  this  I  said  to  him  as  if 
complainingly  :  '  Well,  I  see  you  do  not  know  me ;  do  you  know  Jesus% 
whom  I  serve  in  the  Gospel  ?  '  He  started  and  looked  as  if  just  aroused 
from  sleep  ;  when,  lifting  up  his  eyes,  he  exclaimed  : 

'  Jesus,  my  God,  I  know  his  name  ; 
His  name  is  all  my  trust  ; 
Nor  will  he  put  my  soul  to  shame, 
Nor  let  my  hope  be  lost  !  '  " 

I  need  thee,  precious  Jesus  ! — F.  Whitfield. 

This  hymn  is  found  in  the  Rev.  Frederick  Whitfield's  Sacred 
Poems  and  Prose,  1859.  The  author  is  the  son  of  H.  Whitfield, 
and  was  born  at  Threapwood,  in  Shropshire,  January  7th,  1829. 
He  was  graduated  at  Dublin  University  in  1859  J  ordained  deacon, 
1859  ;  ordained  priest,  i860  ;  curate  of  Otley,  Yorkshire,  1859— 
61  ;  rector  of  Kirkby-Ravensworth,  1861  ;  and  has  been  in- 
cumbent of  St.  John's,  Bexley  Heath,  London,  and  vicar  of  St. 
Mary's,  Hastings.  He  has  also  been  Secretary  for  Irish  Church 
Missions,  and  has  some  repute  as  an  author  and  poet.  This 
hymn  is  based  on  the  words,  "  Unto  you  who  believe,  he  is  pre- 
cious." 

I  see  a  man  at  God's  right  hand. — Bonar. 

In  Dr.  William  Reid's  Praise  Book  (third  edition,  1873)  this 
hymn  is  first  found.  It  was  taken  from  the  first  edition  and  printed 
by  Rev.  J.    H.  Brookes,  D.  D.,  in  his  Gospel  Hymns,  St.   Louis, 


248  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Mo.,  1 87 1.  Dr.  Reid,  in  an  autograph  letter  to  Dr.  E.  F.  Hat- 
field, which  we  have  seen,  declares  that  he  has  included  in  the 
Praise  Book  "  everything  that  was  singable"  of  Dr.  Bonar's 
hymns.  The  author  of  the  Blood  of  Jesus — that  wonderful  little 
tract — might  well  appreciate  and  introduce  his  friend's  verses. 

I  saw  one  hanging  on  a  tree. — J.  Newton. 

This  is  part  of  the  illustrious  hymn,  "  In  evil  long  I  took  de- 
light," and  is  Book  II.,  No.  57,  "  Looking  at  the  Cross,"  in 
the  Olney  Hymns,  1779.      ^  nas  eight  stanzas. 

The  life  of  Rev.  John  Newton  was  written  by  the  pious  and 
scholarly  Rev.  Richard  Cecil,  and  revised  by  Mr.  Newton's  own 
hand.  It  may  therefore  be  considered  as  the  most  accurate 
account  which  we  possess,  as  it  certainly  is  one  of  the  most  read- 
able. The  second  edition  of  this  work,  London,  1808,  is  our 
authority  for  any  statements  in  the  present  notice.  There  is  also 
a  later  and  fuller  biography,  but  the  facts  which  we  require  are 
unaltered  by  it. 

John  Newton  was  born  in  London,  July  24th,  1725  ("  old  style" 
— i.e.,  August  4th,  of  our  present  reckoning).  His  parents  were 
"  respectable  though  not  wealthy/'  and  his  father  was  for  many 
years  the  master  of  a  vessel  in  the  Mediterranean  trade.  In  1748 
he  entered  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  service,  became  "  gov- 
ernor" of  their  Fort  York,  and  died  in  1750.  His  wife,  New- 
ton's mother,  was  a  godly  woman  and  a  Dissenter.  She  was  in 
feeble  health,  and  of  consumptive  habit,  loving  retirement  and  the 
care  of  her  only  child.  She  constantly  prayed  and  earnestly  hoped 
for  his  salvation,  and  Newton  was  told  that  from  his  birth  he  had 
been  devoted  to  the  ministry.  It  was  intended  that  he  should 
receive  an  education  suited  to  this  end,  but  before  he  was  seven 
years  old  his  mother  died. 

The  child  was  rather  thoughtful  and  sedentary,  and  learned  to 
read  (hard  names  excepted)  when  he  was  only  four  years  of  age. 
He  also  knew  the  Westminster  Catechism  with  all  the  appended 
Scripture  texts,  and  had  by  heart  Dr.  Watts' s  Child's  Catechism, 
and  all  the  hymns  for  children  which  that  father  of  English 
hymnody  composed.  The  bearing  of  these  facts  on  his  own 
future  career  can  easily  be  estimated. 

Newton's  father  shortly  married  again,  and  a  step-brother  soon 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  249 

"  engrossed  the  old  gentleman's  notice,"  as  Newton  quaintly 
told  Cecil.  Hence,  with  no  decided  religious  teaching  at  home, 
and  being  free  to  run  loose  with  other  wild  lads,  the  boy  was  in  a 
fair  way  to  become  bad  himself.  He  had  but  two  years  of  school- 
ing—though he  educated  himself  marvellously  well,  later  on— and 
this  period  was  between  his  eighth  and  tenth  years.  His  father 
was  not  really  neglectful,  nor  was  his  step-mother  unkind,  but 
somehow  the  discipline  was  too  severe.  Fear  of  his  schoolmaster 
also,  he  says,  nearly  made  him  "a  dolt."  He  presently  lost 
whatever  good  his  own  mother  had  taught  him. 

On  his  eleventh  birthday  he  went  on  board  his  father's  ship,  and 
made  five  voyages  with  him  to  the  Mediterranean.  During  the 
last  of  these  voyages  he  was  left  at  Alicant,  in  Spain,  with  a  mer- 
chant, a  particular  friend  of  his  father,  and  could  have  been  settled 
in  a  good  business.  But  he  was  both  careless  and  vicious,  and 
"  being  his  own  enemy  he  seemed  determined  that  nobody  should 
be  his  friend." 

In  1742  his  father  left  the  sea,  but  Newton  made  one  more 
voyage  to  Venice,  before  the  mast.  On  his  return  he  was  im- 
pressed on  board  of  the  "  Harwich"  man-of-war,  and  there  and 
then  he  appears  to  have  abandoned  every  virtuous  principle.  It 
may  be  that  his  Narrative  is,  like  the  great  mass  of  similar  produc- 
tions, rather  overdrawn.  Very  few  penitent  sinners  can  preserve 
themselves  from  the  desire  to  paint  their  previous  lives  as  black  as 
possible.  And  Newton  has  been  more  than  once  criticised  for  this 
Narrative,  which  he  certainly  intended  as  an  ample  and  honest 
confession  of  his  past  misconduct. 

Mr.  Cecil's  judicious  treatment  of  such  a  mass  of  information 
brings  out  of  it  the  assurance  that  Newton's  conscience  was  never 
completely  at  ease.  "  He  took  up  and  laid  aside  a  religious  pro- 
fession three  or  four  different  times,  before  he  was  sixteen  years 
of  age. "  But  during  all  this  protracted  struggle  he  confesses  that 
his  heart  was  insincere.  He  might  be,  and  he  was,  a  Pharisee  in 
rigid  performance  of  duty,  but  he  was  only  going  about  to  estab- 
lish his  own  righteousness.  It  sounds  strangely  when  one  is  told 
that  this  wild  and  dangerous  scapegrace  often  fasted  and  fre- 
quently spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  reading  the  Bible  and  in 
prayer.  For  two  years  he  once  held  to  such  a  course.  "  But," 
he  adds,  significantly,  "  it  was  a  poor  religion." 


250  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

About  the  date  when  his  father  gave  up  his  seafaring  life,  New- 
ton was  affected  by  infidelity.  He  read  Shaftesbury,  and  liked 
him.  And  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  1742  he  fell  vio- 
lently in  love  with  a  lady  (a  Miss  Mary  Catlett),  who  had  been 
destined,  strangely  enough,  both  by  her  mother  and  his  own  for 
his  future  wife.  It  was  a  notably  romantic  affair.  He  was  so 
reckless  in  respect  to  delaying  at  her  home  as  to  lose  an  important 
business  opportunity,  and  when  he  again  visited  her  in  1743  he 
did  much  the  same  thing.  Finally,  his  impressment  on  the 
"  Harwich"  was  caused  by  his  thoughtless  wearing  of  a  checked 
shirt,  and  so  drawing  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  sailor. 

The  captain  of  the  "  Harwich,"  at  the  instance  of  Newton's 
father,  promoted  him  to  a  midshipman's  berth.  This  put  him 
among  the  gentlemen,  but,  as  a  war  with  the  French  was  threaten- 
ing, it  was  the  best  that  could  be  done,  and  there  was  no  hope  of 
his  release.  His  delight  was  now  to  talk  virtue  and  practice  vice 
— a  feature  of  his  character  which  must  have  rendered  him  severe 
enough  in  later  life,  both  upon  himself  and  on  others.  Such  is 
always  the  outcome  of  this  experience.  Augustine  is  an  excellent 
example. 

Newton's  habit  in  those  days  was  "  never  to  deliberate, "  but  to 
act  on  the  moment's  impulse.  Hence  he  deserted  at  Torbay,  but 
was  caught  and  brought  back,  like  a  felon,  to  Plymouth.  He 
was  kept  two  days  in  the  guard-house — then  sent  on  board  ship, 
stripped  and  whipped,  and  degraded  from  the  rank  of  midship- 
man to  his  old  place  in  the  forecastle. 

As  he  had  been  very  overbearing  to  the  men  he  now  suffered 
the  natural  consequences.  He  was  miserable  enough,  and  full  of 
11  eager  desire,  bitter  rage,  and  black  despair."  He  even  plotted 
suicide.  His  only  restraint  was  his  love  for  the  girl  whom  he 
afterward  married. 

At  length  he  had  the  chance  to  be  exchanged  on  board  of  a 
Guinea  trader,  and  it  all  came  about  through  a  midshipman 
having  maliciously  cut  down  his  hammock  and  dropped  him  to 
the  deck  !  On  such  slight  events  turns  our  fate — as  though 
Ezekiel's  flying  wheels  of  Providence  rejoiced  to  whirl  upon  the 
slenderest  of  axles  !  And  now  Newton  was  embarked  on  that 
well-known  career  of  wickedness  which  landed  him  among  the 
slavers  of  Sierra  Leone.      Here  he  literally  was  famished,  and  no 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  251 

one  °-ave  unto  him.  He  was  reduced  to  so  low  an  ebb  that  he 
was  thankful,  not  exactly  for  the  husks  of  the  swine,  but  for  what 
may  well  stand  as  their  equivalent,  the  food  of  ' '  the  slaves  in  the 
chain,"  who  did  not  even  dare  to  be  seen  giving  it.  He  received 
also  an  abundance  of  scorn  and  contempt,  for  he  had  landed 
from  the  vessel  with  nothing  but  the  clothes  on  his  back,  and  was 
practically  a  slave  to  the  Portuguese  master  who  employed  him. 

He  appears,  moreover,  to  have  had  a  bitter  enemy  in  his  master's 
black  wife,  who  would  visit  him  in  his  illness  to  insult  him,  and 
would  set  her  attendants  to  mock  him,  mimic  his  actions,  and 
pelt  him  with  limes  and  even  with  stones.  This  disastrous  malig- 
nity, whose  cause  we  do  not  know,  wrought  out  another  result. 
The  master  was  persuaded  that  his  servant  cheated  him — about  the 
only  sin,  perhaps,  of  which  that  poor  wretch  could  not  have  been 
convicted  !  So  it  goes,  always,  and  the  way  of  this  transgressor 
was  only  another  proof  that  the  Bible  has  pictured  truly  the  fate 
of  the  evil-doer  in  all  its  "  hardness."  But  he  was  unchanged  in 
heart,  remaining  simply  "  a  tiger  tamed  by  hunger." 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  he  found  diversion  amid  this  dread- 
ful suffering  in  studying  mathematics,  and  mastered  Barrow's 
Euclid,  drawing  the  diagrams  of  the  first  six  books  with  a  stick  on 
the  sand.  His  miserable  condition  can  best  be  told  in  his  own 
words  : 

"  Had  you  seen  me,  Sir,  then  go  so  pensive  and  solitary  in  the  dead  of 
night  to  wash  my  one  shirt  upon  the  rocks,  and  afterward  put  it  on  wet, 
that  it  might  dry  upon  my  back,  while  I  slept  ;  had  you  seen  me  so  poor 
a  figure,  that  when  a  ship's  boat  came  to  the  island,  shame  often  con- 
strained me  to  hide  myself  in  the  woods,  from  the  sight  of  strangers  ; 
especially,  had  you  known  that  my  conduct,  principles,  and  heart  were 
still  darker  than  my  outward  condition— how  little  would  you  have  im- 
agined, that  one,  who  so  fully  answered  to  the  arvynrol  nal  fuoovvrec 
['  hateful  and  hating  one  another']  of  the  Apostle,  was  reserved  to  be  so 
peculiar  an  instance  of  the  providential  care  and  exuberant  goodness  of 
God." 

The  nature  of  his  wickedness  can  be  better  appreciated  when  we 
find  him  speaking  of  his  "  vile,  licentious  life,"  and  yet  referring 
to  his  love  for  the  girl  he  had  left  behind  him  in  England,  as  the 
only  good  desire  he  possessed. 

After  a  while  Newton  was  transferred  to  another  trader  on  the 
same  island — the  largest  of  the  three  Plantanes,  near  the  mouth  of 


252  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  Sherbro  River.  Here  he  was  treated  decently,  trusted,  and 
grew  almost  happy  and  Africanized.  But  in  the  mean  time  some 
of  his  letters  had  reached  England  and  his  father  had  sent  out  to 
ransom  him  by  a  vessel  then  on  her  voyage  to  the  coast.  Here, 
again,  Providence  interfered,  for  the  captain,  landing  at  Sierra 
Leone,  discovered  that  Newton  was  far  away,  and  troubled  himself 
no  more  on  the  subject.  In  reality  the  poor  fellow  was  then  at 
Kittam,  scarcely  a  mile  from  the  ship,  and,  in  a  restless  mood,  he 
and  a  fellow  servant  used  often  to  walk  on  the  beach,  crossing  the 
narrow  neck  of  land  from  the  inland  river.  In  February,  1747, 
they  saw  a  vessel  passing.  Others  had  gone  by  and  never  slack- 
ened sail,  but  this  one  unexpectedly  answered  their  smoke  signal, 
which  they  made  for  trading  purposes.  The  wind  was  fair,  and 
the  captain  at  first  was  disinclined  to  stop  ;  but,  when  he  rounded 
to,  Newton  and  his  companion  took  a  canoe  and  went  off.  It 
was  the  very  ship  whose  captain  had  the  order  for  his  return.  Half 
an  hour  later  they  would  have  failed  to  stay  her  course.  Notwith- 
standing which,  the  unrepenta.nt  prodigal,  being  now  well-fed  and 
clothed,  heard  the  news  with  indifference.  The  captain,  however, 
having  got  him  would  not  lose  him,  and  contrived  an  ingenious 
fiction— every  word  being  a  falsehood — to  the  effect  that  Newton 
had  come  into  £400  per  annum,  and  that  he  had  orders  to  redeem 
him  at  the  cost  of  half  his  cargo,  but  unfortunately  he  had  lost  the 
packet  of  papers  which  he  was  to  deliver.  This  seemed  plausible, 
especially  when  it  was  combined  with  the  hope  of  seeing  Mary 
Catlett,  whom  he  finally  married  February  1st,  1750. 

At  this  time,  then  (1747),  he  suddenly  accepted  the  captain's 
offer,  and  abruptly  left  Kittam.  Homeward  bound  he  was  lodged 
in  the  cabin,  and  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  having 
little  to  do  and  nothing  to  read,  he  came  upon  Stanhope's 
Thomas  a  Kempis.  Like  hundreds  of  the  deepest  and  most  devout 
Christians,  he,  too,  was  affected  by  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  and 
asked  himself  if  it  could  be  true.  The  voyage  was  interrupted  by 
a  severe  storm.  The  ship  was  in  danger  of  sinking,  and  to  the 
awakened  conscience  of  Newton  every  word  and  circumstance  had 
a  spiritual  fitness.  When,  at  length,  the  peril  was  practically  ended, 
he  arrived  at  that  day  in  his  life  which  he  commemorated  with  the 
profoundest  gratitude  ever  afterward.  It  was  the  10th  of  March, 
"old  style"  (or,  as  we  would  say,  the   21st),  1748.      [The  new 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  253 

style  came  in  in  1752.]  He  was  at  the  pumps  from  three  in  the 
morning  until  noon,  and  being  utterly  exhausted  lay  down  in  his 
berth.  Called  in  about  an  hour,  he  could  only  muster  strength  to 
steer.  This  he  did  till  midnight,  and  there,  at  the  wheel,  God's 
mercy  reached  his  heart.  He  thought  of  "  those  awful  passages, 
Prov.  1  :  24-31  ;  Heb.  6  :  4-6  ;  and  2  Pet.  2  :  20."  He  felt 
himself  doomed  by  the  divine  wrath.  And  when  at  six  in  the 
evening  he  heard  that  the  ship  was  free  from  water,  and  that  there 
was  some  hope,  he  began  to  pray.  His  prayer  was  "  like  the  cry 
of  the  ravens,  which  yet  the  Lord  does  not  disdain  to  hear."  He 
remembered  Jesus,  whom  he  had  "  so  often  derided."  And  now 
he  wanted  evidence  ;  he  desired  to  believe.  Light  did  not  come 
at  once,  but  this  was  the  earliest  streaking  of  the  dawn,  and  hence 
he  always  observed  this  day  as  that  of  his  spiritual  birth. 

Our  space  will  not  permit  any  further  enlargement  of  this  story. 
Suffice  it  that  Newton  turned  eagerly  to  the  New  Testament,  and 
that,  after  great  hardship,  they  reached  their  port.  He  found  him- 
self freed  from  the  habit  of  profane  swearing,  and  felt  a  sincere 
sorrow  for  his  past  life.  To  all  appearance  he  was  a  new  man, 
and  the  ship-owner,  whose  vessel  brought  him  home,  took  him 
into  his  service.  This  was  important,  as  the  elder  Newton  had 
just  gone  to  America,  where  he  died,  but  not  without  learning  of 
his  son's  reformation. 

It  was  only  this  and  nothing  else — a  reformation,  which  took 
him  to  church  and  externally  improved  him,  but  which  did  not 
prevent  his  going  again  in  the  Guinea  trade  and  purchasing  slaves 
whom  he  sold  in  the  West  Indies.  Mentally,  though,  as  well  as 
morally,  he  advanced.  He  had  several  hair-breadth  escapes— in 
which  any  one  who  reads  of  them  can  see  that  ordinary  luck  or 
good  fortune  will  not  quite  explain  his  preservation  from  death. 

Subsequent  to  his  marriage  he  made  several  voyages  as  captain, 
trading  to  the  African  and  West  Indian  ports.  After  six  years  of 
morality  he  then  experienced  the  power  of  true  godliness  through 
the  aid  of  a  pious  captain  whom  he  met  at  St.  Christophers.  For 
nearly  a  month  they  spent  alternate  evenings  in  each  other's 
cabins.  This  good  friend  brought  him  to  his  knees  in  social 
prayer,  taught  him  the  love  of  Christ  indeed,  and,  when  he  reached 
Liverpool,  August,  1754,  he  was  for  the  first  time  a  regenerated 
man. 


254  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

At  this  point  God  put  forth  his  hand  in  a  marked  manner. 
Newton  fell  in  a  fit  at  his  own  table,  and  the  physicians  declared 
him  unfit  for  a  new  voyage.  He  resigned  the  command  of  his 
vessel ;  the  man  who  went  in  his  place  died,  as  did  many  others  ; 
and  Newton,  through  his  friend  the  captain,  became  acquainted 
with  a  circle  of  religious  people.  His  wife  was  taken  ill.  His 
means  ran  low.  By  degrees  he  was  brought  to  consecrate  every- 
thing to  Christ,  and  to  hope  that  he  might  be  called  into  his  ser- 
vice. He  became  temporarily  a  "  tide-surveyor,"  visiting  the  ar- 
riving ships  at  Liverpool  and  inspecting  those  in  dock.  He  had 
fifty  or  sixty  persons  under  his  control.  Once,  when  slightly  be- 
hind time — an  unusual  occurrence — the  vessel  to  which  he  was 
being  rowed  blew  up  just  before  he  reached  her.  Five  minutes 
sooner  would  have  lost  him  his  life  along  with  those  on  board, 
who  all  perished. 

During  this  period  he  was  studying  Greek  as  well  as  Latin,  and 
although  disappointed  in  his  first  application  for  a  position  in  the 
ministry  he  succeeded,  December  16th,  1758,  and  was  appointed 
to  a  curacy  in  the  Church  of  England.  But  the  irregularity  of  his 
entrance  was  an  obstacle,  and  the  Archbishop  of  York,  Dr.  Gil- 
bert, declined  to  ordain  him.  The  refusal,  curiously  enough, 
came  through  the  archbishop's  chaplain,  whose  name  also  was 
Newton. 

In  1764  he  was  offered  the  curacy  of  Olney,  and  Dr.  Green,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  examined  him  and  ordained  him  as  deacon,  at 
Buckden,  April  29th,  1764.  The  next  year  he  was  made  a  priest. 
The  Olney  people  were  evangelical,  and  had  been  under  an  excel- 
lent vicar,  Rev.  Moses  Brown,  whose  duties  Mr.  Newton  now 
undertook.  A  Mr.  Thornton  also  became  his  friend,  not  only  as 
a  Christian  but  in  temporal  affairs,  too  ;  and  this  generous  patron 
gave  him,  first  and  last,  little  short  of  £3000  ($15,000),  during 
his  stay  at  Olney.  This  enabled  Newton  to  extend  his  benevo- 
lence beyond  what  would  have  been  otherwise  possible. 

Here  at  Olney  he  met  William  Cowper,  the  poet.  And  while 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Newton's  almost  ascetic  earnestness  was 
likely  to  foster  the  morbidness  in  Cowper's  character,  it  is  equally 
clear  that  the  robustness  of  the  sailor  was  of  great  use  to  the  fragil- 
ity of  the  poet.  Few  persons  realize  that  Cowper  was  over  fifty 
years  of  age  when  he  published  his  first  poems,  and  that  the  Olney 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  255 

Hymns  were  among  the  earliest  developments  of  his  poetry  as  well 
as  of  his  religion.  He  was  born  in  1731,  came  to  Olney  in  1767, 
and  the  hymns  were  printed  in  1779  ;  whereas  "John  Gilpin" 
only  saw  the  light  in  1782,  and  the  "  Task"  appeared  in  1784. 

In  1 779  Newton  became  rector  of  the  united  parishes  of  St. 
Mary-Woolnoth  and  St.  Mary- Woolchurch -Haw,  in  Lombard 
Street,  London.  Here  he  labored  faithfully,  and  died  in  peace  on 
the  2 1  st  of  December,  1807.  His  epitaph,  written  by  himself, 
deserves  to  stand  as  the  peroration  of  this  account  : 
JOHN   NEWTON,  Clerk, 

Once  an  Infidel  and  Libertine, 

A  servant  of  slaves  in  Africa, 

Was,  by  the  rich  mercy  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 

JESUS    CHRIST, 

Preserved,  restored,  pardoned. 

And  appointed  to  preach  the  Faith 

He  had  long  laboured  to  destroy, 

Near  16  years  at  Olney  in  Bucks  ; 

And  .  .  .  years  in  this  church. 


"  And  I  earnestly  desire,"  he  added,  "  that  no  other  monu- 
ment, and  no  inscription  but  to  this  purport,  may  be  attempted 
for  me."  Yet  his  services  as  a  hymn-writer  would  of  themselves 
and  alone  preserve  his  memory  among  the  precious  things  of  the 
Church. 

I  sing  the  almighty  power  of  God.— Watts. 

From  the  Divine  and  Moral  Songs  for  the  Use  of  Children.  It  is 
the  second  number,  and  is  entitled  "  Praise  for  Creation  and 
Providence. ' '      It  has  eight  stanzas. 

I  stand  on  Zion's  mount. — J.  Swain. 
This  hymn,  written  probably  at  some  date  in  the  neighborhood 
of  1790,  represents  the  confident  trust  of  a  Christian  soul.  When 
Mr.  Swain  was  converted  he  was  filled  with  such  joy  and  trust  that 
he  expressed  himself  in  many  similar  verses.  A  friend  overhearing 
him  as  he  sang  them  to  himself,  ascertained  their  meaning,  and 
took  him,  for  the  first  time,  to  hear  Gospel  preaching.  Not  long 
afterward  he  was  admitted  to  the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  Church. 
It  did  not  then  require  any  greater  preparation  for  such  a  service 


256  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

than  what  was  found  in  earnest  piety  and  a  ' '  gift ' '  in  prayer  and 
exhortation,  all  of  which  Swain  eminently  possessed. 

I've  found  the  pearl  of  greatest  price. — J.  Mason. 

This  well-known  hymn — much  altered  in  Bliss  and  Sankey's 
Gospel  Hymns — is  found  in  Whitefield's  Collection  (eighteenth  edi- 
tion, 1773),  whence  it  has  come  into  general  use  in  one  form  or 
*  another.  The  author  was  John  Mason,  who  wrote  the  Spiritual 
Songs,  1683,  and  who  is  commended  by  George  MacDonald  in 
E?igland 's  Antiphon.  He  was  contemporary  with  Bunyan  and 
Baxter,  Ken  and  Dryden,  Tate  and  Brady.  We  do  not  know 
when  he  was  born,  but  his  school- days  were  spent  in  Strixton,  near 
Northampton,  England.  He  entered  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge, 
1660,  and  was  graduated  as  B.A.,  1664,  and  M.A.,  1668.  His 
ministry  began  as  curate  at  Isham,  Northamptonshire  ;  next  he 
became  vicar  of  Stanton-Bury,  Buckinghamshire,  October  31st, 
1668,  where  he  remained  about  five  years.  January  28th,  1674, 
found  him  presented  to  the  rectory  of  Water-Stratford,  where  the 
Lord  gave  him  satisfaction  in  days  of  famine,  and  rest  in  the  midst 
of  troublous  times  round  about,  for  twenty  years.  He  died  there 
in  1694. 

This  was  the  man  whom  Richard  Baxter  styled  the  "  glory  of 
the  Church  of  England."  His  grandson,  Rev.  John  Mason, 
edited  his  Select  Remains, 

Of  his  personal  character  it  is  enough  to  say  that  he  was  an 
eccentric  and  even  enraptured  man,  who  declared  that  he  had 
visibly  "  seen  the  Lord.  "  He  has  a  remarkable  purity  of  spiritual 
expression,  and  his  hymns  undoubtedly  affected  Watts,  Pope,  and 
the  Wesleys.  His  is  that  fine  Sabbath  hymn — whose  first  line 
suggests  George  Herbert's  poem  : 

"  Blest  day  of  God,  most  calm,  most  blight, 
The  first  and  best  of  days." 
His,   too,  is  that  other   hymn,    "  Now  from  the    altar   of   my 
heart. ' '     Daniel  Sedgwick  reprinted  the  Spiritual  Songs — and  they 
are  well  worthy  of  it. 

If  human  kindness  meets  return. — Noel. 
The  Hon.  and  Rev.  Gerard  Thomas  Noel,  the  second  son  of 
Sir  Gerard   Noel-Edwardes,  Bart.,  and  Diana,  the  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Charles  Middleton,  first  Baron  Barham,  was  born  De- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.      .  257 

cember  2d,  1782.  He  had  the  first  Earl  of  Gainsborough  for  an 
elder  brother,  and  his  younger  brother  was  the  celebrated  Rev. 
Baptist  W.  Noel.  The  studies  of  Gerard  Noel  were  prosecuted  at 
Edinburgh  and  Cambridge  Universities.  His  degrees  (of  B.A., 
1805,  and  M.A.,  1808)  were  received  from  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge. He  then  entered  the  ministry  and  became  curate  of  Rad- 
well,  Hertfordshire  ;  then  vicar  of  Rainham,  Kent,  and  curate  of 
Richmond,  Surrey.  His  final  positions  were  canon  of  Winchester 
cathedral,  1834,  and  vicar  of  Romsey,  1840,  where  he  died,  Feb- 
ruary 24th,  1 85 1. 

In  1820  he  published  a  Selection  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  which 
passed  to  at  least  three  editions  (third  edition,  18  20),  and  in  which 
several  hymns  are  his  own.  Others  were  amended  and  corrected 
by  his  hand.  The  present  piece,  which  has  secured  general  favor, 
is  from  the  conclusion  of  Arvendel ;  or,  Sketches  in  Italy  and  Swil- 
zerland  (second  edition,  18 13). 

If  God  is  mine,  then  present  things. — Beddome. 
The  other  form  of  this  hymn  is,  "  If  Christ  is  mine,  then  all  is 
mine."     The  date  is  1776. 

If  you  cannot  on  the  ocean.  — Mrs.  Gates. 

We  have  included  this  hymn  because  it  has  a  history,  and  be- 
cause, while  it  has  its  own  associations,  it  serves  as  a  suggestive 
commentary  on  other  pieces  found  in  these  pages.  Strictly,  one 
would  not  call  it  a  "  hymn,"  and  yet  none  who  have  heard 
Philip  Phillips  sing  it  will  doubt  its  fitness  to  be  a  "  sacred  song." 

It  came  into  notice  through  the  admiration  felt  for  it  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  but  for  a  long  time  its  authorship  was  not  known. 
The  composer  is  now  identified  as  Mrs.  Ellen  Huntington  Gates, 
of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  a  sister  of  Mr.  C.  P.  Huntington,  a  prominent 
financier  of  New  York  City.  Her  account  of  its  origin  is  as 
follows  : 

"  The  lines  were  written  upon  my  slate  one  snowy  afternoon  in  the 
winter  of  i860.  I  knew,  as  I  know  now,  that  the  poem  was  only  a  simple 
little  thing  ;  but  somehow  I  had  a  presentiment  that  it  had  wings,  and 
would  fly  into  sorrowful  hearts,  uplifting  and  strengthening  them." 

This  has  been  fulfilled.  Many  "  may  forget  the  singer,"  but 
they  "will  not  forget  the  song." 

The  most  appropriate  comment  upon  the  piece  itself  was  Abra- 


258  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ham  Lincoln's  own  life.  Mr.  F.  B.  Carpenter,  the  artist,  in  his 
volume  of  reminiscences,  tells  this  interesting  story,  to  show  how 
firmly  the  colored  people  believed  in  him  as  God's  chosen  mes- 
senger and  in  his  "  mission"  to  their  race  : 

11  On  a  certain  day,  when  there  was  quite  a  large  gathering  of  the 
people,  considerable  confusion  was  created  by  different  persons  attempt- 
ing to  tell  who  and  what  '  Massa  Linkum  '  was.  In  the  midst  of  the  ex- 
citement the  white-headed  leader  commanded  silence.  '  Brederin,'  said 
he,  'you  don't  know  nosen'  what  you'se  talkin'  'bout.  Now,  you  just 
listen  to  me.  Massa  Linkum,  he  eberywhar.  He  know  eberyting.' 
Then,  solemnly  looking  up,  he  added  :   '  He  walk  de  earf  like  de  Lord  ! ' 

"  When  this  story  was  told  to  the  President  he  did  not  smile,  but  rose 
from  his  chair  and  walked  in  silence  two  or  three  times  across  the  floor. 
Then  he  said :  '  It  is  a  momentous  thing  to  be  the  instrument,  under 
Providence,  of  the  liberation  of  a  race.'  " 

And  this  is  the  hymn — "Your  Mission,"  in  the  author's  text,  1886  : — 

"  If  you  cannot  on  the  ocean  "  If  you  have  not  gold  and  silver 

Sail  among  the  swiftest  fleet,  Ever  ready  to  command  ; 

Rocking  on  the  highest  billow,  If  you  cannot  toward  the  needy 

Laughing  at  the  storms  you  meet,  Reach  an  ever  open  hand ; 

You  can  stand  among  the  sailors,  You  can  visit  the  afflicted, 

Anchored  yet  within  the  bay,  0"er  the  erring  you  can  weep, 

You  can  lend  a  hand  to  help  them,  With  the  Saviour's  true  disciples, 

As  they  launch  their  boats  away.  You  a  patient  watch  may  keep. 

lk  If  you  are  too  weak  to  journey  "  If  you  cannot  in  the  conflict 

Up  the  mountain,  steep  and  high,  Prove  yourself  a  soldier  true, 

You  can  stand  within  the  valley,  If,  where  fire  and  smoke  are  thickest, 

Where  the  multitudes  go  by.  There's  no  work  for  you  to  do, 

You  can  chant  in  happy  measure,  When  the  battlefield  is  silent, 

As  they  slowly  pass  along  ;  You  can  go  with  careful  tread, 

Though  they  may  forget  the  singer,  You  can  bear  away  the  wounded, 

They  will  not  forget  the  song.  You  can  cover  up  the  dead. 

"  If  you  cannot,  in  the  harvest,  "  Do  not,  then,  stand  idly  waiting 

Gather  up  the  richest  sheaves,  For  some  greater  work  to  do  ; 

Many  a  grain  both  ripe  and  golden,  Fortune  is  a  lazy  goddess, 

Oft  the  careless  reaper  leaves —  She  will  never  come  to  you. 

Go  and  glean  among  the  briars  Go  and  toil  in  any  vineyard, 

Growing  rank  against  the  wall,  Do  not  fear  to  do  or  dare, 

For  it  may  be  that  their  shadow  '      If  you  want  a  field  of  labor, 

Hides  the  heaviest  wheat  of  all.  You  can  find  it  anywhere." 

If  through  unruffled  seas. — Toplady. 
This  hymn  is  made  from  Toplady' s  "  Your  harps,  ye  trembling 
saints"  (c.  1772).  Its  entire  sixteen  stanzas  are  in  Sir  Roundell 
Palmer's  Book  of  Praise.  The  first  stanza  of  our  piece  has  been 
prepared  by  another  hand,  but  the  fifth,  eighth,  and  tenth  stanzas 
of  the  original  have  been  modified  until  they  form  this  fine  lyric 
in  Laudes  Domini. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  259 

In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways. — Ryland. 
The  origin  of  this  hymn  is  somewhat  singular.  The  author, 
Dr.  John  Ryland  (born  1753),  was  a  celebrated  Baptist  divine, 
who  at  the  date  of  its  composition  was  settled  in  Northampton. 
It  was  his  practice  to  be  at  the  inn  when  the  stage-coaches  changed 
horses,  as  it  was  not  far  from  his  house.  Thus  he  would  meet 
many  clergymen,  some  of  whom  he  would  often  induce  to  remain 
and  preach  for  him.  Once  he  thus  captured  a  brother  minister 
who  consented,  very  reluctantly,  to  stay  and  give  a  sermon.  The 
text  chosen  was  "  Hinder  me  not "  (Gen.  24  :  56),  and  Dr.  Ry- 
land sat  in  the  desk  below  the  pulpit  to  "  read  the  hymns,"  as 
was  then  customary.  While  the  discourse  proceeded,  the  hymn- 
writer  below  was  turning  the  heads  of  it  into  verse.  This,  at  the 
close  of  the  sermon  he  read,  and  some  of  it  was  sung.  The  hymn 
had  nine  stanzas  and  originally  began  : 

"  When  Abraham's  servant  to  procure 
A  wife  for  Isaac  went." 

It  is  under  this  title-line  that  Dr.  Rippon's  Selection,  1787,  con- 
tains it. 

In  all  my  vast  concerns  with  thee.  — Watts. 

This  is  Ps,  139,  first  part  C.  M.,  "  God  is  Everywhere."  It 
has  ten  stanzas,  with  a  "pause"  after  the  fifth.  The  hymn, 
"  Lord,  where  shall  guilty  souls  retire,"  is  this  same  piece,  from 
the  "  pause"  onward.  It  has  a  fine  stanza — the  eighth  of  the 
present  arrangement  : 

"  If  wing'd  with  beams  of  morning  light, 
I  fly  beyond  the  west, 
Thy  hand,  which  must  support  my  flight, 
Would  soon  betray  my  rest.1' 

In  heavenly  love  abiding. — Waring. 

The  text  of  this  hymn,  as  approved  by  Miss  Waring,  appears  in 
three  double  stanzas  in  the  Free  Church  Hymn-Book,  1881. 

Mr.  Joseph  Williams,  a  devout  layman  of  Mr.  Fawcett's  congre- 
gation, in  Kidderminster,  wrote  (April  23d,  1753)  to  his  sister  in 
this  wise  : 

"If  we  look  only  with  eyes  of  flesh  there  is  no  happiness  without 
health  and  strength  ;  but  if  the  eye  of  faith  be  clear,  we  may  be  happy 
without  either.  ...  It  is  more  than  time  that  I  should  '  weep  as  though 
I  wept  not.'     I  do  not  want  many  months  of  the  age  of  our  dear  and 


260  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

much-honored  father,  when  his  stronger  constitution  was  worn  out  by- 
pains  and  cares.     How  long  I  am  to  sojourn  in  this  tabernacle  I  know 
not,  neither  do  I  wish  to  know  ;  as  Mr.  Baxter  sings  : 
1  It  is  enough  that  Christ  knows  all. '  " 

This  Joseph  Williams,  born  November  16th,  1692,  was  a  hymn- 
writer  of  some  note.  He  wrote,  "  To  thy  great  name,  O  Prince  of 
peace"  (which  appears  in  Dobell),  and  "  This  thought  transport- 
ing pleasure  gives" — a  hymn  on  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
Four  of  his  stanzas  (November,  1737)  fitly  accompany  the  present 

hymn  : 

***** 

"  '  Thou  art  my  portion,  Lord/  I  cry  ; 
1  Oh,  let  my  cry  be  heard  ! 
Thy  favor  is  the  light  of  life, 
Thy  providence  my  guard.* 
***** 

"  I  find  no  certain  dwelling-place, 
But  wander  here  and  there  ; 
I'm  but  a  pilgrim  here  below 
As  all  my  fathers  were. 

"  But  there  remains  for  me  a  rest, 
A  house  not  made  with  hands, 
A  mansion  on  the  heavenly  plains 
Where  my  salvation  stands. 
***** 

"  There  is  a  region  all  serene, 
No  cloud  infests  the  sky  ; 
Storms  never  roar,  or  gather  round 
The  saints  that  dwell  on  high." 

This  excellent  and  spiritually-minded  man — largely  wealthy  and 
as  largely  benevolent — could  say  in  his  latest  hours  :  "I  can  cast 
myself  at  his  feet,  and  say  (I  think,  with  my  whole  heart)  as  holy 
Baxter  did — '  Lord,  what  thou  wilt,  when  thou  wilt,  how  thou 
wilt.'  "  He  died  after  a  short  illness,  December  21st,  1755.  His 
"  Diary"  (revised  edition,  1826)  has  much  in  it  which  we  regret 
not  to  be  able  to  quote. 

In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory. — Bowring. 
Sir   John    Bowring  published  Ma/ins    and    Vespers,   which    is 
still  in  print.     Hymns   by  John  Bowring,  1825,    has    been    long 
out    of   print,   but    the    Memorial    Volume,    by    Lady   Bowring, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  261 

1873,  contains  the  best  religious  poetry  in  this  and  the  other  col- 
lection. 

The  author  was  born  in  Exeter,  October  17th,  1792  ;  educated 
at  the  grammar  school  of  Moreton,  Hampstead  ;  and  then  em- 
ployed by  his  father  in  his  trade,  which  was  the  manufacture  of 
coarse  woollens  for  China  and  the  Spanish  peninsula.  His  lin- 
guistic ability  was  remarkable.  In  French  only  had  he  any  mas- 
ter to  instruct  him.  He  acquired  Spanish,  Italian,  Portuguese, 
German  and  Dutch  by  his  own  efforts,  before  he  reached  the  age 
of  sixteen. 

One  part  of  his  experience  is  too  useful  not  to  be  detailed  in 
Lady  Bo  wring's  own  words  : 

"  He  found  that  the  great  art  of  language-learning  is  to  get  rid  of  the 
notion  of  verbally  translating  the  phrase  ;  that  the  same  thought  takes 
another  shape  when  expression  is  given,  and  it  is  in  another  tongue  ; 
that  the  real  and  exact  synonyms  of  language  are  few  ;  and  that  diction- 
ary aid,  at  least,  in  the  beginning  of  study,  is  rather  pernicious  than 
useful." 

Subsequently  to  this  mercantile  life,  young  Bowring  essayed  the 
political,  and  soon  became  the  associate  of  Jeremy  Bentham,  and 
also  a  contributor  to  the  Westminster  Review.  Still  keeping  up 
his  study  of  languages,  he  first  acted  as  Bentham' s  literary  ex- 
ecutor and  the  editor  of  his  collected  works,  and  then  published 
translations  from  various  Continental  sources. 

He  gave  specimens  from  the  lyrics  of  the  Bohemian,  Bulgarian, 
Sclavonic,  Russian,  Servian,  Polish,  Slovakian,  and  Illyrian 
tongues.  To  these  he  added  Teutonic,  Esthonian,  Dutch,  Fri- 
sian, Lettish,  Finnish,  Hungarian,  Biscayan,  French,  Provencal, 
Gascon,  Italian  (and  its  dialects),  Spanish,  Portuguese,  Cata- 
lonian,  and  Gallician.  Among  these  renderings  the  magnificent 
Oda  Bog  of  Derzhavin,  the  Russian  poet,  claims  the  foremost  place 
for  felicity  and  power  in  its  English  dress.  But  the  acquirements 
of  Bowring  are  little  less  than  marvellous.  To  parody  Praed's 
rhyme  : 

"  You  would  have  sworn  as  you  looked  at  them 
He  had  fished  in  the  Flood  with  Ham  and  Shem." 

He  seems  to  have  touched  the  very  nerve  centres  of  language, 
and  to  have  comprehended  by  a  supreme  instinct  the  essence  of 
the  poet's  thought. 


262  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

From  this  period  dates  the  diplomatic  and  literary  career  of  this 
wonderful  man.  In  1828  he  received  the  degree  of  LL.D.  from 
the  University  of  Groningen.  His  versatility  and  scholarship  im- 
press us  at  every  turn. 

In  1835  he  was  elected  as  a  Radical  from  Kilmarnock,  and 
entered  the  House  of  Commons,  and,  in  1841,  he  was  returned 
from  Bolton  on  a  similar  issue.  He  prided  himself  in  never  hav- 
ing voted  against  the  Whigs  except  when  the  Whigs  had  voted  with 
the  Tories. 

His  labors  for  foreign  nations  were  only  recognized  after  a  time. 
In  1849  ne  became  British  Consul  at  Canton,  afterward  Superin- 
tendent of  Trade  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  China,  1853. 
and  finally  Governor,  Commander-in-Chief,  and  Vice-Admiral  of 
Hong  Kong  and  its  dependencies,  and  Superintendent  of  Trade 
east  of  the  Ganges. 

In  1854  he  was  knighted,  and  from  this  date  the  decorations 
and  orders  bestowed  upon  him  are  quite  beyond  our  enumeration 
in  the  space  allowed  by  these  limits.  Siam,  the  Philippine  Islands 
and  Italy  had  some  of  his  best  endeavors  for  their  advancement. 
His  mind  was  always  vigilant,  and,  in  spite  of  weakness  induced 
by  the  attempted  arsenical  poisoning  of  himself  and  family  in 
China,  he  toiled  on  incessantly  until  a  week  or  so  before  his 
death.  He  was  accustomed  to  reply  to  every  remonstrance  :  "I 
must  do  my  work  while  life  remains  to  me  ;  I  may  not  long  be 
here."  In  all  benevolent  and  Christian  enterprises  he  was  inde- 
fatigable. He  was  a  strenuous  advocate  of  Prison  Reform.  But 
deep  beneath  all  else  ran  the  undertone  of  Christian  praise.  At 
eighty  years  of  age  he  was  frequently  known  to  begin  the  day  with 
some  new  song  of  adoration  and  thanksgiving. 

He  loved  to  take  young  men  of  promise  and  start  them  for  a 
virtuous  and  befitting  career.  "You  are  now  launched,"  he 
would  say,  "your  fortune  rests  with  yourself.  I  trust  that  by 
steadiness  and  diligence  you  will  do  credit  to  my  recommenda- 
tion." 

Theoretically,  Sir  John  Bowring  was  a  Unitarian.  Practically, 
he  was  a  devoted  and  evangelical  believer.  He  died  in  peace  and 
hope,  November  23d,  1872.  His  tombstone  bears  the  appropriate 
words  of  his  own  hymn  :   "  In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I  glory." 

His  best- known  hymns  are  : 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  263 

"  How  sweetly  flowed  the  Gospel's  sound,"  1823. 
"  From  the  recesses  of  a  lowly  spirit,"  1823. 
"  Thy  will  be  done  !  In  devious  way,"  1823. 
"  God  is  love  !  His  mercy  brightens,"  1825. 
"  Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  night,"  1825. 
"  In  the  Cross  of  Christ  I  glory,"  1825. 

In  the  hour  of  trial. — Montgomery,  altered. 
This  hymn  has  been  much  improved  by  Henry  Wollaston  Hut- 
ton,  who  changed  the  last  two  stanzas  to  the  form  which  appears  in 
the  text.     The  original,  as  found  in  Alford,  reads  : 

"  If  with  sore  affliction 

Thou  in  love  chastise, 
Pour  thy  benediction 

On  the  sacrifice  ; 
Then  upon  thine  altar 

Freely  offered  up, 
Though  the  flesh  may  falter, 

Faith  shall  drink  the  cup. 

"  When  in  dust  and  ashes 

To  the  grave  I  sink, 
While  heaven's  glory  flashes 

O'er  the  shelving  brink  ; 
On  thy  truth  relying 

Through  that  mortal  strife 
Lord,  receive  me,  dying, 

To  eternal  life." 

The  reason  for  the  alteration  is  the  excess  of  consonants,  which 
makes  the  verses  difficult  to  sing.  It  is  a  righteous  and  poetical 
judgment  upon  a  man  who  was  always  prating  about  "  hymn- 
menders,"  and  who  yet,  with  "  good  Mr.  Cotterill  "  to  help  him, 
cut  and  slashed  the  verses  of  others  in  a  most  merciless  fashion  ! 

In  the  Original  Hynms,  1853,  Montgomery's  form  is  found  as 
No.  193,  in  four  stanzas,  and  with  the  title  "  Prayers  on  a  Pil- 
grimage." 

In  the  dark  and  cloudy  day. — Rawson. 

We  have  here  another  hymn  by  George  Rawson,  the  "  Leeds 
Layman."  It  will  be  welcomed  by  many  who  are  in  the  midst  of 
that  peculiar  experience  which  is  better  recognized  than  described  ; 
the  soul  does  not  know  exactly  what  it  wants,  but  something  must 
come  speedily,  or  hope  will  fail. 

"  There  is  always,"  says  Dr.  C.  S.  Robinson,  in  one  of  his  dis- 


264  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

courses,  "  a  certain  amount  of  help  in  human  courage,  cool  tem- 
perament, and  dauntless  will.  But  in  times  of  perplexity  there  is 
no  real  unfailing  reliance  save  in  divine  interposition  and  God's 
powerful  aid.  And  especially  at  the  last,  when  nerves  are  racked 
with  pain  ;  when  usual  fortitude  gives  way  before  unusual  strain  ; 
neither  one's  own  brave  heart  nor  the  sustaining  sympathy  of 
friends  is  enough  to  hold  us  up.  At  the  last  extremity,  the  eye 
must  look,  not  within  or  around,  but  simply  up.  God  meets  the 
glance  with  reassurance.  '  A  living  hope, '  said  good  Bishop 
Leighton,  '  lives  in  death  itself.  The  world  dares  say  no  more 
than  Dum  spiro,  spero  ;  but  the  children  of  God  can  add,  Dum 
expiro,  spero.'  " 

In  thy  name,  O  Lord  !  assembling. — Kelly. 
This  hymn  was  written   in  181 5,  and  is  in  the  edition  of  1820, 
in  three  stanzas.     The  appended  text  of  Scripture  is,  ' '  Speak,  for 
thy  servant  heareth. — 1  Sam.  3  :  10." 

Is  there  ambition  in  my  heart. — Watts. 
This  is  Ps.  131,  C.  M.,  according  to  Dr.  Watts'  s  version.      Its 
title  is,  "  Humility  and  Submission,"  and  it  has  three  stanzas. 

It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear. — Sears. 

If  "  My  faith  looks  up  to  thee"  can  claim  to  be  the  most  spirit- 
ual, and  "  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus,"  the  most  stirring  of  the 
greater  American  hymns,  this  may  surely  be  classed  as  the  most 
lovely.  Wedded  to  its  appropriate  tune — W.  B.  Bradbury's 
11  Ball "  or  R.  S.  Willis's  "  Carol,"  both  of  them  American  com- 
positions— it  almost  sings  itself.  Bradbury's  tune  is  older  and  al- 
most obsolete,  but  a  little  comparison  will  convince  the  inquirer 
that  the  later  work  of  Mr.  Willis  has,  either  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, been  affected  by  that  of  the  **  sweet  singer"  of  Bloom- 
field.  The  hymn  itself  is  worthy,  as  poetry,  to  outrank  almost 
anything  else  of  its  kind  and  day. 

Edmund  Hamilton  Sears  was  born  in  Sandisfield,  Berkshire 
County,  Mass.,  April  6th,  1810  ;  educated  at  Union  College, 
1834  ;  and  at  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School,  1837.  He  was  first 
settled  over  the  First  (Unitarian)church  of  Wayland,  Mass.,  1838  ; 
then  in  Lancaster,  Mass.,  1840;  and  again,  1847,  was  in  charge 
of  a  church  at  Wayland.     His  health  was  at  this  time  quite  im- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  265 

paired.  In  1865  he  removed  to  Weston,  near  Concord,  to  be  the 
minister  of  the  Unitarian  church  at  that  place.  From  1859  to 
1 87 1  he  was  associated  with  Rev.  Rums  Ellis  in  the  editorial  care 
of  the  Monthly  Religious  Magazine.  In  this  publication  the  majority 
of  his  hymns  and  poems  have  been  printed.  His  death  occurred 
in  1876. 

Of  the  present  piece,.  Rev.  Dr.  Morrison,  of  Milton,  wrote  to 
Dr.  Putnam  that : 

"  Sears's  second  Christmas  hymn  was  sent  to  me  as  editor  of  the 
Christian  Register ;  I  think  in  December,  1849.  I  was  very  much  de- 
lighted with  it,  and  before  it  came  out  in  the  Register  read  it  at  a  Christ- 
mas celebration  of  Dr.  Lunt's  Sunday-school  in  Quincy." 

The  hymn,  adapted  to  the  tune  "  Ball,"  is  frequently  sung  in 
Wellesley  College  chapel. 

It  is  not  death  to  die.  — Bethune,  tr. 

This  hymn  is  from  the  French  of  the  distinguished  Swiss 
preacher,  Dr.  Caesar  Malan,  the  friend  of  Charlotte  Elliot  and  the 
author  of  a  collection  of  three  hundred  hymns  called  "  Chants  de 
Sion,"  from  which  this  is  taken.  Its  French  original  commences, 
"  Non,  ce  n  est  pas  mourir." 

It  was  this  hymn  also  which  was  sung  at  Dr.  Bethune's  funeral 
in  1862.  Miss  J.  E.  Arnold  (1866)  translated  many  of  Malan's 
hymns. 

With  a  superabundance  of  animal  spirits,  a  great  inclination  for 
angling  and  hunting,  and  a  full  enjoyment  of  the  rich  and  delight- 
ful side  of  this  present  life,  Dr.  Bethune  was  never  forgetful  of  his 
duties  and  relations  to  his  fellow-men.  His  eloquence  and  ear- 
nestness are  still  recalled  with  profound  pleasure  by  those  who 
were  privileged  to  be  of  the  number  of  his  congregation. 

Nothing  proves  this  better  than  the  hymn  below,  which  was 
composed  the  day  before  his  death.  It  was  with  such  feelings  that 
he  preached  for  the  last  time  ;  and  then,  stricken  with  mortal  dis- 
ease, sank  away  into  his  final  sleep,  April  28th,  1862.  The  fol- 
lowing lines  were  found  in  his  portfolio  : 

"  When  time  seems  short,  and  death  is  near, 
And  I  am  pressed  by  doubt  and  fear, 
And  sins,  an  overflowing  tide, 
Assail  my  peace  on  every  side, 
This  thought  my  refuge  still  shall  be, 
I  know  my  Saviour  died  for  me. 


266  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  His  name  is  Jesus,  and  he  died, 
For  guilty  sinners  crucified  ; 
Content  to  die,  that  he  might  win 
Their  ransom  from  the  death  of  sin. 
No  sinner  worse  than  I  can  be, 
Therefore  I  know  he  died  for  me. 

"  If  grace  were  bought,  I  could  not  buy  ; 
If  grace  were  coined,  no  wealth  have  I ; 
By  grace  alone  I  draw  my  breath, 
Held  up  from  everlasting  death  ; 
Yet,  since  I  know  his  grace  is  free, 
I  know  the  Saviour  died  for  me. 

"  I  read  God's  holy  Word,  and  find 
Great  truths  which  far  transcend  my  mind  { 
And  little  do  I  know  beside, 
Of  thought  so  high,  and  deep,  and  wide. 
This  is  my  best  theology, 
I  know  the  Saviour  died  for  me. 

"  My  faith  is  weak,  but  'tis  thy  gift  ; 
Thou  canst  my  helpless  soul  uplift, 
And  say  :   '  Thy  bonds  of  death  are  riven, 
Thy  sins  by  me  are  all  forgiven, 
And  thou  shalt  live,  from  guilt  set  free  ; 
For  I,  thy  Saviour,  died  for  thee.'  " 

Of  the  author  of  the  original  of  the  present  piece  it  may  be  said 
that  his  full  name  was  Cesar  Henri  Abraham  Malan.  He  was 
born  at  Geneva,  Switzerland,  July  7th,  1787  ;  studied  theology 
there,  and  was  ordained  18 10,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
truly  converted,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  French  infidelity 
of  Voltaire,  until  181 7.  This  vital  godliness  which  now  inspired 
him  brought  him  in  collision  with  dead  orthodoxy,  and  he  was 
prohibited  from  preaching.  He  gathered  his  adherents,  however, 
and  without  leaving  the  Established  Church,  held  service  with 
them  in  his  own  house  and  afterward  in  a  small  chapel.  They 
were  styled  Les  Momiers.  From  1830  he  made  missionary  jour- 
neys also  to  other  parts  of  Switzerland,  and  to  Germany,  Holland, 
France  and  Scotland.  He  died  May  14th,  1864,  and  his  life  has 
been  writ^n  (1868)  by  one  of  his  sons. 

It  is  no  untried  way. — Offord. 
This  was  contributed  to  the  New  York  Observer,  February  1st, 
1883,  as  noted  under,  "  Jesus,  heed  me,  lost  and  dying." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  267 

Jehovah  God  !  thy  gracious  power.  — J.  Thomson. 

Rev.  John  Thomson,  who  composed  this  hymn,  studied  at 
Manchester,  in  England,  was  a  Unitarian  minister,  and  then  a 
physician.  He  was  born  in  1782,  and  died  in  1818.  The  hymn 
appeared  in  Aspland' s  Collection  in  18 10.  Probably  we  may  iden- 
tify this  author  with  a  treatise  entitled,  Facts  i?i  Favor  of  the  Cow- 
pox.  This  was  issued  in  1809,  and  would  show  him  to  have  been 
a  man  of  breadth  of  opinion  and  positiveness  of  speech  in  the  early 
day  of  a  great  medical  reform.  The  discovery  made  by  Jenner 
dates  from  1798. 

The  hymn  itself  is  full  of  the  gentle  devotion  which  many  re- 
ligious people  of  the  liberal  school  seem  to  possess.  Their  eyes 
see,  and  their  hearts  feel,  the  love  of  God  as  a  Father,  and  they 
often  lead  God's  people  up  into  higher  experiences  of  communion 
with  him  through  their  appreciation  of  nature.  Surely  there  is 
enough  for  us  all  to  notice  in  these  later  years. 

"  Everything,"  says  Hugh  Miller,  "  is  writing  nature's  history,  from 
pebble  to  planet.  The  sketches  of  the  rolling  rock,  the  channels  of  the 
rivers,  the  falling  rain,  the  buried  fern,  the  footprint  in  the  snow,  and 
every  act  of  man,  inscribes  the  map  of  her  march.  The  air  is  full  of 
sounds,  the  sky  is  full  of  memoranda  and  signatures  which  are  more  or 
less  legible  to  the  intelligent." 

Jerusalem,  my  happy  home. — "  F.  B.  P." 
This  hymn  is  found  in  a  thin  quarto,  numbered  15,225,  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  marked  on  the  back  "  Queen  Elizabeth." 
The  contents  are  miscellaneous,  but  there  are  several  other  pieces 
of  poetry,  evidently  by  Roman  Catholics  (one  being  by  Thewlis, 
killed  at  Manchester,  161 7),  then  comes  this  one,  entitled  "A 
song  by  F.  B.  P.  to  the  Tune  of  '  Diana.'  "  It  is  by  some  person 
holding  to  Romanism,  and  probably  by  "  Francis  Baker,  Priest." 
It  is  unquestionably  the  free  translation  of  "  Beata  urbs  Hirusa- 
lem,"  for  notes  on  which  the  reader  may  consult  "  The  Latin 
Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns."  Our  hymn  appeared  in  a 
"  broadside"  form  as  a  ballad,  between  1650  and  1670. 

The  entire  hymn  is  found  appended  to  Rev.  Albert  Barnes's 
Notes  on  Revelations  (sic)  edited  by  Rev.  E.  Henderson,  and  pub- 
lished by  Knight  &  Son,  London,  4 to.  See  LiltelVs  Living  Age, 
Vol.  2S,  pp.  333-336.  Also  W.  C.  Prime's  monograph,  Jeru- 
salem, my  Happy  Home  ;  also  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  1850, 


268  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

p.  582.     We  may  dismiss  the  conjecture  of    D.    Sedgwick    that 
the  author  was  "  Francis  Baker  Porter." 

A  fine  study  of  the  subject  made  by  J.  A.  Picton  in  1875,  to- 
gether with  a  laborious  compilation  on  our  own  account,  gives 
the  following  particulars  : 

The  date  is  about  1616.  Wodrow,  the  biographer  of  Rev.  David  Dick- 
son (1583-1662)  attributes  this  hymn  to  his  pen.  This  conflicts  with  the 
authorship  of  "  F.  B.  P."  There  is  a  notable  resemblance  in  style  to 
"  Chevy  Chace  "  and  similar  ballad  poems.  In  1852  Dr.  H.  Bonar 
published  it  in  Dickson's  form,  and  in  1863  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  (Lord  Sel- 
borne)  included  fourteen  of  the  twenty-six  stanzas  in  his  Book  of  Praise. 

As  to  the  original  Latin  of  which  this  is  a  free  reproduction  there  is  a 
hymn,  found  in  Mone  :  Hymni  Latini  Medii  sEvi,  etc.,  which  com- 
mences, "Jerusalem  himinosa"  and  which  bears  close  resemblance  to 
the  English.  Dr.  Neale  has  reprinted  this  Latin  in  his  Joys  and  Glories  of 
Paradise,  1865.  The  tune  of  "Diana"  is  not  earlier  than  1566.  Dr. 
Neale' s  ritualistic  sympathy  with  "  F.  B.  P."  must  not,  however,  be  al- 
lowed to  obscure  the  just  rights  of  David  Dickson,  nor  to  induce  us  to  be- 
lieve that  the  latter  has  "  impudently  appropriated  to  himself  and  mixed 
up  with  a  quantity  of  his  own  rubbish  "  what  belonged  to  another  man. 

All  this  is  the  meagrest  and  most  unsatisfactory  record  of  one  of  our 
finest  hymns.  Its  original  form  must  be  seen  in  order  that  it  may  speak 
to  the  eye  in  its  own  quaintness.  The  latest  information  on  the  subject 
comes  from  Rev.  James  King's  Anglican  Hymnology.  The  date  assigned 
by  him  is  circa  1617.  That  David  Dickson  expurgated  the  hymn  of  "  F. 
B.  P."  and  offered  his  own  version  in  "  O  Mother  dear,  Jerusalem,"  is 
also  established,  with  the  date,  1649.  Thirty  years  later,  Rev.  W.  Burkitt, 
vicar  of  Dedham,  reprinted  "  F.  B.  P.'s  "  piece,  with  changes  of  his  own. 

Dr.  Belcher  relates  that  a  young  Scotchman,  on  his  deathbed  in 
New  Orleans,  was  visited  by  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  For  some 
time  he  was  obdurate  and  repelled  the  advances  of  his  kind  friend. 
At  last  the  good  man  turned  away,  and  hardly  realizing  what  he 
did,  began  to  sing,  "  Jerusalem,  my  happy  home."  The  hard 
heart  was  touched.  "  My  dear  mother  used  to  sing  that  hymn," 
exclaimed  the  lad.  And  once  more  the  song  of  the  prisoner  had 
brought  deliverance  to  the  captive. 

A  SONG  BY  F.  E.  P.  TO  THE  TUNE  OF  DIANA. 

{Published  by  Dr.  Bonar  from  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum?) 

Hierusalem,  my  happy  home  !  O  happie  harbour  of  the  saints  ! 

When  shall  I  come  to  thee !  O  sweete  and  pleasant  soyle ! 

When  shall  my  sorrowes  have  an  end,  In  thee  noe  sorrow  may  be  found, 

Thy  joyes  when  shall  I  see  ?  Noe  greefe,  noe  care,  noe  toyle. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


269 


In  thee  noe  sickness  may  be  seene, 

Noe  hurt,  noe  ache,  noe  sore  ; 
There  is  noe  death,  nor  uglie  Devill, 

There  is  life  forevermore. 

Noe  dampish  mist  is  seene  in  thee, 
Noe  colde  nor  darksome  night ; 

There  everie  soule  shines  as  the  sunne, 
There  God  himselfe  gives  light. 

There  lust  and  lukar  cannot  dwell, 

There  envy  bears  no  sway  ; 
There  is  no  hunger,  heate,  nor  colde, 

But  pleasure  everie  way. 

Hierusalem  !     Hierusalem ! 

God  grant  I  soon  may  see 
Thy  endless  joyes  ;  and  of  the  same 

Partaker  aye  to  bee. 

Thy  walls  are  made  of  pretious  stones. 
Thy  bulwarkes  diamondes  square  ; 

Thy  gates  are  of  right  orient  pearle, 
Exceedinge  riche  and  rare. 

Thy  turrettes  and  thy  pinnacles 

With  carbuncles  doe  shine; 
Thy  verrie  streets  are  paved  with  gould, 

Surpassinge  cleare  and  fine. 

Thy  houses  are  of  yvorie, 

Thy  windows  crystal  cleare, 
Thy  tyles  are  made  of  beaten  gould, 

O  God  !  that  I  were  there. 

Within  thy  gates  nothinge  doth  come 

That  is  not  passinge  cleane, 
Noe  spider's  web,  noe  durt,  noe  dust, 

Noe  filthe  may  there  be  seene. 

Ah  !  my  sweete  home  Hierusalem, 

Would  God  I  were  in  thee  ! 
Would  God  my  woes  were  at  an  end, 

Thy  ioyes  that  I  might  see. 

Thy  saints  are  crowned  with  glorie  great, 

They  see  God  face  to  face  ; 
They  triumph  still,  they  still  reioice, 

Most  happie  is  their  case. 

Wee  that  are  heere  in  banishment, 

Continuallie  doe  moane ; 
We  sigh  and  sobbe,  we  weepe  and  weale, 

Perpetuallie  we  groane. 

Our  sweete  is  mixt  with  bitter  gaule, 

Our  pleasure  is  but  paine  ; 
Our  ioyes  scarce  last  the  lookeing  on, 

Our  sorrowes  stille  remaine. 


But  there  they  live  in  such  delight. 

Such  pleasure  and  such  play, 
As  that  to  them  a  thousand  yeares 

Doth  seeme  as  yesterday. 

Thy  vineyardes  and  thy  orchardes  are 

Most  beautifull  and  faire  ; 
Full  furnished  with  trees  and  fruits, 

Most  wonderful  and  rare. 

Thy  gardens  and  thy  gallant  walkes 

Continually  are  greene  ; 
There    grow    such  sweete    and  pleasant 
flowers 

As  no  where  else  are  seene. 

There  is  nectar  and  ambrosia  made, 
There  is  muske  and  civette  sweete ; 

There  manie  a  faire  and  daintie  drugge 
Are  trodden  under  feete. 

There  cinomon,  there  sugar  grow, 
There  narde  and  balme  abound  ; 

What  toungue  can  tell,  or  harte  containe. 
The  ioyes  that  there  are  found. 

Quyt    through   the  streetes  with   silver 
sound, 

The  flood  of  life  doe  flowe  ; 
Upon  whose  bankes  on  everie  syde, 

The  wood  of  life  doth  growe. 

There  trees  for  evermore  beare  fruite, 

And  evermore  doe  springe ; 
There  evermore  the  angels  sit, 

And  evermore  doe  singe. 

There  David  stands  with  harpe  in  hand, 

As  Master  of  the  Queere  ; 
Tenne  thousand  times  that  man  were  blest 

That  might  this  musicke  heare. 

Our  Ladie  singes  Magnificat, 
With  tunes  surpassinge  sweete  ; 

And  all  the  virginns  beare  their  parte 
Siting  above  her  feete. 

Te  Deum  doth  Saint  Ambrose  singe, 
Saint  Augustine  doth  the  like  ; 

Ould  Simeon  and  Zacharie 

Have  not  their  songes  to  seeke. 

There  Magdalene  hath  left  her  mone, 

And  cheerfullie  doth  singe 
With  blessed  saints,  whose  harmonie 

In  everie  street  doth  ringe. 

Hierusalem  !  my  happie  home ! 

Would  God  I  were  in  thee  ! 
Would  God  my  woes  were  at  an  end, 

Thy  joyes  that  I  might  see  '. 


270  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Jerusalem,  my  happy  home, 

Name  ever  dear  to  me. — Boden  (?). 
In  1 801  this  appeared  in  the  Collection  of  Williams  and  Boden. 
The  assignment  of  the  piece  is  to  the  Eckington  Collection,  and  as 
Rev.  Tames  Boden,  one  of  the  compilers,  who  also  wrote  hymns 
himself,  lived  and  died  near  Eckington,  Yorkshire,  it  is  not  im- 
possible that  this  is  his  adaptation  of  "  F.  B.  P. 's  "  hymn. 

Rev.  James  Boden  was  born  at  Chester,  April  13th,  1757,  in  the 
house  formerly  occupied  by  Matthew  Henry  the  commentator. 
Chester  had  fallen  under  Arian  influence,  and  the  commentator's 
church  was  at  this  time  quite  deserted.  But  there  lingered  tradi- 
tions of  him  in  the  town,  and  the  boy  James  Boden  often  played 
in  the  summer-house,  where  much  of  the  commentary  was 
written.  At  sixteen  years  of  age  young  Boden  united  with  the 
small  and  feeble  Congregational  church  of  Rev.  Mr.  Armitage, 
the  mere  remnant  of  Matthew  Henry's  former  Presbyterian  flock, 
driven  by  stress  of  poverty  and  misfortune  into  cramped  quarters 
in  an  upper  room  on  Common  Hall  Street.  Here  the  vigorous 
new  life  in  the  lad  made  itself  felt.  He  was  soon  a  leader  among 
his  companions,  and  presently  went  to  study  at  Homerton  by  the 
suggestion  of  the  church.  Four  years  later  he  was  put  in  charge 
of  a  congregation  at  Hanley,  among  the  Staffordshire  potteries, 
where  he  founded  a  prosperous  Sunday-school. 

He  next  succeeded  the  hymn-writer,  Rev.  Jehoiada  Brewer,  in 
1796,  at  Sheffield.  Here  he  met  an  energetic  opposition  from  a 
party  in  the  church  who  ''made  up  for  their  insignificancy  by 
their  boldness,  and  gave  him  considerable  trouble."  They  told 
him,  at  a  church -meeting  :  "  Either  you  must  remove,  or  we  must. " 
Boden  quietly  answered  :  "  Well  ;  we  must  wait,  and  see  which  it 
will  be."  It  was  not  Boden;  and  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
minority  felt  obliged  to  fulfil  their  threat. 

Mr.  Boden  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  Missionary  Society.  He 
continued  this  interest  during  his  long  pastorate,  which  he  resigned 
after  forty-three  years  of  active  labor,  in  1839.  In  his  dying  mo- 
ments—which soon  followed,  in  184 1—  he  was  greatly  consoled 
by  Dr.  Watts's  hymn,  "  How  sweet  and  awful  is  the  place,"  and 
bore  his  final  sufferings  with  Christian  patience.  A  beautiful  in- 
cident is  recorded  in  connection  with  his  illness.  The  sun  was 
shining  brightly  on  the  last  Sunday  morning  of  his  stay  on  earth, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  271 

and  some  one  remarked  the  fact.  Mr.  Boden  instantly  re- 
plied : 

"  He  is  my  Sun,  though  he  forbear  to  shine, 
I  dwell  for  ever  on  his  heart,  for  ever  he  on  mine." 
Thus,  on  the  4th  day  of  June,  1841,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  he 
went  up  the  path  of  the  shining  light.  He  passed,  even  as  the 
old  Egyptians  fabled  that  their  pious  dead  were  wont  to  pass, 
"  into  the  disk  of  Amun-Ra,  the  Sun-god,"  the  Osiris  of  eternal 
life,  and  was  "  swallowed  up  in  light."  And  so  he  "  shined  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

Jerusalem  on  high.  — Crossman. 
Samuel  Crossman.  Prebendary  of  Bristol  cathedral  (1624-1683), 
wrote  this  as  a  part  of  a  hymn  of  fourteen  stanzas,  commencing, 

"  Sweet  place,  sweet  place  alone  ! 
The  court  of  God  most  High." 

It  was  published  in  "  a  little  book  of  nine  poems  "  entitled,  The 
Young  Man's  Meditations  ;  or,  Some  Few  Poems  on  Select  Subjects. 
Lord  Selborne,  speaking  at  the  York  Church  Conference.  1866, 
called  attention  to  it,  and  the  choir  of  the  cathedral  sang  it  to  a 
tune  by  Dr.  Croft. 

D.  Sedgwick  reprinted  the  "book  of  nine  poems"  in  1863. 
Anthony  a'  Wood,  in  his  Athence  Oxonienses (17 21 ,  II.,  730)  gives 
these  particulars  as  to  the  writer  : 

"  Samuel  Crossman,  Bachelor  of  Divinity  of  Cambridge,  and  Preben- 
dary of  Bristol,  son  of  Samuel  Crossman  of  Bradfield  Monachorum,  in 
Suffolk.  He  hath  written  and  published  several  things,  as  The  Young 
Alans  Monitor,  etc.  (London,  1664,  8vo),  and  several  sermons.  .  .  . 
He  died,  February  4th,  1683,  aged  59  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  south 
aisle  of  the  Cathedral  church  in  Bristol." 

Jerusalem  the  golden. — Neale,  ir. 
This  is  a  portion  of  the  paraphrase  made  by  Dr.  Neale  in  1851 
from  the  hymn  of  Bernard  of  Cluny,  c.  1130.  It  begins  at  the 
line,  "  Urbs  Syon  aurea"  etc.  The  cento  from  Bernard's  three 
thousand  lines  furnished  an  English  poem  of  four  hundred  and 
forty-two,  which,  when  it  was  published  in  1859,  immediately  be- 
came popular.  It  has  had  a  wonderful  success,  and  from  it  are  taken 
the  familiar  hymns  : 

"  Brief  life  is  here  our  portion  "  ["  Hie  breve  vivitur  "],  "  For  thee,  O 
dear,  dear  country"  ["  O  bona  flafria  "],  "Jerusalem  the  glorious" 
["  Urbs  Syon  inclyta"\ 


272  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

For  the  history  of  the  Latin  hymn  and  its  author,  see  "  The 
Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns."  In  1861,  Dr.  Neale's 
preface  to  the  third  edition  records  that  in  fourteen  new  hymnals 
more  or  less  of  the  verses  had  found  a  place.  In  1865  he  could 
add  to  this  ever-increasing  number  the  Scotch  book,  the  Sweden- 
borgian  collection,  and  that  for  the  American  Lutheran  Church. 
In  1885  it  was  the  seventh  in  rank  of  all  the  favorite  English 
hymns.  But  that  which  seems  to  have  gratified  its  author  most  of 
all  was  to  learn  that  a  little  child,  a  great  sufferer,  became  so  fond 
of  the  hymn  that  he  would  lie  "  without  a  murmur,  or  motion, 
while  the  whole  four  hundred  lines  were  read  to  him." 

The  biographical  sketch  of  Dr.  Neale,  in  the  S chaff -Herzog 
Cyclopedia,  furnishes  us  the  condensed  story  of  his  life.  John 
Mason  Neale  was  born  in  London,  January  24th,  1818,  and  grad- 
uated at  Cambridge,  1840.  He  then  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Church  of  England.  We  may  mention  in  this  connection  the 
striking  fact  that  on  eleven  occasions  he  gained  the  Seatonian  prize 
poem. 

Dr.  Neale  soon  became  an  advanced  Ritualist.  By  this  and  by 
his  ecclesiastical  studies  and  histories  he  was  known — and  fre- 
quently with  disfavor — throughout  England.  His  literary  labors 
were  excessive,  and  his  piety  was  not  less  exhausting.  He  devoted 
himself  to  founding,  in  1856,  the  Sisterhood  of  St.  Margaret, 
which  was  really  a  training-school  for  the  best  class  of  nurses  and 
attendants  upon  the  sick.  He  was  struggling  also  with  poverty, 
and  his  stories  for  children  were  written  to  furnish  him  with  the 
means  of  livelihood.  He  was  indeed  "  inhibited  "  for  fourteen 
years,  and  forbidden  to  exercise  any  ecclesiastical  function.  The 
Farm  of  Aptonga,  The  Egyptian  Wanderers,  The  Followers  of  the 
Lord,  Lent  Legends,  Tales  of  Christian  Heroism  and  Endurance, 
and  The  Quay  of  the  Dioscuri  are  wonderful  examples  of  his  power 
to  popularize  history.  The  only  objectionable  feature  is  their  Ro- 
manizing views. 

In  his  hymn-writing  Dr.  Neale  has  headed  a  new  movement. 
He  has  attracted  the  Church  to  her  oldest  stores  of  praise  as  they 
are  treasured  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues.  He  wrote  also  a 
good  deal  that  was  original.  One  hundred  and  six  of  these  pro- 
ductions were  composed  for  the  sick  and  for  children.  But  his 
Medieval  Hymns,  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church,  and  his  book  of 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  273 

Sequences  have  settled  and  fixed  in  Christian  hearts  the  love  of 
these  old  lyrics  as  he  translated  them. 

He  died  as  Warden  of  Sackville  College,  East  Grinstead,  August 
6th,  1866. 

Jesus,  and  didst  thou  condescend. — Wakeford. 

This  is  a  hymn  which  is  stated  to  be  by  Mrs.  (?)  Amelia  Wake- 
ford.  It  first  appears  in  Ash  and  Evans  s  Collection,  1769.  The 
hymn  now  lies  before  us  in  the  fifth  edition  of  Evans  s  Collection, 
1786.  It  is  No.  224,  in  five  stanzas,  and  is  signed  "  Am — a  ;" 
in  which  it  does  not  require  much  ingenuity  to  perceive  also  the 
word  "  America,"  as  well  as  "  A?ne\\a." 

Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be. — Grigg. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  a  small  pamphlet  published  by  a  young 
man  named  Joseph  Grigg,  whom  Dr.  Belcher  calls  a  ' '  laboring 
mechanic."  Two  of  the  nineteen  hymns  were  this  one  and  that 
other,  equally  well  known  and  loved,  "  Behold  a  stranger  at  the 
door."  Mr.  Grigg  wrote  this,  which  is  one  of  his  best  hymns,  at 
the  early  age  of  ten.  Later,  he  entered  the  ministry,  and  from 
1743  to  1747  was  co-pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Silver 
Street,  London.  In  1747,  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Bures,  his  associate, 
Mr.  Grigg  resigned  his  pastorate,  married  a  widowed  lady  of 
some  means  and  went  to  St.  Albans  to  reside.  He  continued  to 
issue  works  in  prose  and  verse,  principally  religious,  and  including 
a  number  of  hymns.  The  present  hymn,  written  about  the  year 
1730  and  in  five  stanzas,  appeared  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  for 
April,  1774.  Its  title  there  was,  "  Shame  of  Jesus  Conquered  by 
Love  ;  by  a  Youth  of  Ten  Years." 

It  was  anonymous,  and  was  authenticated  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin 
Francis.      Mr.  Grigg  died  at  Walthamstow,  near  London,  in  1768. 

The  "  History  and  Antiquities  of  Dissenting  Churches  and 
Meeting-Houses  in  London,  Westminster  and  Southwark,"  etc., 
1 8 10,  has  been  quoted  by  Dr.  Hatfield  to  the  following  effect  : 

"After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  Mr.  Joseph  Greig  was,  for  a  short 
time,  assistant  to  Mr.  Bures,  at  Silver  Street  ;  but,  upon  the  death  of  the 
latter,  he  retired  from  this  service.  Mr.  Greig  married  a  lady  with  con- 
siderable property,  the  widow  of  Colonel  Drew.  After  this,  he  retired' to 
St.  Albans,  and  lived  upon  his  estate,  without  any  ministerial  charge  ; 
but  he  assisted  his  brethren  occasionally,  and  preached  most  frequently 
for  Dr.  Fordyce.     Mr.  Greig  died,  we  believe,  at  Walthamstow,  on  the 


274  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

29th  of  October,  1768.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  talents,  possessed 
of  a  lively  genius,  and  had  a  turn  for  poetry.  The  late  Mr.  Joseph  Faw- 
c«-tt,  the  pulpit  orator,  was  his  nephew." 

Mr.  Grigg's  productions  are  found  between  1744  and  1766. 
His  book  bears  date,  1756.  The  conjectural  date  for  his  birth  is 
1720.  The  present  hymn  is  regarded  as  the  "altered  "  form  in 
which  Francis  sent  the  verses  to  the  press.  D.  Sedgwick's  reprint 
contains  forty  hymns,  and  seventeen  "  Serious  Poems." 

Jesus,  and  didst  thou  leave. — Steele. 
This  is  the  fourth  stanza  of  a  hymn  of  nine  stanzas.      It  com- 
mences, "Jesus,   in  thy  transporting  name,"  etc.,  and    appears 
as  a  "  Hymn  to  Jesus  "  in  Miss  Steele's  Poems,  1760. 

Jesus,  at  thy  command. — De  Courcy.  (?) 
Another  of  the  galaxy  of  hymn-writers  surrounding  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon was  Richard  De  Courcy,  whose  hymn,  given  above,  has 
been  attributed  to  Toplady.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1743  or 
1744,  and  we  are  indebted  to  good,  gossipping  Gadsby  for  much 
that  we  know  about  him. 

De  Courcy  was  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  but  was 
too  Calvinistic  for  the  bishops  to  ordain  him.  He  therefore  left 
Ireland  for  England,  and  on  his  arrival  sought  out  Whitefield. 
When  he  told  who  he  was  and  whence  he  came,  Whitefield  took 
off  his  cap  and  showed  De  Courcy  a  scar  on  his  head,  saying  :  "  I 
got  this  wound  in  your  country  for  preaching  Christ. ' '  He  al- 
luded to  the  time  when  he  had  been  nearly  stoned  to  death  by  the 
Roman  Catholics. 

Lady  Huntingdon  interested  herself  for  De  Courcy,  and  had  him 
ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield.  He  then  joined  the  "  Con- 
nexion "  and  preached  in  many  of  her  ladyship's  chapels.  He 
was  a  good  exegetical  preacher,  making  much  of  the  Scriptures 
in  all  his  discourses.  Finally  he  associated  himself  with  Lady 
Glenorchy  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  1770  was  appointed  to  the  curacy 
of  Shawbury,  near  Hawkstone,  in  Shropshire.  After  some  four 
years  he  was  made  vicar  of  S.  Alkmund's,  Shrewsbury,  by  the  Lord 
Chancellor.  It  is  reported  that  a  controversy  on  baptism  was  con- 
ducted in  1776  between  De  Courcy  and  Rev.  Benjamin  Francis, 
and  that  another  controversial  performance  from  his  pen  was  Christ 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  275 

Crucified,  a  discourse  directed  against  the  Unitarian  views  of  Dr. 
Priestley. 

On  the  fast-day,  1803,  De  Courcy  contracted  a  heavy  cold. 
When  the  physician  came  to  him  he  said  :  "I  am  almost  spent 
It  is  a  hard  struggle,  but  it  will  soon  be  over.  I  shall  not  recover, 
but  Christ  is  mine.  He  is  my  foundation.  He  is  the  Rock  I 
build  upon."  When  the  doctor  had  examined  into  his  condition 
he  left  the  room  to  procure  certain  medicines.  De  Courcy  there- 
upon exclaimed  :  "  Thanks  be  to  God  for  my  salvation  !"  and  in- 
stantly expired.      This  was  on  the  4th  of  November,  1803. 

The  present  hymn  is  thought  to  have  been  written  to  com- 
memorate the  departure  of  Mr.  Whitefield  for  America.  Gadsby 
says  of  its  authenticity  : 

"  It  did  not  appear  in  De  Courcy's  first  edition,  1775,  but  in  a  third 
edition,  in  which  two  hundred  and  three  hymns  were  added,  most  of  them 
by  other  authors  ;  and  as  Toplady  published  it  in  his  selection  in  1776, 
before  De  Courcy  issued  his  third  edition,  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that  it 
was  not  De  Courcy's  but  Toplady's." 

DobeM  assigns  it  to  Huntingdon  s  Collection  [where  it  is  No.  179], 
and  gives  it  entire  in  seven  stanzas.  Rippon,  1787,  gives  six 
stanzas,  but  no  authorship.  Whitefield 's  visits  to  America  were 
paid  in  1738,  and  on  six  subsequent  occasions.  On  his  latest  visit 
he  died  in  Newburyport,  September  30th,  1770.  The  bearing  of 
these  dates  on  the  question  before  us  can  easily  be  seen. 

Jesus,  at  whose  supreme  command.  — C.  Wesley. 
From  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1742.     It  also  appeared  in  the 
Hymns  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  1745,  and  is  entitled,  "  Before  the 
Sacrament." 

Jesus  calls  us,  o'er  the  tumult. — C.  F.  Alexander. 
Mrs.  Alexander,  wife  of  the  Bishop  of  Derry,  wrote  this  hymn  in 
1853.     It  has  five  stanzas  in  the  Irish  Church  Hymnal.     As  a  hymn 
' '  for  St.  Andrew' s  Day ' '  it  was  first  used  in  the  S.  P.  C.  K.  's 
Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Public  Worship,  1853. 

Jesus  came,  the  heavens  adoring. — Thring. 
Rev.    Godfrey  Thring  wrote  this  hymn  in  1862.     The  form 
preferred  by  the  author  is  that  in  Hymns  Congregational  and  Others, 
1866.     Mr.  Chope  altered  those— of  which  the  present  is  one — 
which  he  admitted  into  his  collection. 


276  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Jesus  comes,  his  conflict  over. — Kelly. 
This  hymn  commences,  "  Hark,  ten  thousand  voices  cry,"  and 
is  based  on  1  Cor.  15  :  54.  It  has  five  stanzas,  of  which  the  in- 
troductory one  is  usually  omitted.  It  was  first  published  in  1806, 
and  is  sometimes  entered — as  in  the  Irish  Church  Hy??inal,  1*881 — 
under  the  line,  "  Hark  !  ten  thousand  voices  sounding." 

Jesus,  guide  our  way. — A.  T.  Russell,  tr. 

Like  the  hymn  of  Adam  Drese,  this  piece,  by  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  commences,  "  See/en  drdutigam,"  etc.  The  stanzas  here 
translated  begin,  "  Jesu  geh  voran."  The  difference  between 
Zinzendorf  s  and  Drese's  hymns  is  that  the  former  has  "  O  du  Got- 
teslamm"  and  the  latter  "Jesu,  Gotteslamm,"  as  the  second  line. 
The  present  version  is  by  Arthur  Tozer  Russell.  There  is  an- 
other, "  Jesus,  still  lead  on,"  in  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Luther, 
quoted  in  the  Book  of  Praise  and  in  Christ  in  Song.  Still  another 
rendering  is,  "  Jesus,  day  by  day."  For  the  original  see  Schaff's 
Deutsches  Gesangbuch. 

Nicholas  Lewis,  Count  and  Lord  of  Zinzendorf  and  Pottendorf, 
was  born  May  26th,  1700,  at  Dresden.  His  father,  a  pious  man, 
had  been  prime  minister  at  the  Saxon  Court,  and  died  not  long 
after  his  son's  birth.  The  child's  godfather  was  the  devout 
Spener,  a  man  eminent  as  the  head  of  the  "  Pietists"  in  Halle, 
and  as  a  composer  and  inspirer  of  hymns.  The  young  Zinzendorf 
consequently  grew  up  surrounded  by  religious  influences,  and 
when  his  mother  remarried  he  was  placed  under  his  grandmother's 
care — an  excellent  and  godly  woman,  who  gave  attention  to  his 
education  in  the  principles  of  the  Gospel. 

He  was  always  remarked  for  his  piety.  As  a  mere  child  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  writing  little  notes  to  the  Saviour,  which  he 
confidingly  threw  out  of  the  window  so  that  the  Lord  might  find 
them  as  he  passed  by.  When  he  was  only  six  years  old  a  band  of 
soldiers,  who  entered  the  house  demanding  money,  found  him 
preaching  to  a  congregation  of  chairs,  and  were  so  amazed  that 
they  stayed  to  listen  to  his  discourse.  He  gave  away  his  money  to 
the  poor,  and  he  delighted  above  all  things  in  collecting  other 
children  together  and  praying  with  them. 

From  the  age  of  eleven  to  that  of  sixteen  he  studied  under  the 
direction  of  Augustus  Hermann  Franke  (another  hymn-writer)  in 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


77 


the  Royal  School,  at  Halle.  Franke  frequently  said  of  him  : 
11  This  youth  will  one  day  become  a  great  light  of  the  Church." 
The  difficulties  which  Zinzendorf  encountered  there — from  harsh 
tutors  and  gibing  scholars — only  confirmed  him  in  his  wish  to 
serve  the  Lord. 

His  guardian  also  was  rather  against  this  "  pietism,"  and  sent 
him  off,  in  171 6,  to  Wittenberg  to  study  law.  This  he  performed 
faithfully,  but  devoted  his  odd  hours  to  theology  and  hymn-writ- 
ing. In  1 71 9  he  departed  for  a  tour  through  Holland,  France  and 
Switzerland,  accompanied  by  a  private  tutor.  It  was  on  this  jour- 
ney that  he  saw  the  Ecce  Ho?no  at  Dusseldorf  with  its  inscription, 
11  This  have  I  done  for  thee  ;  what  doest  thou  for  me?"  which  so 
powerfully  affected  his  mind  and  character. 

At  Utrecht  he  prosecuted  the  study  of  the  law,  and  was  also  in- 
structed in  the  English  language.  Next  he  went  to  Paris.  But 
he  now  turned  sharply  aside  from  everything  like  pleasure,  and  even 
in  the  gay  capital  he  sought  out  the  humble  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Travel  had  enlarged  his  ideas.  He  rejoiced  in  true 
Christianity  wherever  he  found  it,  and  in  1721  he  announced  his 
desire  to  be  a  missionary  to  the  heathen. 

Being  a  Lutheran,  this  seemed  out  of  accord  with  his  social  sta- 
tion and  hereditary  belief.  Therefore  his  relations  secured  him 
the  office  of  Judicial  Councillor  at  Dresden.  He  accepted  the 
position,  but  contrived  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  clergy  to  the 
religious  meetings  which  he  conducted  in  his  house,  and  to  the 
weekly  paper,  The  German  Socrates,  which  he  published  at  his  own 
cost. 

The  story  of  his  marriage,  September  7th,  1723,  illustrates  his 
character.  He  had  been  attached  to  the  Countess  Theodora  of 
Castel,  but  finding  that  the  mother  of  his  intimate  friend,  Count 
Reuss,  wished  her  son  to  marry  this  lady,  he  relinquished  his  suit. 
He  then  devoted  himself  to  the  Countess  Erdmuth  Dorothea,  the 
sister  of  Count  Reuss,  and  finally  married  her — to  their  lasting 
happiness.  Doubtless  the  calm  German  temperament  of  all  these 
excellent  young  people  was  of  a  sort  to  submit  to  authority,  to 
suffer  disappointment  with  fortitude,  and  to  be  content  with  the 
dispensations  of  Providence. 

Not  long  afterward  Zinzendorf  encountered  some  of  the  "  scat- 
tered and  peeled  "  remnants  of  the  old  Hussite  faith.     Elsewhere 


278  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

we  have  treated  of  their  opinions  at  some  length.  The  few  sur- 
vivors of  this  persecuted  Church  excited  the  deepest  sympathy  in 
the  breast  of  the  good  count.  They  had  been  driven  from 
Moravia,  and  for  their  sake  he  bought  an  estate  named  Berthels- 
dorf,  in  Upper  Lusatia,  Saxony,  on  which  he  suffered  them  to 
settle.  As  this  village  was  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  call  Hutberg — 
"Shelter  Mountain"  —  they  designated  it  as  "  Herrnhut, " 
the  Lord's  Shelter.  It  soon  passed  under  the  actual  superintend- 
ence of  Zinzendorf.  May  12th,  1724,  witnessed  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  for  a  meeting-house.  And  in  1727,  Zinzendorf,  re- 
signing his  Dresden  appointment,  removed  to  Bethelsdorf  to  devote 
himself  to  the  interests  of  what  was  now  called  the  "  Brethren's 
Church." 

The  missionary  zeal  of  this  revived  organization  has  proved  to 
be  one  of  the  remarkable  features  of  a  most  self-denying  and  ear- 
nest body  of  Christians.  The  Moravians  have  diligently  sought 
out  the  poor  and  neglected  of  the  earth,  and  wherever  a  Green- 
land, a  Labrador,  a  Patagonia,  or  a  down-trodden  West  Indian 
island  offered  a  place  for  Christian  effort  there  they  have  planted 
their  missions.  An  examination  of  the  history  of  evangelization 
will  reveal  this  wonderful  story — so  wonderful  that  it  entitles  them 
to  outrank  any  other  sect  of  Christendom  in  their  fervent  sympathy 
with  the  oppressed  and  the  benighted.  And,  as  might  be  expected, 
it  has  drawn  upon  them  the  same  reproach  that  fell  upon  the 
simple-hearted,  self-sacrificing  believers  in  the  days  of  the  early 
Church. 

Count  Zinzendorf  was  exposed  to  the  contempt  and  scorn  of 
the  rationalists  and  infidels  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was  forced  to 
leave  Herrnhut  and  purge  his  orthodoxy  (of  all  places  !)  at  Tu- 
bingen. Here  he  took  regular  orders  in  1734,  being  examined  in 
theology  and  found  to  be  sound  in  the  faith.  Returning  to  Berlin 
he  secured  the  king's  good- will,  and  labored  among  the  nobility 
with  so  much  success  that  forty-two  carriages  were  once  counted 
waiting  at  his  door  during  a  religious  service. 

In  January,  1737,  he  made  his  memorable  visit  to  London  ; 
and,  as  a  result,  John  and  Charles  Wesley  with  their  adherents 
were  for  a  time  among  the  Moravians.  Doctrinal  differences,  how- 
ever, separated  them,  and  on  the  20th  of  May,  1737,  the  count, 
being  again  in  Berlin,  was  consecrated  as  bishop.     The  ceremony 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  279 

was  performed  by  Jablonsky,  the  oldest  of  the  Moravian  bishops, 
but  Zinzendorf  did  not  hold  the  office  beyond  1 740,  owing  to  the 
false  accusations  of  his  enemies,  "  which  he  wished,"  says  Kiibler, 
"to  bear  alone  without  involving  the  Moravian  Church."  In 
October,  1738,  he  visited  the  West  Indies.  In  1741  he  was  in 
the  United  States  (or  what  was  to  be  the  United  States),  and 
preached  in  Philadelphia  and  also  among  the  American  Indians. 
Whether  he  held  those  people  (as  Weems  does  in  his  very  peculiar 
Life  of  William  Pemi)  to  have  been  the  remainder  of  the  Lost  Ten 
Tribes,  does  not  appear.  The  services  were  blessed  of  God,  and 
in  April,  1743,  the  preacher  was  again  at  home  in  Herrnhut — 
but  not  to  remain,  since  it  was  not  before  1747  that  he  secured  the 
formal  permission  which  enabled  him  to  reside  among  his  flock. 
In  1749,  the  Moravians,  who  had  regularly  adopted  the  Augsburg 
Confession  of  1530  as  their  standard  of  faith,  were,  and  have  ever 
since  been,  publicly  recognized  as  an  evangelical  body.  The 
United  Brethren's  Church  in  England  was  also  "  confirmed  as  a 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church"  by  Act  of  Parliament  dated  May 
1 2th,  1749.  In  1748,  and  again  in  175 1,  Zinzendorf  was  in  Lon- 
don.     On  the  latter  visit  he  remained  for  four  years. 

His  son,  Christian  Renatus — a  bright  and  promising  young  man, 
and  the  author  of  two  hymns  in  the  Brethren  s  Hymn-Book — died 
May  28th,  1752.  The  countess — herself  a  person  of  culture  and 
piety,  and  author  of  a  hymn — died  June  19th,  1756.  A  year  later 
Count  Zinzendorf  married  Anne  Nitschmann,  one  of  the  Herrn- 
hut sisters,  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  closing  years  in  that 
peaceful  retreat.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1760,  he  fell  ill  of  fever, 
which  rapidly  exhausted  his  strength.  He  only  lingered  four  days, 
dying  on  the  9th  of  May. 

To  his  son-in-law  he  said  :  ' '  Now,  my  dear  son,  I  am  going  to 
the  Saviour.  I  am  ready  ;  I  am  quite  resigned  to  the  will  of  my 
Lord.  If  he  is  no  longer  willing  to  make  use  of  me  here  I  am 
quite  ready  to  go  to  him,  for  there  is  nothing  more  in  my  way." 
Nearly  a  hundred  of  the  members  of  the  community  had  assem- 
bled in  and  near  his  bed-chamber.  He  looked  on  them  with  cheer- 
fulness ;  spoke  words  of  consolation  and  encouragement,  and  died 
as  his  son-in-law  closed  his  prayer  with  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace. "  As  the  word  "  peace  "  was  uttered 
he  ceased  to  breathe.     On  his  tombstone  are  the  words,  ' '  He  was 


2 So  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ordained  that  he  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  his  fruit 
should  remain." 

Of  his  hymns  much  can  be  said.  ' '  Jesus,  thy  blood  and  right- 
eousness," is  John  Wesley's  tribute  of  admiration,  and  the  trans- 
lation is  fit  to  stand  beside  the  original,  ' '  Christi  Blut  und  Gerech- 
tigkeit." 

Kiibler  gives  the  list-numbers  of  Zinzendorfs  hymns  in  the 
Moravian  collection  in  current  use  in  1865.  He  considers  the 
best  period  of  the  count's  hymn-writing  to  have  been  between 
1720  and  1740 — to  which  date  belongs  the  hymn,  "  Heart  and 
heart  together  bound  "  ("  Herz  und  Herz  vereint  zusammen"). 

He  evidently  depends  on  the  life  of  Zinzendorf,  by  Spangen- 
berg,  translated  by  Jackson,  for  his  dates.  And  he  also  very 
properly  reprobates  the  tendency  of  the  Moravians  between  1744 
and  1750  to  religious  sentimentalism. 

We  must  ourselves  call  attention  to  that  wonderful  list  of  German 
hymn-writers  with  whom  the  name  and  work  of  Zinzendorf  are  con- 
nected. Here  are  Spener  and  Augustus  Hermann  Franke,  whom 
we .  have  mentioned.  Here  are  also  Friedrich  von  Hardenberg 
(' '  Novalis  "  —  for  whom  see  Curwen's  Sorrow  and  Song) ;  Augustus 
Gottlieb  Spangenberg,  Zinzendorfs  biographer  ;  Henrietta  Louisa 
von  Hayn,  a  sister  of  Herrnhut  and  author  of  "  I  am  Jesus'  little 
lamb  "  ;  Christian  Gregor,  who  remodelled  the  Moravian  burial- 
hymn,  "  Christ  will  gather  in  his  own  "  ;  Christian  Lewis  Edel- 
ing,  a  former  tutor  of  the  young  count  while  at  his  grandmother's  ; 
Gottfried  (not  Caspar)  Neumann,  a  dear  personal  friend  ;  and 
Johann  Andreas  Rothe,  a  valued  associate,  and  one  to  whom 
several  of  Zinzendorfs  hymns  have  been  incorrectly  assigned. 
This  German  hymn-ganglion  is  therefore  worthy  of  more  notice 
than  our  space  affords. 

Jesus,   heed  me,  lost  and  dying.  — Offord. 

This  hymn,  and  another,  "  It  is  no  untried  way,"  were  contrib- 
uted to  the  New  York  Observer,  by  Rev.  R.  M.  Offord,  then  and 
now  an  editor  of  that  paper.  They  appeared,  respectively,  January 
25th  and  February  1st,  1883,  and  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Robinson 
were  abbreviated  and  somewhat  altered  for  use  in  Laudes  Domini, 
1884.  Mr.  Offord  has  recently  written  occasional  hymns  for  The 
Observer,  of  which  these  seem  to  us  the  most  successful,  though 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  281 

others  have  been  also  commended.  Of  himself  he  says,  modestly  : 
"lam  not  a  poet— and  hardly  a  hymn- writer"— but  if  he  had 
the  experience  given  by  a  large  comparison  of  the  hymns  of  the 
Church  he  would  know  that  to  compose  a  good  and  catholic  and 
permanent  hymn  is  indeed  to  be  a  poet  of  no  mean  standing. 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Offord's  personal  kindness  for  the  facts 
of  his  life.    He  was  born  at  St.  Austell,  Cornwall,  September  17th, 
1846.      His  father,  Rev.  John   Offord,  was  an  open-communion 
Baptist.      After  his  death,  in  1869,  Mr.  Offord,  in   1870,  came  to 
this  country.      Not  accepting  the  views  of  the   Baptist  brethren 
whom  he  met,  he  was  led  to  study  the  subject  of  immersion,  with 
the  result  that  he  joined  the  Protestant  Methodists  and  preached  in 
their  pulpits.     But  here,  again,  he  had  a  question  of  belief ;  and, 
being  a  Calvinist  rather  than  an  Arminian,  he  entered  the  Re- 
formed (Dutch)  Church,  and  was  received  by  the  Classis  of  Para- 
mus,  September    17th,  1878.      He  then  spent  some  six  years  as 
pastor  at  Lodi,  N.  J.,  but  his  editorial  work  gradually  engrossed 
more  and  more  of  his  time.      He  had  been  connected  with  The 
Witness,  and  afterward  with  The  Observer,  and  ultimately  resigned 
his  charge  owing  to  the  increased  demands  upon  him.   It  is  to  him 
that  the  religious  public  owes  its  reports  of  the  Fulton  Street  Prayer 
Meeting— the   first  daily  noonday  meeting  in  the  United  States, 
and  one  which  is  still  sustained. 

It  is  almost  pathetic  for  Mr.  Offord  to  describe  himself  as  "  a 
literary  'hack.'  "  When  one  remembers  the  vast  army  of  re- 
porters and  anonymous  journalists  whom  the  busy  world  grinds 
down,  wears  out  and  forgets,  he  can  realize  the  meaning  of  a  hymn 
that  arises  from  such  a  life.  Except  in  some  moral  particulars  the 
requirements  of  a  religious  and  of  a  secular  journal  are  not  very 
divergent.  Sometimes  the  men  and  women  of  the  staff  are  recog- 
nized^  but  more  often  they  are  coral-insects— builders  without  a 
name'.  Yet  some  of  the  best-known  literary  people  of  modern 
times  have  been  proud  to  be  "hacks"  in  journalism,  and  their 
"  songs  in  the  night"  have  been  wrung  from  them  by  the  need  for 
a  Saviour's  help  in  the  midst  of  an  exhausting  occupation. 

Jesus,  hail,  enthroned  in  glory.— Bakewell. 
This  is  a  part  of  the  well-known  hymn,  "  Hail,  thou  once  de- 
spised Jesus. ' '     Bakewell's  family  always  asserted  his  authorship  of 


2 82  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

this  hymn,  which  appeared  in  Madari s  Collection,  1760,  and  was 
altered  by  Toplady  in  1776.  This  stanza  formerly  began,  "  Soon 
shall  we,  with  those  in  glory." 

Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name. — Doddridge. 
An  old  minister,  quite  feeble  in  mind  from  long  illness,  was 
quickly  aroused  when  some  assertions  were  made  regarding  the 
divinity  of  Christ  and  his  inferiority  to  God.  ' '  Stuff  !  poison  ! ' ' 
he  exclaimed.  "  Oh,  let  it  not  come  unto  your  minds  !"  and 
quoted  with  vigor  and  emphasis  this  hymn  of  Dr.  Doddridge.  He 
dwelt  especially  upon  the  words  : 

"  Yes,  thou  art  precious  to  my  soul, 
My  transport  and  my  trust  ;" 

and  then  relapsed  into  that  state  of  quiescent  indifference  from 
which  nothing  but  the  name  and  fame  of  Christ  had  power  to 
awaken  him. 

Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken. — Lyte. 

In  Mr.  Lyte's  own  language,  he  was  "  jostled  from  one  curacy 
to  another."  His  education  had  been  obtained  at  the  cost  of  a 
severe  struggle,  and  his  Brixham  congregation  were  in  many  points 
very  uncongenial  to  him.  Yet  he  bore  every  cross  nobly,  and  such 
a  hymn  as  the  present  may  well  be  taken  as  the  deep  and  true 
utterance  of  the  singer's  own  soul. 

We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Belcher  for  the  identification  of  this 
hymn  with  its  author's  name.  Previous  to  1859  it  was  credited  to 
Montgomery,  to  the  Hon.  Miss  Grant,  or  to  her  brother,  Lord 
Glenelg,  or  her  other  brother,  Sir  Robert  Grant.  Dr.  Belcher 
pointed  out  the  fact  that  it  appeared  in  Lyte's  Poems,  Chiefly  Re- 
ligious, 1833. 

Henry  Francis  Lyte  was  born  June  1st,  1793,  at  Kelso,  a  place 
made  memorable  to  the  Christian  world  by  the  residence  there, 
from  1837  to  1866,  of  Dr.  Horatius  Bonar.  His  first  school  was 
at  Protoro,  and  thence  he  went  to  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  During 
his  collegiate  course  he  three  times  obtained  the  prize  for  English 
poetry,  and  the  money  thus  gained  was  an  important  addition  to 
his  finances,  which  were  meagre  enough.  He  then  entered  the 
ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  having  given  up  his  original 
intention  of  studying  medicine.  His  ordination  dates  from  18 15, 
and  he  was  given  a  curacy  near  Wexford,  whence  he  removed  to 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  .  283 

Marazion  in  181 7.  Up  to  this  period  he  was  apparently  a  total 
stranger  to  vital  godliness,  but  in  181 8  he  was  suddenly  called  to 
the  death-bed  of  a  neighboring  clergyman,  who  knew  that  he  was 
dying  but  felt  utterly  unfit  for  the  great  change.  In  the  darkness 
of  that  Valley  of  the  Shadow  the  dying  man  and  his  equally  dis- 
tressed comrade  turned  to  the  writings  of  St.  Paul.  Together  they 
found  light  and  peace  ;  and  the  poor  fellow,  whose  summons  had 
been  so  like  a  call  from  the  unseen  world,  "died,"  says  Lyte, 
"  happy  under  the  belief  that,  though  he  had  deeply  erred,  there 
was  One  whose  death  and  sufferings  would  atone  for  his  delin- 
quencies, and  be  accepted  for  all  that  he  had  incurred. "  He  adds  : 
11  I  was  greatly  affected  by  the  whole  matter,  and  brought  to  look 
at  life  and  its  issue  with  a  different  eye  than  before  ;  and  I  began 
to  study  my  Bible  and  preach  in  another  manner  than  I  had  pre- 
viously done." 

He  went  in  this  affair  much  further  than  ordinary  sympathy,  for 
he  took  charge  of  the  family  of  his  departed  friend  ;  and  so  in- 
creased his  own  responsibilities  and  anxieties  that  his  ill  health  can 
be  largely  attributed  to  this  cause.  In  18 19  he  was  settled  at 
Lymington,  Hampshire,  and  composed  at  that  place  some  Tales 
on  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which,  however,  were  not  published  until 
1826.  In  1823  he  became  the  "perpetual  curate  "  of  Lower 
Brixham,  Devonshire.  He  had  now  married,  and  his  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  W.  Maxwell,  D.D.,  of  Bath.  It  was  here  at 
Brixham  that  Lyte  fully  entered  into  the  spirit  of  his  own  hymn. 
He  relinquished  society,  culture  and  everything,  to  follow  Jesus. 
He  took  up  the  cross  of  this  hard  labor,  and  carried  it — success- 
fully, too— until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Nice,  November 
20th,  1847. 

The  date  assigned  to  this  hymn  is  generally  given  as  1833.  But 
we  have  found  it  copied  from  The  Home  Missionary  Magazine  into 
the  Religious  Magazine  for  March,    1829.      The  probable  date   is 

1824. 

Jesus,  in  thy  dying  woes. — Pollock. 

Rev.  Thomas  Benson  Pollock  is  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  where  he  became  B.A.  in  1859,  and  M.A.  in  1863.  He 
took  the  vice-chancellor's  prize  for  English  verse  in  1855.  After 
becoming  deacon  in  1861  and  priest  in  1862,  and  serving  awhile 
as  curate,  he  received  the  rectorv  of  Pluckley,  Kent,  in  1869.     In 


2§4  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

1873  he  was  given  the  position  of  archdeacon  in  Chester  cathe- 
dral, and  has  been  well  known  as  a  scholar  and  author.  In 
1883  he  was  in  charge  of  the  church  of  St.  Alban  Martyr,  Birming- 
ham. He  has  been  connected  as  curate  with  the  churches  of  St. 
Luke,  Leek,  Staffordshire  and  St.  Thomas,  Stamford  Hill,  Mid- 
dlesex. 

Archdeacon  Pollock  was  born  in  1836,  and  has  published  trans- 
lations of  yEschylus,  Sophocles,  etc. 

This  hymn  on  the  "  Seven  Words  of  Christ  upon  the  Cross/' 
1874,  has  for  its  six  other  divisions  : 

"  Jesus,  pitying  the  sighs." 

"  Jesus,  loving  to  the  end." 

"  Jesus,  whelmed  in  fears  unknown." 

"Jesus,  in  thy  thirst  and  pain." 

"  Jesus,  all  our  ransom  paid." 

"  Jesus,  all  thy  labor  vast." 

Jesus  invites  his  saints.  — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  No.  2  of  Book  III.,  of  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns,  with 
the  title,  "  1  Cor.  10  :  16,  17.,  Communion  with  Christ  and  with 
Saints. ' '     There  are  six  stanzas. 

Jesus  is  God  !     The  glorious  bands.  —  Faber. 
This  is  from  the  hymn,  "  Jesus  is  God,"  in  seven  double  stanzas. 

Jesus  is  gone  above  the  skies. — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns  this  is  No.  6,  of  Book  III.,  with  the  title, 
"John  16  :  16,  Luke  22  :  19,  John  14  :  3.     The  Memorial   of 
our  absent  Lord. ' '     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Jesus,  Jesus  !  visit  me. — Dunn,  tr. 

This  is  a  translation  by  Rev.  Professor  Robinson  Potter  Dunn, 
D.D.,  from  the  German  of  "  Angelus  Silesius"  (Johann  Schef- 
fler),  1660.     The  hymn  has  six  stanzas. 

Professor  Dunn  was  born  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  May  31st,  1825,  and 
entered  Brown  University  in  his  fifteenth  year.  He  was  graduated 
with  the  first  honors  in  1843,  and  continued  in  the  University  for 
two  years  as  an  instructor  in  French  and  as  librarian.  He  then 
took  a  theological  course  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  was  ordained 
November  1st,  1848,  as  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  of 
Camden,  N.  J.     In   1851  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  Rhetoric 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  285 

and  English  Literature  at  Brown  University,  from  which  he  re- 
ceived also  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  1864.  During  a 
vacation  which  he  was  spending  at  Newport  with  his  parents  he 
was  attacked  with  erysipelas,  and  after  five  days'  illness  he  died 
there,  August  28th,  1867.  He  left  behind  him  not  merely  a  fine 
reputation  as  a  scholar  and  instructor,  but  also — which  is  more  to 
our  present  purpose — several  very  beautiful  hymns.  The  piece  be- 
fore us  is  one  of  them  ;  and  there  were  other  versions  from  Ger- 
man and  Latin  sources.  The  hymn,  "  No,  no,  it  is  not  dying," 
was  taken  by  him  from  the  German  of  Albert  Knapp,  "  Nein,  nein, 
es  is/  kein  sterben. ' ' 

This  has  been  also  rendered  into  French  by  Dr.  Caesar  Malan, 
from  whom  it  was  translated  into  English  by  Dr.  Bethune. 

Jesus,  Lamb  of  God,  for  me.  — Palmer. 
This  hymn  was  written  by  Dr.  Ray  Palmer,  in  Albany,  N.  Y., 
in  1863,  and  is  based  on  Matt.  26  :  28. 

Jesus  lives,  no  longer  now. — F.  E.  Cox,  tr. 

In  Miss  Cox's  Sacred  Hymns  this  is  a  "  Hymn  for  Easter  Day," 
with  a  reference  to  Rom.  8  :  11.  The  German  is  by  Christian 
Furchtegott  Gellert,  and  commences,  "Jesus  lebt,  mit  ihm  auch 
ich."     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Gellert  was  born  in  Haynichen  in  Erzgebirge,  Saxony,  July  4th, 
171 5.  He  was  the  son  of  the  pastor,  and  studied  theology  under 
many  difficulties  at  Leipzig.  He  was  never  strong  and  well  enough 
to  preach,  but  lectured  at  Leipzig  on  eloquence  and  natural  phi- 
losophy, and  won  the  reputation  of  being  a  man  of  pure  taste  and 
excellent  scholarship.  Goethe  was  one  of  his  pupils.  His  writ- 
ings were  admired  and  highly  esteemed — but  it  is  as  a  poet,  and 
especially  as  a  Christian  poet,  that  the  German  people  love  him. 
Many  of  his  pieces  have  a  truly  classic  merit.  In  his  final  illness 
his  friends  told  him,  in  answer  to  his  question,  that  the  struggle 
might  continue  for  an  hour  longer.  He  lifted  his  hands,  and  with 
a  cheerful  countenance  exclaimed  :  "  Now,  God  be  praised,  only 
an  hour!"  And  then  turning  on  his  side,  his  eyes  bright  with 
joy,  he  gently  breathed  his  last,  December,  1769.  It  had  been 
his  wish  to  die  "  like  Addison." 

Many  incidents  are  related  as  to  the  response  which  his  writings 
awoke.      Once,  when  Gellert  was  exceedingly  poor,  and  even  in 


286  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  a  peasant  brought  a  load  of  fire- 
wood to  him  as  a  tribute  of  gratitude  for  the  pleasure  derived  from 
his  fables.  His  hymns — first  published  in  1757,  and  fifty-four  in 
number — bridged  the  gulf  between  the  old  and  the  new  hymnology 
of  his  native  land.  They  were  marvellously  blessed.  High  and 
low,  rich  and  poor,  sang  them — and  even  kings  and  princes  paid 
him  visits  of  respect.  On  a  certain  occasion,  having  gone  to 
church  in  a  gloomy  mood,  he  heard  one  of  his  own  hymns  sung. 
It  made  him  weep  bitterly,  for  he  said  :  "  Is  it  you  who  composed 
this  hymn,  and  yet  you  feel  so  little  of  its  power  in  your  own 
heart?" 

When  a  rumor  spread  that  he  had  hanged  himself  he  sent  word 
to  the  people  of  Coburg,  quoting  part  of  a  stanza  from  Gerhardt  : 

"  I  hang  and  shall  be  hanging 
Forever  on  my  Lord." 

Miss  Frances  Elizabeth  Cox,  the  translator,  was  born  in  Oxford, 
England,  the  daughter  of  G.  V.  Cox,  M.A.  Her  Sacred  Hymns 
from  the  German  (London,  1841,  and  second  edition,  revised  and 
enlarged,  1864)  was  one  of  the  earliest  attempts  to  place  the  Ger- 
man lyrics  in  an  English  dress.  Her  "  Earth  has  nothing  sweet 
or  fair,"  from  "  Angelus  Silesius"  (Johann  Schemer)  has  enjoyed 
great  approval.  She  was  largely  indebted  to  Baron  Bunsen's  per- 
sonal suggestions  in  her  selection  of  pieces  to  be  translated. 

Jesus,  Lord  of  life  and  glory. — Cummins. 
The  present  hymn  is  taken  from  Hymns,  Meditations,  and  Other 
Poems,  by  James  J(ohn)  Cummins,  London,  1849.  Two  of  Mr. 
Cummins' s  other  hymns  are,  "  Shall  hymns  of  grateful  love," 
1849,  and  "  Jesus,  Lord,  we  kneel  before  thee,"  1849.  He  wrote 
Seals  of  the  Covenant  Opened  in  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church,  1839. 
He  died  in  1867. 

Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul. — C.  Wesley. 

There  is  scarcely  any  hymn  which,  for  wide  usefulness  and  ac- 
ceptance can  dispute  the  supremacy  with  this.  Of  itself  it  would 
have  immortalized  its  author,  but,  being  itself,  it  was  a  pledge  that 
many  more  verses  would  accompany  it  from  the  same  pen. 
Charles  Wesley  wrote  it  in  1740,  and  it  is  found  in  Hymns  and 
Sacred  Poems,  1742,  in  five  double  stanzas. 

We  have  attempted — but  only  superficially — to  do  for  this  hymn 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  287 

what  could  well  be  performed  in  another  shape  and  as  a  volume 
by  itself.  This  is  to  group  the  incidents  relating  to  it,  so  far  as 
they  bear  any  evidence  of  authenticity. 

It  is  related  of  Thomas  Hartwell  Home,  the  author  of  the  "  In- 
troduction to  the  Critical  Study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, "  that  he 
was  convinced  of  sin  under  the  preaching  oi  Rev.  Joseph  Benson, 
and  united  himself  with  the  Methodists.  He  came  under  the  re- 
ligious care  of  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  and  was  finally  ordained  in  the 
Church  of  England.  His  services  as  a  scholar  and  theologian  were 
eminent,  but  in  his  honored  old  age  nothing  comforted  him  like 

the  lines  : 

11  Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee." 

He  died  January  27th,  1862,  aged  eighty-two. 

Few  hymns  have  been  more  extensively  blessed  in  the  dying 
hours  of  believers.  It  would  be  possible  to  compile  a  volume  of 
incidents  "  of  considerable  dimensions"  (to  quote  G.  J.  Steven- 
son's words)  from  Methodist  sources  alone,  under  this  heading. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  once  said,  after  a  reference  to  his  father, 
Dr.  Lyman  Beecher' s,  death,  and  his  love  for  this  hymn  : 

"  I  would  rather  have  written  that  hymn  of  Wesley's  : 

'  Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly,' 

than  to  have  the  fame  of  all  the  kings  that  ever  sat  on  the  earth.  It  is 
more  glorious.  It  has  more  power  in  it.  I  would  rather  be  the  author 
of  that  hymn  than  to  hold  the  wealth  of  the  richest  man  in  New  York. 
He  will  die.  He  is  dead,  and  does  not  know  it.  He  will  pass,  after  a 
little  while,  out  of  men's  thoughts.  What  wilt  there  be  to  speak  of  him  ? 
What  will  he  have  done  that  will  stop  trouble,  or  encourage  hope  ?  His 
money  will  go  to  his  heirs,  and  they  will  divide  it.  It  is  like  a  stream 
divided  and  growing  narrower  by  division.  And  they  will  die,  and  it  will 
go  to  their  heirs.  In  three  or  four  generations  everything  comes  to  the 
ground  again  for  redistribution.  But  that  hymn  will  go  on  singing  unti 
the  last  trump  brings  forth  the  angel  band  ;  andAen,  I  think  it  will 
mount  up  on  some  lip  to  the  very  presence  of  God." 

The  late  President  Finney,  of  Oberlin,  O.,  was  walking  about 
his  grounds  not  long  before  his  death.     In  the  church  where  he 
had  preached  for  forty  years  the  evening  service  had  just  begun. 
Presently  he  heard  this  hymn  floating  to  him  from  the  distance 
He  caught  it  up,  sang  with  the  invisible  congregation,  and  joined 


288  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

in  their  praises  to  the  end.  Before  the  next  morning  he  had  joined 
the  choir  about  the  throne. 

The  following  incident  has  been  frequently  told,  and  we  are  glad 
to  have  it  in  an  apparently  authentic  shape  : 

"  Several  years  ago  a  ship  was  burned  near  the  English  Channel. 
Among  the  passengers  were  a  father,  mother,  and  their  little  child,  a 
daughter,  not  many  months  old.  When  the  discovery  was  made  that  the 
ship  was  on  fire,  and  the  alarm  was  given,  there  was  great  confusion,  and 
this  family  became  separated.  The  father  was  rescued  and  taken  to  Liver- 
pool ;  but  the  mother  and  infant  were  carried  overboard  by  the  crowd, 
and,  unnoticed  by  those  who  were  doing  all  in  their  power  to  save  the 
sufferers  still  on  the  ship,  they  drifted  out  of  the  Channel  with  the  tide,  the 
mother  clinging  to  a  fragment  of  the  wreck,  with  her  little  one  clasped  to 
her  breast.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  a  vessel  bound  from  New- 
port, Wales,  to  America,  was  moving  slowly  along  in  her  course.  There 
was  only  a  slight  breeze,  and  the  captain  was  impatiently  walking  the 
deck  when  his  attention  was  called  to  an  object  some  distance  off,  which 
looked  like  a  person  in  the  water.  The  officers  and  crew  watched  it  for 
a  time,  and  as  no  vessel  was  near  from  which  any  one  could  have  fallen 
overboard,  they  thought  it  impossible  to  be  a  human  being.  The  captain 
sent  a  boat,  which  was  watched  with  deepest  interest  from  the  ship.  As 
the  boat  approached  the  object  floating,  suddenly  the  sound  of  a  gentle 
voice  was  heard  so  softly  singing,  and  the  sailors  listened  to  the  words  of 
the  first  verse  :  '  Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul.'  Soon  the  rescued  mother  and 
child  were  safe  on  board  the  ship,  and  ultimately  reached  America.  The 
father  joined  them  four  months  afterward." 

It  is  said  that  an  excursion  of  Sunday-school  teachers  and 
scholars  on  Lake  Winipiseogee  was  saved  from  panic  and  disaster 
during  a  storm  by  the  singing  of  this  hymn.  It  almost  seemed  as 
though  the  clouds  broke  and  the  wind  allayed  while  the  verses 
were  being  sung. 

"  Mr.  Gould,"  says  Dr.  Belcher,  "  mentions  the  influence  of  singing  on 
the  mind  of  a  minister  in  Vermont.  He  was  a  stranger,  called  to  officiate 
for  a  Sabbath  in  a  cold  and  dreary  church.  When  he  entered  it,  the  wind 
howled,  and  loose  clapboards  and  windows  clattered.  The  pulpit  stood 
high  above  the  first  floor.  There  was  no  stove  ;  but  a  few  persons  in  the 
church,  and  those  few  beating  their  hands  and  feet  to  keep  them  from 
freezing.  He  asked  himself :  '  Can  I  preach  ?  Of  what  use  can  it  be  ? 
What  shall  I  do  ?  Can  these  two  or  three  singers  in  the  gallery  sing  the 
words  if  I  read  a  hymn  ?'     'I  concluded  to  make  a  trial,  and  read  : 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly." 

"  '  They  commenced,  and  the  sound  of  a  single  female  voice  has  fol- 
lowed me  with  an  indescribable,  pleasing  sensation  ever  since,  and  prob- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  289 

ably  will  while  I  live.  The  voice,  intonation,  articulation  and  expression 
seemed  to  me  perfect.  I  was  warmed  inside  and  out,  and  for  the  time 
was  lost  in  rapture.  I  had  heard  of  the  individual  and  voice  before  ;  but 
hearing  it  in  this  dreary  situation  made  it  doubly  grateful.  Never  did  I 
preach  with  more  satisfaction  to  myself.  And  from  this  incident  I 
learned  a  lesson  :  Never  to  be  discouraged  by  unfavorable  appearances, 
but,  where  duty  calls,  go  to  work  cheerfully,  without  wavering  ! '  " 

Mr.  Spurgeon  declares  that  the  selection  of  psalms  and  hymns 
for  divine  worship  is  no  trifle.  "An  ungodly  stranger,"  he  re- 
marks, "stepping  into  one  of  our  services  at  Exeter  Hall,  was 
brought  to  the  Cross  by  the  words  of  Wesley's  verse,  '  Jesu,  lover 
of  my  soul. '  '  Does  Jesus  love  me  ? '  said  he  :  '  then  why  should 
I  live  in  enmity  to  him  ? '  " 

Dr.  Alexander  McKenzie,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  calls  this  a 
"  sailor's  hymn."  It  may  well  be,  for  sailors  have  always  loved 
it.  A  coasting  vessel  once  went  on  the  rocks  in  the  English  Chan- 
nel. Her  captain  and  crew  abandoned  her  and  were  lost  in  the 
boats.  But  the  vessel  stood  out  the  storm,  and  those  who  boarded 
her  found  on  the  captain's  table  a  hymn-book  with  the  pencil  in 
its  leaves,  and  this  stanza  marked — as  if  it  was  among  his  latest 
thoughts.  The  traditional  origin  of  the  hymn  is  that  Wesley  was 
seated  at  his  desk  when  a  bird  pursued  by  a  hawk  flew  into  the 
open  window.  The  baffled  hawk  did  not  dare  to  follow,  and  the 
poet  took  his  pen  and  wrote  this  immortal  song. 

In  The  Story  Lizzie  Told  [by  Mrs.  Prentiss]  Westminster  Abbey 
appears  as  a  "  big  church  "  "  just  as  full  as  it  could  hold. " 

"  Then,  all  of  a  sudden,  they  burst  out  a-singing.  Father  showed  me 
the  card  with  large  letters  on  it,  and,  says  he,  '  Sing,  Lizzie,  sing  !  * 

"  And  so  I  did.     It  was  the  first  time  in  my  life.     The  hymn  said  : 

1  Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly,' 

and  I  whispered  to  father,  '  Is  Jesus  God  V  '  Yes,  yes,'  said  he.  '  Sing, 
Lizzie,  sing  ! '  " 

A  Mrs.  Lewis,  of  Norwich,  England,  many  years  ago  went  to 
hear  Mr.  Hook  preach  at  the  Tabernacle,  being  under  great  dis- 
tress of  mind.  She  had  determined  to  attend  divine  service  once 
more,  and  if  she  obtained  no  peace  she  intended  then  to  drown 
herself.  The  first  hymn  which  the  preacher  announced  was, 
"Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul,"  which  so  startled  her  and  suited  her 
condition  that  she  supposed  that  he  "  had  made  this  hymn  for  her 


290  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

sake,"  for  she  had  no  doubt  that  some  one  had  informed  him  of 
her  state  of  mind.  As  a  result  of  this  experience  she  was  hope- 
fully converted. 

Of  Rev.  Benjamin  Parsons,  the  English  social  reformer,  born 
at  Nibley,  October  16th,  1797,  it  is  related  that  "  he  knew  he  was 
dying,  but  he  enjoyed  a  Greek  criticism.  He  could  discuss  the 
doctrine  of  Whewell's  book  *  On  Plurality  of  Worlds.'  He  was 
interested  in  the  war."  He,  too,  was  one  of  those  who  sang 
1 '  Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul ' '  in  the  dying  moment. 

Mr.  James  Maitland  Hog,  a  man  of  distinction  and  influence  in 
Christian  work,  was  born  in  1799,  and  was  the  friend  and  associate 
of  men  like  Dr.  Chalmers  and  Dr.  Duff.  At  the  Disruption  he 
shared,  as  an  elder,  the  fortunes  of  the  Free  Church,  and  was 
eminent  for  piety  and  usefulness  until  the  year  1858,  when  he 
yielded  at  last  to  the  inroads  of  a  painful  disease.  His  speech  was 
affected  so  that  he  could  not  converse  with  any  ease.  His  right 
arm  was  also  powerless,  and  needed  to  be  lifted  upon  the  table 
and  a  pen  placed  between  the  fingers.  But  with  the  help  of  the 
left  hand  he  could  still  write,  and  often  composed  a  couple  of  dozen 
folio  pages.  As  his  strength  decreased  he  was  unable  to  avail  him- 
self of  even  this  slight  advantage,  and  could  neither  speak  nor 
write.  But  by  the  help  of  a  small  tube  or  reed  held  in  the 
mouth  he  pointed  to  the  letters  of  a  printed  alphabet,  and  slowly 
spelled  out  these  words  :  "  I  am  looking  to  the  Saviour  ;  my  only 
hope  is  in  Jesus."  Then,  at  his  request,  the  hymns,  "Jesu, 
lover  of  my  soul,"  and  "  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,"  were 
read  to  him,  and  at  dawn  of  day,  on  Sunday,  August  1st,  1858, 
he  entered  peacefully  into  rest. 

In  the  winter  of  1872  Mr.  Charles  Trumbull  White,  being  en- 
gaged in  hospital  work  of  a  religious  character,  visited  Bellevue 
Hospital,  New  York  City.  He  was  specially  urged  by  the  attend- 
ants to  see  an  English  sailor  in  one  of  the  wards  who  was  near 
death.  The  man  was  found  to  be  fast  going,  and  unable  to  articu- 
late. Mr.  White,  therefore,  leaned  down  and  repeated,  so  that  he 
might  hear  them,  the  words  of  this  hymn.  To  all  appearance 
they  were  uttered  to  the  "  dull,  cold  ear  of  death,"  and  he  de- 
parted, feeling  as  though  he  had  failed  to  secure  the  least 
response. 

About  midnight,  however,  of  that  same  night,   this  unknown 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  291 

sailor  seemed  to  arouse.  He  sat  up  in  his  cot,  and  with  a  clearly 
audible  voice  he  spoke  the  words  : 

"  Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly," 

and  continued  until  he  had  repeated  the  entire  hymn.  He  then 
added  other  verses  of  hymns  for  several  minutes,  but  ceased  sud- 
denly, fell  back,  and  was  dead.  Who  can  tell  how  great  a  bridge 
had  been  thrown  by  those  familiar  words  across  the  gulf  of  memory, 
and  how  great  a  comfort  they  may  have  brought  to  his  dying  hour. 
The  circumstances  were  precisely  as  we  have  given  them,  and  no 
explanation  was  ever  obtained. 

Dr.  George  Duffield  (the  author  of  H  Stand  up,  stand  up  for 
Jesus  ' ' )  writes  : 

"  One  of  the  most  blessed  days  of  my  life  was  when  I  found,  after  my 
harp  had  long  hung  on  the  willows,  that  I  could  sing  again  ;  that  a  new 
song  was  put  into  my  mouth  ;  and  when,  ere  ever  I  was  aware,  I  was 
singing  '  Jesu,  lover  of  my  soul.'  If  there  is  anything  in  Christian  ex- 
perience of  joy  and  sorrow,  of  affliction  and  prosperity,  of  life  and  death 
— that  hymn  is  the  hymn  of  the  ages  !" 

Jesus,  Master,  hear  me  now. — Anon,  1842. 
The  earliest  publication  of  this  hymn  seems  to  have  been  in  the 
Presbyterian  (O.  S.)  Devotional  Hymns,  Philadelphia,  1842.     Com- 
pare with  this  Frances  Ridley  Havergal'  s  ' '  Jesus,  Master,  whose  I 
am." 

Jesus,  Master,  whose  I  am. — F.  R.  Havergal. 

This  hymn  is  from  Miss  Havergal's  Poems  (p.  429)  :  "  Whose 
I  am  and  whom  I  serve. — Acts  27  :  23."  It  has  six  stanzas  ;• 
three  to  each  part  of  the  text.  It  does  not  appear  in  Songs  0/ 
Grace  and  Glory. 

Jesus,  my  all,  to  heaven  is  gone.  — Cennick. 

John  Wesley  has  recorded  that, 

"  On  Friday,  March,  1739,  I  came  to  Reading,  where  I  found  a  young 
man  who  had  in  some  measure  known  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come. 
I  spent  the  evening  with  him  and  a  few  of  his  serious  friends,  and  it 
pleased  God  much  to  strengthen  and  comfort  them." 
This  was  John  Cennick,  whose  career  was  afterward  somewhat 
checkered  by  disagreements  and  doctrinal  differences  with  his  old 
associates.  He  had  been  a  wild  and  reckless  lad,  of  warm  feelings 
and  somewhat  headstrong  character.     Grace  did  not  wholly  drive 


292  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

out  this  crab-stock  nature,  though  the  graft  always  kept  uppermost. 
And  Cennick's  history — written,  as  it  happens,  mostly  by  those 
who  are  partisans  of  Wesley — does  not  incline  us  to  think  that 
anything  worse  than  impulsiveness  can  be  charged  against  him. 
It  is  another  instance  of  the  amenities  of  hymnology  that  he  after- 
ward declared  it  was  like  being  "  in  the  midst  of  the  plague  "  to 
be  with  the  Wesleys.  And  Charles  Wesley,  who  once  delightedly 
corrected  and  encouraged  the  early  efforts  of  the  young  hymnist, 
spoke  twenty  years  later  of  "  that  weak  man,  John  Cennick"  and 
his  "  strange  doctrines. "  Probably  no  one  stops  to  ask,  however, 
how  much  refuse  stuff  has  gone  into  the  root  of  the  rose  when  the 
flower  is  in  full  bloom — and  inasmuch  as  John  Cennick  is  charge- 
able with  no  immorality  or  heterodoxy,  it  may  be  as  well  not  to 
be  uncharitable.  He  had  come  of  Quaker  lineage,  his  grandparents 
having  been  persecuted  and  imprisoned.  He  had  strong  tastes  in 
the  direction  of  asceticism,  and  once  subsisted  for  a  time  on  a 
mongrel  diet  of  ' '  acorns,  leaves  of  trees,  crabs  [the  small  sour 
natural  apples]  and  grass,"  and  would  have  brought  himself 
down  still  further  if  he  could,  being  ambitious  in  the  direction  of 
roots  and  herbs.  This  was  a  character  to  be  very  susceptible  to  an 
enthusiasm  which  might  readily  run  into  fanatical  extremes. 

The  hymn  before  us  belongs  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  year 
1743  ;  is  the  outcome  of  a  subjective  experience,  and  originally 
contained  nine  stanzas. 

To  be  more  particular  as  to  the  man's  personal  history,  we  may 
say  that  John  Cennick  was  born  December  12  th,  171 8,  at  Reading, 
Berkshire,  of  a  family  who,  on  the  father's  side,  were  followers  of 
George  Fox.  Until  his  thirteenth  year  he  was  strictly  brought  up, 
but  his  visits  to  London  to  seek  an  opportunity  to  learn  some  trade 
had  the  bad  effect  on  his  morals  which  has  been  mentioned. 

The  full  history  of  the  "  Rise  and  Progress  "  of  poor  Cennick's 
doctrinal  difficulties  extends  from  the  time  when,  in  1738-9,  he 
went  to  Oxford  to  meet  Mr.  Kinchin,  of  the  "  Holy  Club,"  until 
he  broke  off  from  everybody  and  affiliated  with  the  United  Brethren 
in  1745.  His  ecclesiastical  history  shows  him  to  have  been  a 
Wesleyan  in  1739  *  tnen  t0  nave  seceded  from  that  body,  because 
of  their  "  Free  Grace  "  doctrines,  and  to  have  founded  a  society 
of  his  own  with  twenty-four  members  in  1741.  When  Whitefield 
returned  from  America  he  gathered  in  Cennick,  and  had  his  help 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  293 

in  London  ;  and,  also,  as  an  evangelist,  in  the  west  of  England. 
His  labors  were  abundant — six  sermons  a  day  being  sometimes  re- 
corded— and  much  persecution  also  attended  his  progress,  along 
with  equally  marked  success.  Cennick's  Bohemian  ancestry, 
however,  turned  him  away  from  Whitefield,  and  he  carried  many 
of  his  friends  with  him  when  he  went  over  to  the  United  Brethren. 
Much  of  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  the  north  of  Ireland. 
He  returned,  however,  to  London,  June  28th,  1755,  in  a  feeble 
condition  of  health,  and  died  there,  July  4th,  1755,  at  the  early  age 
of  thirty-seven. 

In  personal  appearance  Cennick  was  '  •  rather  below  the  middle 
stature  "  and  "  of  a  fair  countenance. "  His  sincere  and  spiritual 
piety  have  always  been  acknowledged  by  every  one  who  has  com- 
mented on  his  life.     His  sermons  show  real  '  unction. ' 

Cennick's  earlier  hymns  were  contributed  to  the  use  of  the  Wes- 
leys — who  amended  them,  as  Charles  Wesley  admits — and  after- 
ward these  and  others  were  collected  by  himself  into  separate  vol- 
umes. At  Bristol  (which  has  a  great  name  for  literary  intolerance 
and  proficiency  in  hymn-books)  he  printed  his  Sacred  Hymns, 
Part  I.,  in  1743.  In  Part  II.  Mr.  Joseph  Humphreys  had  six 
pieces,  one  of  which  is,  "  Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God."  This  was 
followed  by  Part  III.,  London,  1744,  and  he  also  published  two 
more  volumes,  leaving  at  his  death  a  good  deal  of  manuscript 
material  of  the  same  sort.      In  1742  he  said  : 

"  I  would  not  have  any,  who  read  these  hymns,  look  to  find  either  good 
poetry  or  fine  language,  for  indeed  there  is  none."  "  It  was  the  truth," 
says  Dr.  Hatfield,  dryly.  "The  few  hymns  from  his  pen  that  are  now 
used  have  been  considerably  modified  to  fit  them  for  the  '  service  of 
song,'  and  are  known,  at  present,  almost  wholly,  in  these  altered  forms. 
They  cannot  well  be  restored." 

All  who  are  aware  of  Dr.  Hatfield's  strong  sentiments  on  the  sub- 
ject of  "  the  author's  text  "  will  feel  that  poor  Cennick  fares  rather 
badly  under  this  scathing  review.  But  such  was  his  fire,  and  such 
was  his  spiritual  fervor,  that  his  ram's-hom  music  has  become  a 
well-beloved  strain  in  our  modern  oratorio. 

Jesus,  my  great  high-priest. — Watts. 
This  is  from  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  150,  "  On  the 
offices  of  Christ,"  and   is  the  same  as  the  version  of  the  148th 
Psalm. 


294  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  God,  my  all.  — Collins. 
This  "  Rev.  Henry  Collins  "  must  not  be  confused  with  a  per- 
son of  the  same  name,  curate  of  High  Laver,  Ongar,  in  i860. 
The  author  of  this  hymn,  written  1852,  is  Henry  Collins,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Oxford  University  (M.A.  1854).  After  being  ordained  as 
deacon  and  priest  he  left  the  Church  of  England  for  that  of  Rome 
in  1857.  He  published  a  tract  to  defend  his  course — the  usual 
proceeding — and  was  taken  into  the  Cistercian  Order  in  i860.  In 
1866  he  printed  a  history  of  the  order,  and  is  supposed  to  be  still 
in  connection  with  it.  Beside  this  piece  and  "  Jesu,  meek  and 
lowly,"  Mr.  Collins  has  written  no  other  hymns.  These  were 
published  in  an  Oxford  collection  about  1854. 

Jesus  !  name  all  names  above. — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  a  translation  from  Theoctistus  of  the  Studium  in  Dr. 
Neale's  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church,  1862.  It  is  the  Irjffov 
yXvKvrare  of  this  friend  of  St.  Joseph  of  the  Studium,  who  died 
circa  890,  a.d.  The  version  is  made  from  a  cento  taken  from 
his  "  Suppliant  Canon  to  Jesus." 

"  Jesus  only  !"   in  the  shadow. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  is  taken  from  Miss   Havergal's  Poems  (p.  44)  :  "  Jesus 
Only. — Matt.  17:8."     It  is  in  two  stanzas.     The  author's  date  is 
1870. 

Jesus,  our  Lord,  how  rich  thy  grace. — Doddridge. 

In  Dr.  Doddridge's  Hymns  this  is  No.  188,  "  Relieving  Christ 
in  his  poor  Saints. — Matt.  25  :  40."     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Jesus  only,  when  the  morning. — Nason. 

Rev.  Elias  Nason  was  born  at  Wrentham,  Mass.,  April  21st, 
181 1.  His  education  was  received  at  Brown  University,  whence 
he  was  graduated  in  1835.  He  then  became  a  teacher,  and  from 
1840  to  1849  was  m  Newburyport,  Mass.,  having  previously  spent 
some  years  in  Georgia.  He  next  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Con- 
gregational denomination,  but  has  been  largely  engaged  in  literary 
work,  which  has  generally  taken  the  shape  of  biographies.  The 
Gazetteer  of  Massachusetts,  1874,  is  his  compilation. 

Among  hymnologists  he  is  known  by  his  Congregational  Hymn 
Book,  1857,  and  by  the  Songs  for  Social  and  Public  Worship, 
1863,  in  which  he  was  associated  with  Dr.  Edward  Kirk.      In  this 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


'9S 


latter  volume  the  present  piece  appeared.  It  was  written  at  Natick, 
Mass.,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  year  1856,  and  was  published 
first  in  the  "  Wellspring,"  a  juvenile  paper  of  Boston,  with  the 
author's  own  music  attached. 

Dr.  Nason  still  resides  at  North  Billerica,  Mass. 

Jesus,  Saviour,  pilot  me. — Hopper. 

Rev.  Edward  Hopper,  D.  D. ,  has  for  many  years  been  pastor  of 
the  Church  of  Sea  and  Land,  New  York  City.  He  has  kindly 
communicated  the  incidents  connected  with  his  hymn. 

It  was  first  published  in  the  Sailors'  Magazine,  New  York,  in  1871. 
In  1880  Rev.  Samuel  N.  Hall,  D.D.,  of  Newark,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Seamen's  Friend  Society,  asked  Dr.  Hopper  for  an  anniver- 
sary hymn.  The  latter  selected  this  piece  and  gave  him  the  first 
two  and  last  two  stanzas.  They  were  printed  and  sung  by  the  con- 
gregation in  the  Broadway  Tabernacle  (Rev.  W.  M.  Taylor,  D.D., 
pastor)  May  10th,  1880.  To  the  author's  knowledge  this  was 
their  earliest  use  as  a  hymn,  but  a  few  days  later  he  was  informed 
by  Rev.  C.  S.  Robinson,  D.  D.,  that  he  had  already  included  them 
in  his  Spiritual  Songs,  1878,  and  was  glad  to  know  the  authorship. 
The  piece  had  been  transferred  from  a  forgotten  hymn-book,  and 
it  stood  as  "  Anonymous."  At  a  large  gathering  of  ministers  and 
teachers  in  the  Memorial  Church,  held  not  long  afterward,  Dr. 
Robinson  noticed  Dr.  Hopper  in  the  audience,  gave  out  this  hymn 
and  announced  its  author's  name.  It  has  six  stanzas.  These  are 
the  first,  fifth  and  sixth.  The  hymn  has  proved  unusually  popular 
— surpassing  (how  often  this  happens  !)  other  cherished  efforts  of 
its  composer.  Dr.  Hopper  was  born  in  New  York  City  in  18 18. 
His  mother  was  of  Huguenot  descent,  and  his  father,  Mansfield 
Hopper,  was  a  prosperous  merchant  of  the  old  school.  The  lad 
was  educated  and  had  his  being  in  the  metropolis.  He  was  first 
instructed  at  Nash  and  Mann's  school  in  the  then  up-town  region 
of  Bleecker  Street.  He  next  was  graduated  from  the  University  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  and  in  due  course  from  Union  Theological 
Seminary  (also  in  New  York  City)  in  1842.  The  Third  Presbytery 
of  New  York  licensed  him  to  preach  in  1843.  He  was  able  after 
this  to  go  as  far  away  as  Sag  Harbor,  Long  Island,  where  he  was 
pastor  for  eleven  years.  But  manifest  destiny  drew  him  back  to 
this  city,  where,  for  more  than  sixteen  years  he  has  been  pastor  of 


296  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  Church  of  the  Sea  and  Land.     His  degree  of  D.D.  was  re- 
ceived from  Lafayette  College  in  1871. 

Jesus  shall  reign  where'  er  the  sun.  — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts' s   version    of  Ps.    72,  Second  Part,  L.  M., 
"Christ's  Kingdom  among  the  Gentiles. "      It  has  eight  stanzas. 
This  hymn  was   used    in    1862,  when    five   thousand    natives    of 
Tonga,  Fiji  and  Samoa  exchanged  heathenism  for  Christianity. 

Jesus,  Shepherd  of  the  sheep. — H.  Cooke. 

This  hymn,  found  in  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Hymnal,  1881, 
is  the  composition  of  a  man  far  more  notable  as  a  scholar  and  a 
polemic  than  as  a  hymn-writer.  Indeed,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall, 
of  New  York,  his  pupil  and  personal  friend,  did  not  know  he  had 
ever  composed  a  hymn. 

The  author,  Rev.  Henry  Cooke,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  in 
County  Londonderry,  Ireland,  May  nth,  1788.  The  exact  place 
was  Grillagh,  near  Maghera,  and  he  came  of  the  veritable  Puritan 
stock,  being  the  descendant  of  an  English  family  who  had  emigrated 
from  Devonshire  to  County  Down. 

Dr.  Cooke  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  was 
ordained,  1808,  as  pastor  of  Duneane  (Presbyterian)  church, 
County  Antrim,  where  he  remained  two  years.  From  1811-15 
he  was  pastor  at  Donegore,  nearTemplepatrick,  in  County  Antrim  ; 
then  at  Killyleagh,  County  Down,  from  1818-29.  The  interval 
from  18 1 5-1 8  he  spent  in  study  in  Glasgow  University  and  Trinity 
College,  where  he  was  finding  and  forging  the  weapons  for  his 
battle  with  Arianism.  From  1829  he  became — and  has  since  been 
usually  called — "  Cooke  of  Belfast."  With  this  congregation  in 
May  Street  he  remained  until  his  death,  resisting  a  flattering  offer 
to  place  him  as  professor,  in  1847,  in  the  Assembly's  College  at 
Belfast,  where  he  would  have  held  the  chair  of  Sacred  Rhetoric. 

Dr.  Cooke's  illustrious  work  was  that  of  destroying  the  Arian 
heresy  which  paralyzed  the  vital  powers  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian 
Church.  For  half  a  century  his  life  was  coeval  and  co-extensive 
with  the  most  important  energies  of  the  religious  and  political  his- 
tory of  his  native  land.  He  had  immense  memory,  great  tact, 
genuine  eloquence,  a  bright  wit,  ready  powers  of  retort,  and  un- 
daunted courage.  It  is  traditional  of  him  that  he  once  held  the 
floor  in  a  debate  for  several  hours  while  forces,  duly  expected  but 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  297 

still  delayed,  were  making  their  way  to  the  arena  ;  and  it  is  said 
that  he  did  this  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  mostly  by  scriptural 
quotations. 

The  conflict  thus  waged  was  essential  to  the  future  of  the  Church 
of  his  choice,  and  he  had  given  three  earnest  years  to  the  prepara- 
tion for  it.  Not  merely  were  men's  opinions  lax,  but  they  were 
wholly  infidel  and  irreligious.  The  campaign  was  a  real  thirty 
years'  war,  during  which  Dr.  Cooke  never  met  a  single  defeat,  and 
at  the  end  of  which  he  was  able  to  see  the  fruits  of  permanent  vic- 
tory. ' '  The  fight  he  waged, ' '  says  one  account,  ' '  reads  like  a 
romance."  "  In  every  battle,"  says  another  chronicler,  "  he  was 
victorious.  He  freed  the  Church  of  his  fathers  from  Arianism, 
and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  religious  life  and  work  in  Ire- 
land." 

The  actual  results  took  the  form  of  eradication.  The  General 
Assembly,  the  colleges  and  the  congregations  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Ireland  were  purged  from  the  leaven  of  heresy — and 
this  by  the  exercise  of  full  as  much  worldly  prudence  and  skill  as 
of  dogmatic  authority.  Three  times  did  Dr.  Cooke  receive  the 
remarkable  honor  of  being  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  ; 
and  if  one  may  judge  by  the  devotion  of  those  who  have  come  from 
the  May  Street  church  into  the  American  Presbyterian  churches, 
he  was  worthy  to  be  loved  as  well  as  followed.  He  was  simple,  un- 
ostentatious, gentle  and  agreeable  in  manner.  His  life  was  truly 
spiritual,  and  his  temper — polemic  as  he  was — was  that  of  his  Mas- 
ter. To  such  a  man  properly  belongs  such  a  hymn  as  this  which 
we  are  considering.  On  Sunday,  December  13th,  1868,  Dr. 
Cooke  died  in  Belfast.  His  biography  has  been  admirably  written 
by  Dr.  Porter. 

Jesus  spreads  his  banner  o'er  us. — R.  Park. 

The  Rev.  Roswell  Park,  D.D.,  was  born  October  1st,  1807,  at 
Lebanon,  Conn. ,  and  received  a  military  education  at  West  Point ; 
being  finally  graduated  in  1831,  however,  from  Union  College, 
N.  Y.  He  was  at  first  a  lieutenant  in  the  Military  Engineer  Corps, 
1831-36,  and  afterward,  on  his  resignation  from  the  army,  he  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Geometry  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Park  was  one  of 
those  ambitious  scholars  who  have  essayed  a  Survey  of  Human 


298  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Knowledge,  which  he  published  in  1841.     He  also  wrote  a  volume 
of  poems,  1836,  and  a  history  of  West  Point,  1840. 

In  1843  (his  mind  having  been  turned  in  that  direction)  he  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and 
received  the  rectorship  of  Christ  Church,  Pomfret,  Conn.  Three 
years  later  he  was  additionally  in  charge  of  Christ  Church  Hall,  a 
school  connected  with  his  parish.  In  1852  he  went  to  Europe, 
and  on  his  return  was  made  President  of  Racine  College,  Wis- 
consin, to  which  dignity  the  additional  title  of  Chancellor  was 
added  in  1859.  The  versatility  of  his  mind  appears  from  his 
Handbook  for  American  Travellers  in  Europe,  issued  in  1853.  From 
Racine  College  he  removed  to  Chicago  ;  established  Immanuel 
Hall,  a  literary  and  scientific  school,  and  continued  in  charge  of 
this,  being  both  rector  and  proprietor,  until  his  death,  July  16th, 
1869.  Dr.  Park  was  "  a  vigorous  writer  and  a  good  scholar;" 
though  he  is  seldom  included  in  collections  of  American  literature. 
This  hymn  is  dated  in  1836. 

Jesus,  still  lead  on.  — Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  tr. 
The  original  is  the 

"  Jesu,  geh  voran 
Auf  der  Lebensbahn  " 
of  Count  Zinzendorf. 

Nicholaus  Ludwig  von  Zinzendorf,  the  distinguished  leader  of 
the  Moravians,  wrote  this  in  September,  1721.  It  has  become 
familiar  to  the  greater  part  of  Evangelical  Germany,  and  Miss 
Borthwick' s  version  was  published  in  her  Hynmsfrom  the  Land  of 
Luther.     The  true  commencement  is, 

"  Seelen  Brautigam, 
O  du  Gotteslamm," 

which  John  Wesley  presumably  rendered  into 

"  O  Thou  to  whose  all-searching  sight 
The  darkness  shineth  as  the  light." 

As  to  this  latter  hymn,  there  has  been  some  doubt.  Its  original 
has  been  ascribed  to  Gerard  Tersteegen,  and  another  very  similar 
hymn, 

"  Seelen  Brautigam, 
Jesu,  Gotteslamm  I" 

is  attributed  to  Adam  Drese,  about  1690.     John  Wesley's  fine  lyric 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


299 


has  undoubtedly  a  Moravian  origin,  for  on  his  voyage  to  Georgia 
he  spent  much  time  in  versifying  their  songs  of  praise. 

Jesus,  the  sinner's  friend,  to  thee. — C.  Wesley. 
This  hymn,  based  on  Gal.  3:22,  has  thirteen  stanzas,  and  is 
from  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1739.      It  displays  in  its  original 
form  much  boldness  of  expression.     The  twelfth  stanza,  for  in- 
stance, closes  with  this  couplet  : 

"  I  give  up  every  plea  beside, 

Lord,  I  am  damned — but  thou  hast  died." 

Whitefield,  once,  was  so  scandalized  by  the  horrid  ribaldry  of  a 
clown  who  mocked  him  during  an  open-air  service,  that  he  appealed 
to  the  crowd  whether  he  had  wronged  human  nature  by  saying 
with  Bishop  Hall  that  ' '  man,  when  left  to  himself,  is  half  a  fiend 
and  half  a  brute,"  and  in  agreeing  with  William  Law  that  humanity 
was  a  "  motley  mixture  of  beast  and  devil." 

Jesus  ! — the  very  thought  is  sweet. — Neale,  tr. 
Aversion  by  Dr.  Neale,  1851,  of  the  "/esu,  dulcis  memoria "  of 
St,  Bernard. 

Jesus,  these  eyes  have  never  seen. — R.  Palmer. 
This  hymn  was  written  in  1858,  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  is 
based  on  1  Pet.  1:8.  It  is  Dr.  Palmer's  favorite  piece,  if  we 
except  "  My  faith  looks  up  to  thee."  Rev.  Dr.  Buckingham, 
Rev.  Dr.  Eddy  and  other  clergymen  have  almost  made  it  classic 
as  a  Sunday-evening  hymn.  It  has  also  a  particularly  interesting 
history,  as  related  by  the  venerable  author,  October  14th,  1884,  to 
the  present  writer  : 

Dr.  Palmer  was  seated  at  his  study  desk  preparing  a  sermon  which  had 
Christ  for  its  special  theme.  Needing  a  volume  from  his  closed  book- 
case he  rose  and  opened  the  door,  when  the  book  appeared  just  at  his 
hand.  At  once  it  occurred  to  him  that  in  some  such  way  the  face  of  Christ 
would  be  unveiled  to  us,  and  the  thought  so  filled  his  heart  that  he  turned 
to  his  desk  and  composed  the  hymn. 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee. — Caswall,  tr. 

This  is  from  Rev.  Edward  Caswall' s  almost  unapproachably  fine 

translation  of   St.    Bernard  of   Clairvaulx's  hymn,    "  Jesu,    dulcis 

memoria,"  of  which  the  full  account  can  be  found  in  "  The  Latin 

Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns."     Caswall's  rendering  is  in  fifty 


300  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

stanzas,  and  first  appeared  in  his  Lyra  Catholica,  1849.  It  is  in 
this  hymn  that  the  great  theologian  and  scholar,  and  preacher  of 
crusades,  has  set  the  key  for  modern  hymnody.  No  one  can  fail 
to  recognize  how  its  spirit  has  gone  into  the  German  and  English 
lyrics.  Mr.  Caswall's  hymn  has  comforted  at  least  one  soul  in  the 
dying  hour  : 

Rev.  Thomas  (Canon)  Sing,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  a  man  of  great 
spirituality,  was  well  known  as  the  ecclesiastic  in  charge  of  St.  Mary's 
church,  Derby,  England.  At  the  age  of  seventy  he  was  only  able  to  con- 
tinue his  duties  at  Grantham  by  the  help  of  an  assistant.  He  said  mass 
on  Sunday,  October  22d,  1882,  and  returned  to  his  house  seriously  ill. 
On  Tuesday  he  was  dying.  His  assistant,  Mr.  Sabela,  repeated  to  him 
the  words  of  this,  his  favorite  hymn.  He  followed  each  line  eagerly,  and 
at  the  end  exclaimed  :  "  Amen  !"     In  a  very  few  moments  he  was  dead. 

Jesus,  thou  art  the  sinner's  friend. — Burnham. 

Rev.  Richard  Burnham,  born  in  Guildford,  Surrey,  England, 
in  1749,  was  called  from  Staines,  Middlesex,  to  London,  where 
he  was  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church,  and  afterward  of  another  con- 
gregation of  the  same  faith  in  Grafton  Street,  Soho.  In  these  two 
churches  he  passed  thirty  years  of  ministerial  labor,  varying  between 
extreme  popularity  and  great  discomfort,  owing  to  matters  in  his 
private  conduct  which  invited  criticism. 

This  hymn  first  appears  in  his  New  Hymns  on  Divers  Subjects, 
1783,  which  he  dedicated  to  his  people.  In  his  preface  he  says  : 
"  Your  pastor  is  willing  to  own  that  he  is  the  unworthiest  of  the 
unworthy  ;  yet,  unworthy  as  he  is,  he  humbly  trusts,  through 
rich  grace,  he  has  in  some  measure  found  that  the  dear  bosom  of 
the  atoning  Lamb  is  the  abiding-place  of  his  immortal  soul. ' '  He 
was  buried  in  Tottenham  Court  chapel,  London,  having  passed 
away  in  peace,  October  30th,  18 10. 

This  hymn  has  a  twin-lyric,  in  the  same  measure,  and  with  the 

same  chorus.      It  is  by  Rev.  T.  Haweis,  and  was  printed  in  the 

Evangelical  Magazine,  1802.      It  commences  : 

"  O  thou  from  whom  all  goodness  flows, 
I  lift  my  soul  to  thee." 

Jesus,  thou  joy  of  loving  hearts. — R.  Palmer,  tr. 
Dr.  Palmer  wrote  this  hymn  in  1858  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  it 
is  taken  from  the  great  hymn  of  St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaulx,  for 
whom  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns."     This 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  3QI 

present  piece  is  a  translation  of  selected  verses,  and  has  been  ex- 
ceedingly popular  in  the  Church  of  England. 

Jesus,  thou  everlasting  King. — Watts. 
This  is  the  second  stanza  of  Dr.  Watts' s  hymn,  "  Daughters  of 
Sion,  come,  behold."     It   is  No.  72  of  Book  I.,  and  is  entitled, 
"The  Coronation  of  Christ,  and  the  Espousals  of  the  Church. 
—Sol.  Song  3  :  11."     It  has,  in  all,  six  stanzas. 

Jesus,  thou  source  of  calm  repose.  — C.  Wesley. 
The  hymn  before  us  is  disguised  from  ordinary  recognition. 
In  the  original  form  it  begins  : 

"  Thou  hidden  Source  of  calm  repose, 
"Thou  all-sufficient  Love  Divine." 
It  has  been  greatly  changed.     The  couplet  at  the  close  of  the  first 
stanza  reads,  for  example  : 

"  And  lo  !  from  sin,  and  grief,  and  shame, 
I  hide  me,  Jesus,  in  thy  name." 

Instead  of  "  Our  life  in  death,  our  all  in  all/'  we  have  "My  life 
in  death  ;  my  heaven  in  hell. ' '  Nearly  every  line  has  been  altered. 
The  date  is  1741. 

Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness.— J.  Wesley,  fr. 

This  is  John  Wesley's  paraphrase  from  the  German  of  that  pro- 
lific hymn-writer,  Count  Zinzendorf.  It  is  positively  assigned  to 
John  Wesley  on  the  authority  of  Count  Zinzendorf  s  own  book, 
privately  printed  at  Chelsea,  in  which  the  names  of  translators  ap- 
pear. 

The  original  hymn  is  the  "  Christi  Bint  und  Gerechtigkeit, 
which  was  composed  somewhere  between  February  and  April  of 
1739,  during  a  voyage  from  the  West  Indies  to  England.  In  the 
course  of  this  voyage  the  count's  attention  was  specially  drawn  to- 
ward Church  history.  He  was  physically  weak,  but  with  charac- 
teristic generosity  he  had  given  up  his  stateroom  to  a  Portuguese 
Jew  named  Da  Costa,  who  was  travelling  with  his  wife  to  Amsterdam 
and  besought  the  count  to  take  him  on  the  vessel.  This  protege, 
it  must  be  added,  waited  on  him  faithfully,  and,  indeed,  "  displayed 
nothing  Jewish  but  his  zeal  for  his  religion."  Reading  of  the 
honors  awarded  to  holy  men  in  the  past,  Zinzendorf  records  at  this 
time  :   "  If  I  am  faithful  I  hope  to  tread,  by  God's  grace,  in  the 


302  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

steps  of  these  brethren,  whose  example  is  so  beneficially  set  before 
me  by  the  Holy  Spirit."  One  can  readily  trace  feelings  such  as 
these  in  the  hymn,  particularly  in  one  stanza  which  is  usually 
omitted,  but  which  Whitefield  placed  in  his  Collection  ; 

"  Thus  Abraham,  the  Friend  of  God, 
Thus  all  the  Armies  bought  with  Blood, 
Saviour  of  sinners  thee  proclaim  : 
Sinners,  of  whom  the  Chief  I  am." 

John  Wesley  must  have  met  with  the  verses  very  soon  after  the 
count's  arrival  in  England,  but  his  rendering,  in  ten  stanzas,  fine 
as  it  is,  is  only  a  free  and  abridged  version  of  the  original,  which 
has  thirty  stanzas  in  all.  It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  first 
two  lines  of  these  thirty  stanzas  are  conveyed  literally  from  a  hymn 
by  P.  Eber  (d.  1569),  which  is  very  popular  in  Germany,  and 
begins,  "  In  Christi  Wunden  schlaf  ich  em." 

The  largeness  of  the  faith  which  composed  this  hymn  speaks  in 

the  lines  : 

"  Ich  glaube,  dass  Sein  theures  Blut 
Genug  fiir  alle  Siinden  thut, 
Und  dass  es  Gottes  Schatze  fiillt 
Und  ewig  in  dem  Himmel gilt." 

"  Lord,  I  believe,  were  sinners  more 
Than  sands  upon  the  ocean  shore, 
Thou  hast  for  all  a  ransom  paid, 
For  all  a  full  atonement  made." 

This  was  the  sacred  song  to  whose  solemn  strains  the  body  of 
Rowland  Hill  was  laid  in  the  tomb.  Luther's  hymn  had  been 
sung,  and  then  Rev.  Thomas  Russell  gave  out  this,  which  was  a 
favorite  hymn  with  Mr.  Hill. 

The  father  of  Rev.  James  Smetham,  one  of  Wesley's  associates, 
was  converted  (as,  indeed,  Smetham  himself  was)  through  the 
prayers  of  a  son,  who  saw  father  and  mother  and  brothers  all  brought 
into  the  kingdom.  At  his  death,  this  son,  whose  name  was  John, 
was  wonderfully  helped  and  encouraged  by  this  hymn.  And  when 
his  father  was  near  his  own  end  he  spoke  of  the  fact,  adding  :  "  I 
have  had  such  a  sight  of  my  own  defects  and  unfaithfulness,  and 
such  a  view  of  the  purity  and  holiness  of  God,  as  almost  made  me 
despair  of  finding  mercy  at  the  last."  Remembering,  however, 
that  his  son  John  had  been  greatly  comforted  by  a  hymn,  he  asked 
for  the  book,  and,  on  taking  it,  it  opened  to  this  very  stanza  :   "All 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  303 

my  fear,  doubt  and  distress  vanished, '  said  he,  "  when,  at  the  read- 
ing of  that  verse,  I  cast  my  soul  on  the  Atonement ;  and  since 
that  time  I  have  enjoyed  perfect  peace. " 

Queen  Christiana  of  Prussia  having  seen  a  beautiful  little  child, 
a  daughter  of  one  of  her  gardeners,  playing  in  the  grounds,  had 
her  brought  to  the  palace  and  placed  in  a  chair  next  to  herself  at 
the  dinner.  She  pleased  herself  with  thinking  how  delighted  the 
little  one  would  be,  but  they  were  no  sooner  seated  than  the  child, 
observing  the  ceremonious  pause,  quietly  repeated,  by  way  of  a 
grace,  the  words  : 

"  Christ's  dear  blood  and  righteousness 
Be  to  me  as  jewels  given, 
Crowning  me  when  I  shall  press 

Onward  through  the  gates  of  heaven." 

No  one  spoke.  The  innocent  child  had  supposed  that  they 
were  waiting  for  her  to  ask  her  blessing  on  the  food  as  she  did  at 
home.  And  this  was  the  Queen's  best  thanks,  in  its  solemn  and 
refreshing  simplicity,  for  an  act  of  impulsive  kindness.  She  had, 
as  it  were,  given  the  cup  of  cold  water,  and  she  had  not  lost  her 
reward. 

This  "  grace  before  meat"  was  really  from  the  hymn  of  the  poor 
hunchback,  Eber.  That  is  worth  translating,  and  here  is  our  lit- 
eral version  of  it  : 

I  rest  in  Christ,  who  died  for  me, 
Whose  blood  from  sin  hath  set  me  free  ; 
Yes,  Christ's  dear  blood  and  holiness 
Is  my  attire  and  glorious  dress. 

In  this,  to  God  I  dare  draw  near, 
When  in  his  heaven  I  shall  appear  ; 
With  joy  and  freedom  there  to  be 
A  child  of  God  eternally. 

Be  thanked,  O  death  !  my  help  thou  art ! 
Thus,  to  immortal  life,  my  heart 
With  Christ's  dear  blood  shall  pardoned  be — 
Lotd  Jesus  !  lift  my  faith  to  thee  ! 

Jesus,  thy  boundless  love  to  me. — J.  Wesley,  tr. 
This   translation,  from  Paul  Gerhardt's  "  0  Jesu  Christ,  mein 
schonstes  Lickt,"  is  like  the  most  of  John  Wesley's  work  of  this 
character,  a  sort  of  inspired  paraphrase,  which  almost  reaches  the 


304  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

dignity  of  an  original  production.  Gerhardt's  hymn,  1653,  m  *ts 
turn,  is  based  on  a  meditation  and  prayer  by  Arndt  inhisParadies- 
gartlein.  Wesley's  rendering  has  sixteen  stanzas,  and  appears  in 
the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1 739. 

Jesus,  thy  Church  with  longing  eyes.  — Bathurst. 
Mr.  Bathurst' s  title  for  this  hymn  is  "  The  Second  Coming  of 
Christ,"  with   a  reference  to  Rev.    22  :  20.      It  appeared  in  his 
Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Public  and  Private  Use,  183 1. 

Jesus  !  thy  love  shall  we  forget.  — Mitchell. 

Rev.  William  Mitchell,  the  author  of  the  hymn  before  us,  was 
born  at  Chester,  Conn.,  December  9th,  1793.  He  entered  Yale 
College  and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  18 18,  subsequently  tak- 
ing a  theological  course  at  Andover,  and  being  ordained  October 
20th,  1824.  He  was  pastor  at  Newton,  Conn.,  1825-31  ;  pastor 
at  Rutland,  Vt.,  1833-47  ;  stated  supply,  Wallingford,  Vt.,  1847- 
51.  He  then  became  the  agent,  successively,  of  the  Vermont, 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  Colonization  Societies — that  scheme  of 
deporting  our  negroes  to  Africa  from  which  Liberia  sprang,  and  in 
which  President  Lincoln  was  so  greatly  interested — and  he  con- 
tinued in  this  work  from  1853  to  1858.  He  then  went  to  Texas, 
where  he  became  a  resident  of  Corpus  Christi.  He  was  afterward 
acting  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Casa  Blanca  from  1858 
to  1862.  He  returned  to  Corpus  Christi  in  1866,  and  died  in  that 
place,  August  1st,  1867. 

This  hymn  was  written  for  the  Christian  Lyre,  1830,  of  which 
Dr.  Joshua  Leavitt  was  editor.  It  is  entitled  "  Can  we  forget?" 
has  six  stanzas  and  a  chorus,  and  is  signed  "  W.  M."  The  tune 
to  which  it  is  adapted  is  called  "  Grateful  Memory." 

Jesus,  to  thy  table  led.  — Baynes. 
In  Lyra  Britannica  the  entire  hymn  is  printed  in  seven  three-line 
stanzas.  The  date  is  1863.  The  author,  Rev.  Robert  Hall 
Baynes,  was  born  at  Wellington,  Somersetshire,  England,  March 
10th,  1831.  After  a  preliminary  education  at  Bath  he  studied  at 
St.  Edmund's  Hall,  Oxford,  whence  he  was  graduated.  He  took 
the  degree  of  M.A.  in  1859.  He  then  entered  the  Episcopalian 
ministry,  and  became  curate  of  Christ  church,  Blackfriars,  Lon- 
don.    In    1858   he    was   appointed    to  the  living  of   St.   Paul's, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  305 

Whitechapel.  In  1862  he  became  the  incumbent  of  Holy  Trin- 
ity, Maidstone.  In  1868  he  was  vicar  of  St.  Michael's  and  All 
Angels,  Coventry,  and  was  subsequently  offered  the  bishopric  of 
Madagascar,  but  declined.  He  is  known  by  his  Lyra  Anglicana, 
and  has  edited  a  fine  collection  of  English  Lyrics.  He  is  also 
the  editor  of  the  Canterbury  Hymnal,  1863. 

Jesus,  we  look  to  thee. — C.  Wesley. 
The  title  given  to  this  hymn  is,  "  At  Meeting  of  Friends."     It 
is  taken  from  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1749. 

Jesus,  we  thus  obey. — C.  (?)  Wesley. 
From  Hymns  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  1745,  by  John  and  Charles 
Wesley.      It  is  for  use  "  Before  the  Sacrament." 

Jesus,  where'  er  thy  people  meet.  — Cowper. 
This  is  Book  II.,  No.  44,  of  the  Olney  Hymns,  in  six  stanzas. 
The  occasion  of  this  and  of  the  previous  hymn  by  Newton,  "  O 
Lord,  our  languid  souls  inspire  "  (better  known  by  its  second 
stanza,  "  Dear  Shepherd  of  thy  people,  hear"),  was  the  removal 
of  the  prayer-meeting  at  Olney.  It  was  taken  to  the  "  Great 
House"  in  1769,  and  Cowper  sometimes  assisted  in  its  services 
by  offering  prayer  in  public. 

Jesus,  who  knows  full  well. — Newton. 
This  commences,  "  Our  Lord,  who  knows  full  well,"  and  is  the 
1 06th  hymn  of  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  II.  It  is  based  on  Luke 
18  :  1-7,  and  has  a  reference  to  Cowper's  piece,  "  What  various 
hindrances  we  meet.  "  It  is  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  views 
of  John  Newton,  who  always  ascribed  his  conversion  to  his  mother's 
importunate  prayers.  He  would  frequently  employ  David's  lan- 
guage, and  exclaim  :  "  O  Lord,  truly  I  am  thy  servant ;  I  am  thy 
servant  and  the  son  of  thine  handmaid  ;  thou  bast  loosed  my 
bonds." 

Newton's  own  personal  influence  was  remarkable  enough,  and  is  worth 
tracing  in  this  connection.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of 
Claudius  Buchanan,  who  went  to  India  as  a  missionary,  and  there  wrote 
The  Star  hi  the  East,  which  drew  Adoniram  Judson  on  the  same  errand  to 
the  same  place.  Thomas  Scott,  the  commentator,  was  another  of  New- 
ton's pupils,  for  he  testifies  that  he  was  an  unconverted  man  when 
ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  that  Newton  gave  him  his  first  ideas  of 


306  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

vital  godliness.  In  connection  with  Doddridge,  Newton  could  also  lay 
claim  to  the  arousing  of  William  Wilberforce,  the  philanthropist.  Thus 
the  ex-slave-captain  had  remotely  a  share  in  the  great  emancipation 
movements  of  our  own  day.  Of  his  influence  on  Cowper,  especially  in 
the  matter  of  hymns,  we  need  not  speak. 

The  good  which  Newton  began  has  not  ceased  even  to  the  present  time. 
Two  currents  seem  to  have  met  in  Wilberforce.  For  Bunny's  Resolutions 
had  awakened  Richard  Baxter  and  Sibbs's  Bruised  Reed  brought  him  to 
Christ.  Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted  was  given  in  by  a  beggar  at 
Philip  Doddridge's  door,  and  God  blessed  it  to  the  salvation  of  the  man 
who  was  destined  to  write  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul. 
This  was  the  treatise  which  arrested  the  attention  of  Wilberforce.  Wil- 
berforce in  his  turn  wrote  The  Practical  View  of  Christianity,  and  this  was 
the  work  which  was  blessed  to  Legh  Richmond  and  to  Thomas  Chalmers. 
The  pupil  of  Chalmers  who  has  most  carried  forward  his  teacher's  instruc- 
tions is  Dr.  Horatius  Bonar — and  here,  again,  we  come  into  the  region  of 
hymns  and  songs  of  praise.  Legh  Richmond  wrote  The  Dairyman  s 
Daughter,  and  this  inspired  Rev.  George  Duffield,  who  wrote  The  Pastor 
and  Inquirer,  one  of  the  most  profitable  and  valuable  of  American  tracts, 
in  Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  about  the  year  1851.  We  shall  never  know,  this  side 
of  eternity,  where  a  good  book  ceases  to  have  its  effect  on  the  heart  and 
conscience,  or  where  and  how  its  spiritual  offspring  are  produced.  This 
has  received  many  examples.  Luther  was  inspired  by  perusing  the  life 
of  Huss.  So  was  Rev.  Joseph  Wolff,  the  missionary,  by  reading  of 
Xavier's  wonderful  career.  William  Carey  found  in  Captain  Cook's 
Voyages  the  impulse  to  his  own  energy  of  missionary  travel.  Benjamin 
Franklin  avowed  that  Cotton  Mather's  Essays  to  do  Good  had  greatly 
affected  him,  and  Samuel  Drew  confessed  his  indebtedness  to  Franklin's 
Poor  Richard 's  Almanac.  Xavier  himself  was  aroused  by  Loyola,  and 
Loyola  had  been  awakened  to  zeal  by  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  which  he 
perused  when  wounded  at  Pampeluna.  The  stimulus  received  from  a 
noble  biography,  or  the  story  of  a  great  undertaking  is  like  that  which 
Correggio  felt  when  he  beheld  the  work  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  ex- 
claimed :   "  I,  too,  am  a  painter  !" 

Jesus,  who  on  Calvary's  mountain. — Anon.,  1855. 
This  was  probably  an  original  hymn,  first  published  in  H.  W. 
Beecher's  Plymouth   Collection,    1855,    where  it  appears   in    four 
stanzas. 

Jesus,  who  on  his  glorious  throne. — Newton. 
This  hymn  appears  in  the  Olney  Hymns  as  Book  I.,  No.  69.     It 
is  based  on  Lamentations  3  :  24,  and  the  present  hymn  begins 
with  the  second  stanza.    The  first  is,  ' '  From  pole  to  pole  let  others 
roam, ' '  etc.     There  are  six  stanzas  in  all. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  307 

Joy  to  the  world  ;  the  Lord  is  come  ! — Watts. 
This   is    Ps.    98    of    Dr.  Watts's  version,   Second  Part,  C.  M., 
"  The  Messiah's  Coming  and  Kingdom."     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Such  a  song  of  praise  it  is  that  the  whole  creation  uplifts  unto  God. 
But  it  is  man  alone  who  can  truly  praise.  The  Esthonians  realized  this 
when  they  formed  their  legend  of  the  origin  of  song.  The  god  of  song, 
they  said,  descended  on  the  Domberg,  where  was  a  sacred  wood,  and 
there  he  played  and  sang.  Around  him  stood  the  creatures,  and  each 
learned  its  own  portion  of  the  celestial  strain.  The  tree  discovered  how 
to  rustle  its  leaves,  and  the  brook  how  to  murmur  along  its  bed,  and  the 
wind  and  the  bird  and  the  beast  alike  caught  the  parts  assigned  to  them. 
Man  only,  of  them  all,  was  able  to  combine  everything,  and  therefore 
man  alone  can  rightly  praise. 

Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea.  — C.  Elliott. 

When  Dr.  Caesar  Malan  visited  Miss  Elliott's  father  at  Brighton, 
May  9th,  1822,  he  found  her  trying  to  work  out  her  own  salva- 
tion, and  unwilling  to  trust  entirely  in  Christ.  "  Dear  Charlotte  " 
(he  is  reported  to  have  said),  "  cut  the  cable  ;  it  will  take  too  long 
to  unloose  it  ;  cut  it,  it  is  a  small  loss  ;  the  wind  blows,  and  the 
ocean  is  before  you — the  Spirit  of  God  and  Eternity."  So  it 
proved  ;  and  for  forty  years  Dr.  Malan 's  correspondence  continued 
to  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  her  and  to  her  sister,  until  his  death, 
May  8th,  1864. 

There  is  a  French  version  of  this  hymn  which  can  be  found  in 
Schaff  and  Gil  man's  Library  of  Religious  Poetry.  The  translator 
is  unknown,  but  the  following  incident  is  connected  with  it  : 

A  foreign  lady,  in  mourning,  passed  through  Geneva,  Switzerland,  in 
September,  1857.  She  knew  no  one  in  the  city,  and,  wishing  to  find  a 
certain  person  with  whose  name  she  was  acquainted  she  was  additionally 
unfortunate  in  failing  of  an  interview  with  him.  She  left,  however,  eighty 
francs  at  his  house,  partly  to  print  and  distribute  this  translation,  and 
partly  for  a  work  of  charity  ;  as  she  did  not  wish,  she  said,  to  visit  Geneva 
without  some  such  tribute  of  esteem.  Dr.  Malan  was  still  alive,  and  a 
resident  of  Geneva,  for  he  died  there,  as  we  have  stated,  in  1864.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  this  visit  was  paid  to  his  house,  for  the  author  of  three 
hundred  of  the  best  French  hymns  could  not  be  indifferent  to  the  verses 
of  his  English  friend  when  rendered  into  his  own  tongue.  And  Dr. 
Malan's  name  was  also  better  known  than  that  of  any  other  Christian  of 
Geneva  in  the  days  of  the  great  awakening  of  1857. 

This  hymn  of  Miss  Elliott's  bears  the  date  1836.  It  has  seven 
stanzas,  and  has  been  frequently  translated  into  Latin  verse. 


308  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

A  little  street  waif  once  came  to  a  New  York  City  missionary  and 
held  up  a  torn  and  dirty  piece  of  paper,  on  which  this  hymn  was 
printed  :  "  Please,  sir,"  said  he,  "  father  sent  me  to  get  a  clean 
paper  like  that."  The  missionary  learned  that  the  child's  sister 
had  loved  to  sing  it,  and  that  this  copy  had  been  found  in  her 
pocket  after  her  death.  The  father  wanted  now  to  obtain  a  clean 
set  of  the  verses  that  they  might  be  framed. 

The  son-in-law  of  the  poet  Wordsworth  once  wrote  to  Miss 
Elliott,  thanking  her  for  the  hymn,  and  saying  that  it  had  afforded 
comfort  to  his  wife  on  her  dying-bed. 

"  When  I  first  read  it,"  he  states,  "  I  had  no  sooner  finished  than  she 
said,  very  earnestly  :  '  That  is  the  very  thing  for  me.'  At  least  ten  times 
that  day  she  asked  me  to  repeat  it,  and  every  morning  from  that  day  until 
her  decease,  nearly  two  months  later,  the  first  thing  she  asked  for  was 
her  hymn.  '  Now,  my  hymn,'  she  would  say,  and  she  would  often  repeat 
it  after  me,  line  for  line,  in  the  day  and  night." 

Of  Torquay,  in  Devon,  from  which  the  hymn  comes,  Mr.  Chris- 
tophers presents  this  lovely  picture  : 

"  If  anybody  wishes  to  enjoy,  within  the  limits  of  a  few  days'  ramble, 
one  of  the  richest  interminglings  of  balmy  air,  and  bright  blue,  of  hill  and 
dale,  copsy  knoll  and  ferny  hollow,  villa-crowned  heights  and  cottages  in 
dells,  noble  cliffs  and  terraced  gardens,  mountain-paths,  and  quiet,  spark- 
ling beaches,  weedy  rocks  and  whispering  caverns,  ever-varying,  ever- 
harmonizing  scenes,  amid  which,  above,  beneath,  around  and  every- 
where, grandeur  is  melting  into  beauty — he  must  be  a  quiet  sojourner  for 
a  little  while  in  the  neighborhood  of  Torquay." 

It  is,  indeed,  delightful  for  us  to  get  this  hymn  from  the  same  re- 
gion which  nourished  those  "  Worthies  of  Devon  "  whose  splendid 
galaxy  is  led  by  the  courtly  figure  of  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  Raleigh's 
cousin,  discoverer  of  Virginia,  captain  of  the  "  Revenge,"  and  the 
bravest  of  English  sailors.  It  was  on  the  north  shore  that  Charles 
Kingsley  got  the  inspiration  for  his  Amyas  Leigh.  Here,  on  the 
south  coast,  across  Tor  Bay,  is  Brixham,  where  that  gentle  and 
scholarly  poet,  Lyte,  wrote  his  exquisite  hymn,  ' '  Abide  with  me, 
fast  falls  the  eventide. ' '  As  there  arise  before  the  thought  two  such 
promontories  as  Torquay  and  Brixham,  on  which  stand  such  ever- 
burning lights  as  these  two  hymns,  one  cannot  wonder  that  Keble 
could  write  in  his  own  superb  lyric  : 

"  Old  friends,  old  scenes,  will  lovelier  be 
As  more  of  heaven  in  each  we  see." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


309 


Miss  Elliott's  physician  once  brought  to  her  a  leaflet  on  which 
the  hymn  was  printed,  but  without  her  name.  "I  know,"  he 
said,  "  that  this  will  please  you."  He  had  very  accurately  judged 
her  state  of  mind,  if  the  authorship  was,  indeed,  unknown  to  him. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Venn  Elliott  always  considered  this  hymn  of 
his  sister  to  have  outweighed  in  Christian  value  all  his  own  efforts 
as  a  pastor. 

Keep  us,  Lord,  oh,  keep  us  ever.  — Kelly. 

This  hymn  is  in  Thomas  Kelly's  fifth  edition,  1820,  but  not  in 
the  third,  1809.     It  has  four  stanzas,  and  is  based  on  Ps.  119  :  35. 

11  I  was  once  on  my  way  to  the  Antipodes,"  said  a  voyager,  who  had 
gone  around  the  world  several  times.  "  The  vessel  was  a  transport,  and 
we  had  a  large  number  of  troops  on  board.  So  multitudinous  a  compan- 
ionship was  not  exactly  to  my  taste  on  the  high  seas  ;  but  one  must  make 
the  best  of  circumstances  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  my  cabin  life  was  as 
pleasant  as  could  be  in  such  a  case.  All  went  on  very  safely  till  one  night, 
the  horrors  of  which  will  live  to  play  discords  on  my  nerves  as  long  as 
nerves  are  a  part  of  my  inheritance.  I  had  got  into  my  berth  and  was 
fast  asleep,  when  about  the  middle  of  the  night  I  was  startled  by  a  shock, 
and  then  alarmed  by  a  strange  hubbub  of  creaking  timbers,  shuffling  feet, 
and  hoarse  voices  striving  with  the  whistling,  roaring  wind,  and  then 
my  senses  were  scarcely  clear  from  sleep  when  there  came  a  thundering 
crash,  down  went  the  vessel  on  her  beam-ends,  and  down  came  the  rush- 
ing sea,  all  but  filling  the  cabins,  and  at  once  putting  out  the  lights.  There 
was  an  awful  hush  for  a  moment,  and  then  the  first  voice  that  broke  it 
came  from  an  officer,  who  leaped  out  of  an  adjoining  berth  with  impreca- 
tions that  made  my  blood  run  chill,  and  cried  :  '  This  is  like  hell  when  the 
fire  is  put  out  ! ' 

"  One  felt  for  an  instant  as  if  he  were  engulfed  in  hell  itself,  but  just 
then  some  gentle  spirit  seemed  to  touch  my  tremulous  heart  ;  there  came 
a  sweet  calm  over  my  soul.  I  quietly  lay  in  my  berth  and  felt  as  if 
voices  from  the  better  land  were  singing  to  me  that  beautiful  hymn  : 


"  '  Why  those  fears  ?     Behold,  'tis  Jesus 
Holds  the  helm  and  guides  the  ship ; 

Spread  the  sails  and  catch  the  breezes, 
Sent  to  waft  us  through  the  deep, 

To  the  regions 
Where  the  mourners  cease  to  weep. 

"  '  Led  by  Him,  we  brave  the  ocean  ; 

Led  by  Him,  the  storm  defy  ; 
Calm  amidst  tumultuous  motion, 

Knowing  that  our  Lord  is  nigh. 
Waves  obey  Him, 

And  the  storms  before  Him  fly. 


"  '  Safe  in  His  most  sure  protection, 
We  shall  pass  the  watery  waste  ; 

Trusting  to  His  wise  direction, 
We  shall  gain  the  port  at  last, 

And,  with  wonder, 
Think  on  toils  and  dangers  past. 

"  '  Oh,  what  pleasures  there  await  us  ! 

There  the  tempests  cease  to  roar  ; 
There  it  is,  that  they  who  hate  us 

Shall  molest  our  peace  no  more  : 
Trouble  ceases 

On  that  tranquil,  happy  shore !  ' 


310  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  We  lived  to  outride  the  storm,  but  as  long  as  I  live  I  shall  feel  that  the 
experience  of  that  night  forever  hallowed  to  me  the  memory  of  Thomas 
Kelly.  His  long  life  (from  1769  to  1855,  begun  and  ended  in  Dublin)  was 
not  spent  in  vain  if  that  hymn  alone  had  been  all  its  fruit." 

Keep  silence,  all  created  things  ! — Watts. 
This  occurs  in Horce Lyricce,  Book  I.,  under  the  title  of  "  God's 
Dominion  and  Decrees,"  and  is  in  twelve  stanzas. 

Lead,  kindly  light  !   amid  the  encircling  gloom. —Newman. 

John  Henry  Newman,  D.D.,  was  born  in  London,  England, 
February  21st,  1801.  His  father,  John  Newman,  was  a  banker, 
and  a  man  apparently  of  deep  religious  convictions.  "  I  was 
brought  up  from  a  child,"  says  Dr.  Newman,  "  to  take  great  de- 
light in  reading  the  Bible.''  After  a  good  preliminary  education 
the  lad  was  sent  to  Oxford,  where  he  was  graduated  at  Trinity  Col- 
lege in  1820.  He  was  afterward  a  Fellow  of  Oriel  College  in 
1822,  and  in  1825  was  given  the  vice-principalship  of  St.  Alban's 
Hall,  by  Dr.  Whately.  In  this  position  he  continued  about  a 
year,  and  was  then  selected  as  a  tutor  in  Oriel  College,  where  he 
remained  until  1828. 

At  this  period  began  his  intimacy  with  Richard  Hurrell  Froude, 
of  which  the  outcome  was  a  most  remarkable  religious  movement 
in  the  English  Church.  In  1828,  Dr.  Newman  was  the  incumbent 
of  St.  Mary's,  Oxford,  and  was  also  chaplain  at  Littlemore.  His 
friends  were  such  men  as  John  Keble  and  Edward  Bouverie  Pusey, 
and  his  ministrations  at  St.  Mary's  had  a  powerful  influence  on 
the  students  of  the  university. 

A  visit  to  the  Continent  intervened  in  this  time  of  literary  and 
religious  activity.  During  that  absence  from  home  the  tendencies 
toward  Romanism  which  he  had  already  manifested  seem  to  have 
firmly  fixed  themselves,  as  permanent  principles,  in  his  mind.  He 
had  begun,  in  the  city  of  Rome,  to  write  the  Lyra  Apostolica,  a 
volume  of  verses  intended  to  express  the  low  state  of  the  English 
Church,  and  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  several  of  his  friends. 

It  was  on  his  return  from  Zante  and  Corfu  that  the  verses  begin- 
ning "  Time  was  I  shrank  from  what  was  right  "  were  written  : 

'•  Time  was  I  shrank  from  what  was  right, 
From  fear  of  what  was  wrong  ; 
I  would  not  brave  the  sacred  fight, 
Because  the  foe  was  strong. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  311 

44  But  now  I  cast  that  finer  sense 
And  sorer  shame  aside  ; 
Such  dread  of  sin  was  indolence, 
Such  aim  at  heaven  was  pride. 

"  So,  when  my  Saviour  calls,  I  rise, 
And  calmly  do  my  best ; 
Leaving  to  Him,  with  silent  eyes 
Of  hope  and  fear,  the  rest. 

"  I  step,  I  mount,  where  He  has  led  ; 
Men  count  my  haltings  o'er  ; — 
I  know  them  ;  yet,  though  self  I  dread, 
I  love  His  precept  more." 

These  lines  really  originated  the  ' '  Oxford  movement ' '  in  the 
Anglican  Church — an  agitation  which  continued  for  ten  years,  and 
has  not,  even  now,  entirely  abated. 

After  leaving  Cardinal  Wiseman  the  author  first  went  to  Sicily. 
There,  at  Leonforte,  he  was  very  ill  with  malarial  fever.  "  My 
servant,"  he  says,  "  thought  I  was  dying,  and  begged  for  my  last 
directions.  I  gave  them  as  he  wished  ;  but  I  said  :  '  I  shall  not 
die,  for  I  have  not  sinned  against  light,  I  have  not  sinned  against 
light ! '  I  never  have  been  able  to  make  out  at  all  what  I  meant." 
Later  on,  in  the  course  of  the  disease  he  became  much  depressed 
and  sobbed  bitterly.  His  servant,  asking  what  ailed  him,  could 
only  obtain  the  reply  :  "  I  have  a  work  to  do  in  England."  At 
last  he  was  able  to  ' '  get  off  in  an  orange  boat, ' '  but  was  becalmed 
a  full  week  in  the  Straits  of  Bonifacio,  between  Corsica  and  Sar- 
dinia. Here  it  was  that  this  hymn — the  most  famous  of  all  his 
productions — was  written.  Its  sincerity  of  feeling  and  purity  of 
expression  have  made  it  universally  acceptable.  Its  original  title 
was  "The  Pillar  of  the  Cloud."  It  was  first  published  in  the 
British  Magazine,  and  then  in  Lyra  Aposiolica,  1836,  in  three 
stanzas,  with  the  motto,  "  Unto  the  godly  there  ariseth  up  light 
in  the  darkness. " 

The  statement  of  Dr.  Newman  himself  fixes  the  date  of  composi- 
tion as  June  16th,  1833,  and  the  voyage,  begun  at  Palermo,  termi- 
nated at  Marseilles.  The  circumstances  can  be  read  by  any  inquirer 
in  the  Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua,  1864,  pp.  35-119  (London  edition 
of  1875).  "I  was  writing  verses,"  he  there  says,  "the  whole 
time  of  my  passage. ' '  There  is  a  further  reference  to  the  same 
facts  in  the  Parochial  Sermons,  Vol.  II.,  Sermon  2. 


312  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

In  July,  1833,  he  was  again  at  home.  With  his  Oriel  College 
friends  he  now  commenced  the  issue  of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times. 
Keble's  sermon  on  National  Apostasy  was  preached  in  Newman's 
pulpit,  July  14th,  1833.  Thus  the  "movement"  sprang  into 
existence,  and  an  "  association"  was  formed  in  September.  New- 
man then  followed  up  the  publication  of  the  tracts  by  travelling 
through  the  country  and  personally  urging  clergymen  to  join  him- 
self and  his  friends  in  their  "  high  church"  agitation. 

Of  the  Oxford  Tracts,  Nos.  1,  2,  6,  7,  8,  10  and  11,  were  written  by  New- 
man. Of  the  smaller  tracts  he  wrote  Nos.  19,  20,  21,  34,  38,  41,  45  and 
47.  After  the  accession  of  Dr.  Pusey  to  the  ranks  in  1834-5,  Newman 
wrote  tracts  71,  73.  75.  79.  82,  83,  85  and  88.  His  Tract  No.  90  was  one 
which  excited  great  controversy.  Its  aim  was  to  remove  the  lines  of 
difference  between  the  Church  of  Rome  and  the  Church  of  England. 

In  1836  the  Lyra  Apostolica  appeared.  Its  writers  were  known  at  first 
only  by  their  signatures,  each  having  chosen  a  Greek  letter.  They  were 
as  follows  : 

(a)  Mr.  J.  W.  Bowden,  Trinity  College,  Oxon.,  Commissioner  of  Stamps 
and  Taxes. 

0)  Rev.  Richard  Hurrell  Froude,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College,  Oxon. 

(7)  Rev.  John  Keble,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College,  Oxon. 

(6)   Rev.  John  Henry  Newman,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College,  Oxon. 

(e)   Rev.  Isaac  Williams,  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Oxon. 

(0   Rev.  Henry  William  Wilberforce,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College,  Oxon. 

The  drift  of  Dr.  Newman's  mind  was,  by  this  date,  very  ap- 
parent. In  1842  he  presided  over  the  monastic  community  which 
he  had  organized  at  Littlemore,  and  as  the  coadjutor  and  compeer 
of  Dr.  Pusey  he  became  increasingly  prominent.  In  October, 
1845,  ne  t0°fc  tne  logical  and  final  step  of  entering  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  where  he  was  immediately  recognized  and 
honored.  He  received,  as  his  first  duty,  the  charge  of  the  Oratory 
of  St.  Philip  Neri,  at  Birmingham.  In  1854  he  became  rector  of 
the  new  Roman  Catholic  University  in  Dublin,  holding  this  posi- 
tion until  1858.  At  this  latter  date  he  removed  to  Edgbaston,  near 
Birmingham,  and  started  a  school  for  the  sons  of  Roman  Catholic 
gentlemen.  His  cardinal's  hat  was  received  in  1879.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  enumerate  the  publications  of  Dr.  Newman.  Of 
them  all  there  are  none  which  have  attracted  so  much  attention  as 
his  Apologia,  1864,  and  his  Collection  of  Poems,  1868 — in  the  last 
of  which  appears  that  remarkable  composition,  "The  Dream  of 
Gerontius."     As  a  collector  and  translator  of  the  Latin  hymns 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  313 

Dr.  Newman  deserves  the  highest  praise.  The  Hymni  Ecclesice, 
1838,  are  invaluable  to  the  student.  In  this  volume  are  to  be 
found  those  texts  from  the  Paris,  Sarum,  Roman  and  other 
breviaries  which  will  be  sought  in  vain  in  the  pages  of  Daniel  or 
Mone. 

An  exhaustive  and  brilliant  sketch  of  Dr.  Newman' s  life  appeared 
in  the  Century  Magazine  for  June,  1882. 

Let  me  but  hear  my  Saviour  say.  — Watts. 
We  find  this  hymn  after  a  sermon  on  11  Cor.  12  :  7,  9,  10,  in 
five  stanzas.      Its  title  is,  "  Our  own  Weakness,  and  Christ  our 
Strength,"   and  it  is  No.  15  of  Book  I.  of  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymns. 

Lead  us,  O  Father,  in  the  paths  of  peace. — Burleigh. 

The  author  of  this  hymn,  Rev.  William  Henry  Burleigh,  was 
born  in  Woodstock,  Conn.,  February  2d,  18 12 — the  fourth  son 
of  Rinaldo  Burleigh,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  and  successful 
classical  teacher.  He  married  a  lady  who  was  a  lineal  descendant 
of  Governor  William  Bradford  of  the  "  Mayflower,"  and  their  chil- 
dren grew  up  on  the  farm  at  Plainfield,  being  used  to  hard  work 
and  plenty  of  open  air. 

William  early  showed  a  taste  for  poetry,  and  as  soon  as  he  was 
able  he  evinced  the  spirit  of  a  reformer.  In  the  anti-slavery  and 
temperance  movements  he  was  prominent,  and  in  1837  he  pub- 
lished the  Christian  Witness  and  afterward  the  Temperance  Banner. 
He  also  edited  the  Abolition  journal  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  called  the 
Christian  Freeman,  the  name  being  subsequently  changed  to  the 
Charter  Oak.  At  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  from  1849,  ne  served  for  five 
years  as  agent  of  the  New  York  State  Temperance  Society — being 
editor,  lecturer  and  secretary,  according  to  the  demand.  A  part 
of  this  time  he  lived  in  Albany,  where  he  edited  the  Prohibitionist. 
Governor  Clark,  of  New  York,  who  was  his  friend,  appointed  him 
Harbor  Master  of  New  York  City.  He  accepted  the  position,  re- 
moved to  Brooklyn,  and  died  in  that  city,  March  18th,  1871. 

In  personal  appearance  and  power  of  public  address  he  was  a 
man  of  mark.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Celia  Burleigh—"  pastor  of  the 
Unitarian  Church  at  Brooklyn,  Conn." — wrote  his  life  and  added 
to  it  a  number  of  his  poems.  Mr.  Burleigh's  verses  possess  both 
vigor  and  melody.  The  present  piece  is  found,  in  four  stanzas, 
in  Lyra  Sacra  Americana,  1868,  accompanied  by  ten  other  hymns, 


314  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  with  the  statement  by  Professor  Cleveland  that  ' '  most  of  these 
beautiful  hymns  of  Mr.  Burleigh's  were  given  me  in  manuscript, 
by  the  author,  for  this  work." 

Let  party  names  no  more. — Beddome. 
This  good  old  unsectarian  hymn  is  worthy  of  being  reprinted  in 
a  volume  like  the  present.      It  was  written  by  Benjamin  Beddome 
in  1769 — and  Benjamin  Beddome  was  a  Baptist  minister. 

"  Let  party  names  no  more 

The  Christian  world  o'erspread  : 
Gentile  and  Jew,  and  bond  and  free, 
Are  one,  in  Christ,  their  head. 
"Among  the  saints  on  earth, 
Let  mutual  love  abound  ; — 
Heirs  of  the  same  inheritance, 
With  mutual  blessings  crowned. 
"  Thus  will  the  Church  below 
Resemble  that  above  ; 
Where  streams  of  endless  pleasure  flow, 
And  every  heart  is  love." 

As  a  comment,  here  is  Rowland  Hill's  Epitaph  on  Bigotry,  pub- 
lished in  1796  : 

"  Here  lies  old  Bigotry,  abhorred 

By  all  that  love  our  common  Lord  ; 

No  more  his  influence  shall  prove 

The  torment  of  the  sons  of  love. 
"  We  celebrate  with  holy  mirth 

This  monster's  death,  of  hellish  birth  ; 

Ne'er  may  his  hateful  influence  rise 

Again,  to  blast  our  sacred  joys. 
"  Glory  to  God,  we  now  are  one, 

United  to  one  Head  alone  ; 

With  undivided  hearts  we  praise 

Our  God  for  his  uniting  grace. 
"  Let  names  and  sects  and  parties  fall, 

Let  Jesus  Christ  be  all  in  all ; 

Thus,  like  thy  saints  above,  shall  we 

Be  one  with  each  as  one  with  Thee." 

And  here  is  a  story,  which,  if  it  be  not  true,  is  certainly  well 
told  : 

John  Wesley  was  once  troubled  in  regard  to  the  disposition  of  the  vari- 
ous sects,  and  the  chances  of  each  in  reference  to  future  happiness  or 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  315 

punishment.  A  dream,  one  night,  transported  him,  in  its  uncertain  wan- 
derings, to  the  gates  of  hell.  "  Are  there  any  Roman  Catholics  here?" 
asked  the  thoughtful  Wesley.  "  Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "  Any  Episco- 
palians ?"  "Yes."  "  Any  Presbyterians  ?"  "Yes."  *'  Any  Congre- 
gationalists  ?"  "Yes,"  again  was  the  answer.  "Any  Baptists?" 
"Yes."  "Any  Methodists?"  asked  the  pious  Wesley,  by  way  of  a 
clincher.  "  Yes,"  to  his  great  indignation,  was  answered.  In  the  mystic 
way  of  dreams,  a  sudden  transition — and  he  stood  before  the  gates  of 
heaven.  Improving  his  opportunity,  he  again  inquired  :  "  Are  there  any 
Roman  Catholics  here  ?"  "  No,"  was  replied.  "Any  Episcopalians?" 
"No."  "  Any  Presbyterians  ?"  "No."  "  Any  Congregationalists  ?" 
"No."  "Any  Baptists?"  "No."  "Any  Methodists?"  "No." 
"Well,  then,"  he  asked,  lost  in  wonder,  "who  are  they  inside?" 
"  Christians  /"  was  the  jubilant  answer. 

It  would  be  almost  worth  our  while  to  add  a  "  Gospel  sonnet  " 
from  Erskine  to  the  same  purport.  One  finds  it — along  with 
44  While  shepherds  watch  their  flocks  by  night  "  —  at  the  end  of 
old  Dobell.  But  it  must  yield  its  place  and  space  to  this  devout 
and  exquisite  petition,  which  appropriately  closes  our  annotation 
on  the  theme  which  Beddome  has  put  before  us  : 

"  O  God,  who  hast  knit  together  all  who  have  been  baptized  in  the 
name  of  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ  into  one  mystical  body,  bless,  we  beseech 
thee,  the  one  body  of  the  one  Lord.  Carry  each  member  of  it  safely 
through  his  appointed  trial  and  discipline.  Replenish  it  with  all  heavenly 
gifts  and  graces.  Heal  its  dissensions  and  divisions.  Let  the  power  of 
Thy  Spirit  be  manifest  in  all  its  holy  offices  and  ministries  ;  that  so  taught 
and  guided  and  governed  by  Thee,  we  may  all  come,  in  the  unity  of  the 
faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.  So  shall  we  evermore 
offer  unto  Thy  Holy  Name  the  incense  of  true  praise,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

Let  saints  below  in  concert  sing. — C.  Wesley. 
This  is  a  cento  from  Charles  Wesley's  long  poem  on  the  "  An- 
ticipations of  Eternity,"  and  is  found  among  the  larger  Funeral 
Hymns,  1759.     The  present  piece  begins  with  the  second  half  of 
the  first  stanza,  "  Let  all  the  saints  terrestrial  sing,"  etc. 

Let  the  Church  new  anthems  raise. — Neale,  tr. 
Dr.  Neale  made  this  translation  from  St.  Joseph  of  the  Studium, 
and  it  appears  in  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church,  1862.     This  is  the 
tear   ispc&v   dSXocpopGov,  "  a  Cento  from  the   Canon  for  SS. 
Timothy  and  Maura  ;  May  3d."     It  has  four  stanzas. 


316  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Let  us  awake  our  joys. — Kingsbury. 

The  Rev.  William  Kingsbury  is  the  author  of  this  hymn  and  of 
that  other  which  begins,  "  Great  God,  of  all  thy  churches  hear." 
These  were  contributed  to  Dobett 's  Collection,  1806,  and  we  do  not 
know  that  Mr.  Kingsbury  wrote  more  than  these  two  pieces. 

He  was  born  July  12th,  1744,  in  Bishopsgate  Street,  London. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  at  the  Merchant  Tailors'  School, 
and  at  Christ's  Hospital  School.  According  to  Dr.  Belcher,  he 
was  a  student  at  the  college  at  Homerton  also.  Up  to  this  time 
he  had  felt  no  special  interest  in  religious  things,  but  now  the 
sublime  allegory  of  grand  old  John  Bunyan  attracted  him  with 
mighty  power,  taught  him  his  sin,  and  led  him  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross.  It  is  recorded  that  on  the  7th  of  October,  1760,  he  was 
"  filled  with  joy  and  peace  in  believing." 

He  then  pursued  his  studies  for  the  ministry,  and  was  ordained 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  His  forty-five  years  of  pastoral  life  were 
spent  in  one  pulpit,  at  Southampton,  a  place  memorable  for  its  as- 
sociation with  the  name  of  Isaac  Watts.  He  also  deserves  to  be 
remembered  for  his  efficient  benevolences,  as  well  as  for  his  long 
and  prosperous  pastorate.  For  he  introduced  Sunday-school  in- 
struction at  Southampton,  and  was  present  at  the  origin  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society. 

Dr.  Morrison,  who  wrote  the  biography  of  the  founders  of  that 
society,  has  given  an  account  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Kingsbury,  its  first 
chairman. 

From  1 800-1 809  he  had  the  assistance  in  his  pastorate  of  the 
Rev.  George  Clayton  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Lacy.  A  paralytic  stroke 
compelled  his  resignation,  July  29th,  1809,  and  he  retired  to 
Caversham,  near  Reading,  where  he  died,  February  18th,  18 18. 
His  biographer,  Mr.  Buller,  tells  us  that  he  was  confined  to  bed 
for  only  one  day  before  his  death.      He  suffered  but  little  pain. 

"  On  the  Sunday  before  he  died,  when  his  son  said  :  '  How  do  you  do, 
sir?'  he  replied,  '  Well  ;  for  I  have  peace  with  God.'  He  expressed  an 
earnest  wish  to  obtain  his  dismission,  and  frequently  was  heard  to  say  : 
'  When  will  he  come  ?  Oh  !  when  will  he  come  ?  '  One  of  his  attendants, 
supposing  him  to  inquire  after  his  son,  Mr.  Thomas  Kingsbury,  who  was 
hourly  expected  from  London,  said  :  '  We  look  for  him  every  minute.' 
He  shook  his  head,  saying  :  '  No,  no  ;  when  will  my  Beloved  come?' 
His  senses  were  retained  to  the  last  moment  of  life.  He  kissed  the  hand 
of  his  affectionate  and  only  remaining  daughter  ;  he  made  a  sign  that  his 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  3I7 

son  Walter  should  offer  prayer.     During  the  prayer  he  raised  his  hands 
and  eyes,  drew  a  long  breath,  and  gently  expired." 

Let  us  love,  and  sing,  and  wonder. — Newton. 
This  hymn  is  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  82,  and  is 
entitled,  "  Praise  for  Redeeming  Love."     It  has  six  stanzas,  and 
there  is  a  reference  in  the  third  to  Rev.  2  :  10,  and  in  the  fourth 

to  Rev.  5  :  9. 

When  Isabella  Graham  was  dying  she  quoted  to  her  pastor,  Dr. 
Mason,  this  hymn.  It  was  one  of  her  greatest  favorites,  and  was 
sung  at  her  funeral.  Indeed,  Dr.  Mason  made  it  the  conclusion 
of  his  sermon. 

The  law  of  God  was  compared  by  Rabbi  Eleazar— so  the 
Talmud  relates-to  an  ox-goad.  "  The  goad,"  he  said,  "  causes 
the  ox  to  draw  a  straight  furrow,  and  a  straight  furrow  brings  forth 
plenty  of  food.  So  the  law  of  God  keeps  man's  heart  straight, 
that  it  may  bring  forth  fruit  to  life  eternal." 

Let  worldly  minds  the  world  pursue.— Newton. 
We  find  this  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  59,  with  the 
title,  ' '  Old  Things  are  Passed  Away. ' '     It  has  six  stanzas. 
Let  Zion  and  her  sons  rejoice.— Watts. 
This  is   Dr.  Watts' s  version  of  Ps.    102,  Second  Part,  C.  M., 
w.    13-21  :  "  Prayer   heard    and    Zion    restored."     It  is   in  six 
stanzas. 

Life  of  the  world  !  I  hail  thee.— R.  Palmer. 
We  have  here  a  translation  from  the  Latin  of  St.  Bernard  of 
Clairvaulx,  for  whom  see  "The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their 
Hymns."  It  is  the  portion  addressed  to  the  feet  of  Christ— the 
entire  hymn  having  reference  to  his  crucified  body.  Dr.  Palmer 
published  this  rendering  in  the  Christian  Union  (N.  Y.),  April 
13th,  1881,  in  eight  double  stanzas. 

Lift  up  to  God  the  voice  of  praise.—  Wardlaw. 
The  date  assigned  to  this  hymn,  by  Dr.  Ralph  Wardlaw,  is  1803. 
This  beautiful  legend,  which  seems  apposite  to  the  present  piece, 
comes  from  the  Talmud  : 

-  When  God  was  about  to  create  man  the  angels  gathered  about  Him. 
Some  of  them  said  :  '  Create,  O  God,  a  being  who  shall  praise  Thee  from 
earth,  even  as  we  sing  Thy  glory  in  the  heavens.'     But  others  said  :     O 


$i&  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Almighty  King,  create  no  more  !  Man  will  but  destroy  the  glorious  har- 
mony of  the  heavens.' 

"Then  spoke  the  Angel  of  Mercy:  'O  Father,  create  Thou  man  in 
Thine  own  image.  Then  will  I  fill  his  heart  with  heavenly  pity  and  with 
sympathy  for  every  living  thing.  Thus  shall  they  praise  Thee  through 
him.' 

"  Then  spoke  the  Angel  of  Peace  :  '  O  God,  create  him  not.  He  shall 
disturb  the  peace  of  Thy  earth.  Bloodshed  shall  attend  upon  his  steps. 
Thy  justice  shall  be  mocked  in  the  midst  of  mankind.' 

"  Then  spoke  the  Angel  of  Justice  :  '  But  Thou  shalt  judge  him,  O  God, 
and  he  shall  be  subject  unto  my  rule.' 

"  And  then  appeared  the  Angel  of  Truth,  saying  :  '  Create  him  not  ! 
For  with  him  Thou  sendest  falsehood  upon  earth.' 

"  Then  all  the  angels  were  silent,  and  out  of  the  depth  of  the  majestic 
stillness  came  the  Bath  Kol — the  marvellous  Voice — and  it  said  :  '  Man 
shall  be  created,  but  thou,  O  Truth,  must  go  with  him  to  the  earth.  Be- 
tween earth  and  heaven  thou  shalt  be  the  messenger.  Thou  shalt  link 
man  to  us  and  us  to  him.'  " 

Light  of  life,  seraphic  Fire.  — C.  Wesley. 
The  title  of  this  hymn  is,  "  For  those  that  wait  for  full  Redemp- 
tion."     It  is  from  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,  1749. 

Light  of  the  lonely  pilgrim's  heart. — Denny. 
Sir  Edward  Denny's  hymns  are  mostly  of  a  plaintive  character. 
The  present  is  one  of  the  Millennial  Hymns,  1839,  and  is  in  six 
stanzas.     Its  title  is,  "  The  Heart  Watching  for  the  Morning,"  and 
it  is  headed  by  a  quotation  from  Cowper's  "  Task  "  : 

"  Thy  saints  proclaim  thee  King:  and  in  their  hearts 
T.hy  title  is  engraven  with  a  pen 
Dipp'd  in  the  fountain  of  eternal  love." 

Light  of  those  whose  dreary  dwelling.  — C.  Wesley. 
This  piece  is  from  the  Nativity  Hymns,  1744,  and  is  in  three 
eight-line  stanzas. 

Like  sheep  we  went  astray. — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  142,  Book  I.,  "The    Humiliation  and  Exalta- 
tion of  Christ,"  and  is  first  found,  in  six  stanzas,  after  a  sermon 
on  Isa.  53  :  6-12. 

Lo  !  God  is  here  !    Let  us  adore  ! — J.  Wesley,  tr. 
Rev.  John  Wesley  made  this   translation   from  the  German  of 
Gerhard  Tersteegen,  during  the  time  of  his  Georgia  voyage.     He 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  319 

has  recorded  that  the  hymn  expressed  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
his  life  at  that  period,  and  that  he  chose  it  for  translation  on  this 
account.  The  original  is  based,  no  doubt,  on  the  words  of  Jacob, 
Gen.  28  :  16,  17.  It  is  the  well-known  "  Gott  ist  gegenwdriig." 
The  change  in  the  form  of  stanzas  in  the  English  rendering  is 
due  to  the  omission  of  the  refrain  with  which  Mr.  Wesley  originally 
closed  each  of  them. 

It  is  related  of  two  missionaries  to  India,  Dr.  Coke  and  Rev.  Benjamin 
Clough,  that  the  former  once  said  to  his  companion  :  "  My  dear  brother, 
I  am  dead  to  all  but  India."  It  was  a  thought  which  at  once  cheered  the 
spirit  of  the  young  recruit,  and  he  began  to  sing  a  stanza  of  this  hymn, 
which,  although  now  omitted  from  almost  all  the  modern  collections,  is 
quite  worthy  of  the  rest  : 

"  Gladly  the  toys  of  earth  we  leave, 

Wealth,  pleasure,  fame,  for  thee  alone : 
To  thee  our  will,  soul,  flesh,  we  give, 

Oh,  take,  oh,  seal  them  for  thine  own ! 
Thou  art  the  God,  thou  art  the  Lord  ; 
Be  thou  by  all  thy  works  adored." 

So  Mr.  Clough  sang  on,  and  his  aged  friend  joined  heartily  with  him  ; 
and  with  this  prayer  and  song  and  covenant  these  devoted  workers  con- 
secrated themselves  anew  to  the  arduous  task  before  them. 

Lo  !  he  comes,  with  clouds  descending. — Cennick. 

The  original  hymn  began,  "  Lo  !  he  cometh,  countless  trum- 
pets," and  was  published  in  a  Dublin  Collection  of  Sacred  Hymns 
(fifth  edition,  1752).  In  1760  Madan  combined  two  of  Cennick's 
stanzas  with  three  others  from  two  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley's 
Hymns  of  Intercession,  1758,  and  this  mosaic  now  constitutes  the 
usual  form  of  the  present  piece. 

Lo  !  what  a  glorious  sight  appears. — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  has  this  as  Hymn  21  of  Book  I.,  with  the  title, 
"Rev.  21  :  1-4.  A  Vision  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  among 
Men.  "     It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

Look  to  Jesus,  till,  reviving. — Mrs.  Charles,  ir. 

This  is  the  hymn  of  Bishop  Franzen,  of  Sweden,  as  taken  from 
Mrs.  Charles's  Three  Wakings,  1859,  beginning  with  the  second 
stanza.  It  had  appeared  in  her  Christian  Life  in  Song,  1858. 
The  first  line  in  the  original  is,  "  fesum  haf  i stdndigt  minne," 
4 '  Jesus  in  thy  memory  keep. ' '  Franzen  was  bishop  of  Hernosand, 
but  Mrs.  Charles  is  incorrect  when  she  states  that  he  "  died  in 


320  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

1818,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six."  The  poet,  Franz  Michael  Franzen, 
was  born  at  Uleaborg,  in  Finland,  in  1772  ;  educated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Abo,  and  there  appointed  to  be  Librarian  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Literary  History.  He  was  subsequently  given  the  living 
of  Kumla,  in  the  district  of  Orebro,  in  Sweden.  In  1835  he  was 
the  incumbent  of  Santa  Clara,  in  Stockholm.  In  1841  he  was 
made  Bishop  of  Hernosand,  where  he  died  in  1847. 

His  poetry  appears  in  William  and  Mary  Howitt's  Literature  and 
Romance  of  the  North,  with  a  critical  review  of  the  author's  works. 

There  is  an  excellent  sketch  of  Swedish  literature  (and  of  his 
place  therein)  in  Longfellow'  %  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe  ;  and  in 
the  Supplement  to  that  useful  volume  is  a  good  biographical  notice. 

Franzen  had  many  of  the  peculiarities  of  Wordsworth  and  his 
associates  of  the  Lake  School.  He  is  best  known  by  his  incom- 
plete epic,  ' '  Gustavus  Adolphus  in  Germany/ '  and  by  his  lyric 
poems. 

Look,  from  thy  sphere  of  endless  day. — Bryant. 
This  hymn  was  written  by  William  Cullen  Bryant  in  1840,  for 
the  anniversary  of  a  missionary  society.     It  appears  in  his  volume 
of  hymns  issued  in  1864. 

Look,  ye  saints,  the  sight  is  glorious. — Kelly. 
Mr.  Kelly's  text  of  Scripture  for  this  hymn  is  Rev.  11:15.     It 
has  four  stanzas,  and  was  first  published  in  1806. 

Lord,  and  Father,  great  and  holy  ! — F.  W.  Farrar. 

This,  which  is  the  single  hymn  of  its  author,  so  far  as  we  are 
aware,  has  come  into  notice  through  that  author's  prominence 
rather  than  through  any  especial  merit.  It  is  accessible  in  the 
Hymns  of  the  Spirit,  1864,  and  has  been  revived  by  the  visit  of 
Archdeacon  Farrar  to  America  in  September,   1885. 

Frederic  William  Farrar  is  the  son  of  Rev.  C.  R.  Farrar,  rector 
of  Sidcup,  Kent,  and  was  born,  not  as  might  be  supposed,  in  Eng- 
land, but  in  the  Fort,  Bombay,  August  7th,  1831.  His  education 
was  received  at  King  William's  College  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  and 
afterward  in  King's  College,  London,  where  he  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  London  in  1850.  His  scholastic  tendencies 
have  been  his  chief  characteristic,  and  it  is  an  almost  unique  fact 
of  his,  or  any  career,  that  after  his  London  education  he  proceeded 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  321 

additionally  to  Cambridge,  where  he  became  a  Scholar  and  Fellow 
of  Trinity  College,  and  received  the  degree  of  B.  A.  in  1854.  His 
poem,  "The  Arctic  Regions,"  obtained  the  Chancellor's  prize 
there,  and  he  took  other  distinguished  honors  during  his  stay. 

His  ecclesiastical  history  commenced  with  his  diaconate  in 
1854,  and  his  ordination  in  1857  by  the  Bishop  of  Ely.  Under 
Dr.  Vaughan  he  was  a  master  at  Harrow  School,  and  was  from 
1 87 1  to  1876  the  head-master  of  Marlborough  College.  His  repu- 
tation as  a  preacher  was  caused  by  his  sermons  before  the  Univer- 
sity of  Cambridge  in  1868 — to  which  duty  he  was  again  chosen  in 
1874.  From  1869  t0  I&73  he  was  an  honorary  chaplain  to  the 
Queen.  Since  that  date  he  has  been  one  of  the  chaplains-in- 
ordinary.  His  canonry  in  Westminster  Abbey  was  given  him  in 
April,  1876,  and  in  addition  he  received  the  rectorship  of  St.  Mar- 
garet's, Westminster.  On  the  24th  of  April,  1883,  he  was  promoted 
to  be  archdeacon  of  Westminster. 

Dr.  Farrar  has  held  a  prominent  place  in  public  esteem  owing 
to  his  brilliant  rhetoric  and  unmistakable  earnestness.  His  scholar- 
ship is  voluminous,  and  though  it  has  been  sometimes  attacked  on 
the  score  of  inaccuracy,  it  has  usually  held  itself  above  reproach. 
Especially  has  controversy  been  excited  by  those  original  and  re- 
markable volumes  :  The  Life  of  Christ,  1874  ;  Eternal  Hope, 
1878  ;  and  the  Life  of  Si.  Paul,  1879.  The  views  of  Dr.  Farrar 
are  very  liberal.  He  inclines  to  the  recognition  of  certain  unusual 
doctrines,  and  these  are  always  defended  by  him  with  vigor,  and 
with  great  felicity  and  facility  of  quotation.  He  is  also  a  strong 
advocate  of  the  temperance  cause.  His  Seekers  after  God,  1869, 
and  Witness  of  History  to  Christ,  1871,  did  much  to  bring  him 
into  notice,  and  he  is  beloved  in  America  for  his  sympathy  with 
us  in  our  Civil  War  and  his  funeral  eulogy  of  General  Grant. 
•  Archdeacon  Farrar's  hymn  is  sufficiently  removed  from  ordinary 
reach  to  justify  its  reprint  here  : 

"  Lord  and  Father,  great  and  holy  ! 
Fearing  naught,  we  come  to  thee  ; 
Fearing  naught,  though  weak  and  lowly, 

For  thy  love  has  made  us  free. 
By  the  blue  sky  bending  o'er  us, 

By  the  green  earth's  flowery  zone, 
Teach  us,  Lord,  the  angel  chorus, 
1  Thou  art  Love,  and  Love  alone.' 


322  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Though  the  worlds  in  flame  should  perish, 
Suns  and  stars  in  ruin  fall, 
Trust  in  thee  our  hearts  should  cherish, 

Thou  to  us  be  all  in  all. 
And  though  heavens  thy  name  are  praising, 

Seraphs  hymn  no  sweeter  tone 
Than  the  strain  our  hearts  are  raising, 
'  Thou  art  Love,  and  Love  alone.'  " 

Lord,  as  to  thy  dear  cross  we  flee.  —  Gurney. 

This  hymn,  by  Rev.  John  Hampden  Gurney,  appeared  in  his 
collection  of  Hymns  for  Public  Worship,  1838.  The  author  was 
born  August  15th,  1802,  in  Sergeant's  Inn,  Fleet  Street,  London, 
the  son  of  Sir  John  Gurney,  one  of  the  Barons  of  the  Court  of 
Exchequer.  He  was  graduated  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge 
(B.A.  1824,  M.A.  1828),  and  was  made  deacon  in  1827,  and 
priest  in  1828.  His  first  studies  were  in  the  law,  but  he  soon  pre- 
ferred the  Gospel — and  this  from  the  heart.  A  man  of  high  posi- 
tion, and  large  wealth,  he  devoted  himself  faithfully  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  until  his  death,  March  8th,  1862. 

His  first  curacy  was  Lutterworth,  Leicestershire,  where  his  rector 
was  Rev.  Robert  Henry  Johnson.  This  place  was  "  the  cradle  of 
the  Reformation  where  John  Wickliffe  (1324-1387)  preached  the 
Gospel,  died,  and  was  buried."  Here  Mr.  Gurney  remained,  in 
spite  of  flattering  offers,  for  fully  seventeen  years.  He  became 
rector  of  St.  Mary's,  Marylebone,  in  1847  >'  and  was  promoted 
by  the  Crown  to  the  prebendary  of  St.  Pancras,  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  in  1857. 

The  Tract,  Bible  and  Missionary  causes  found  him  a  most 
efficient  helper.  His  evangelical  piety  and  large  personal  means 
made  him  a  tower  of  strength  to  these  societies.  Among  other 
benevolent  actions,  he  edited  and  paid  the  cost  of  stereotyping 
Baxter  s  Family  Book  for  the  Religious  Tract  Society.  Among  his 
works,  the  Marylebone  Hymns,  1851,  contain  his  best  memorial  in 
the  shape  of  thirteen  excellent  Christian  lyrics  of  his  own — so  ad- 
mirable, indeed,  as  to  suggest  a  deep  regret  that  we  have  not  more 
like  them  from  the  same  pen.  He  evidently  possessed  that  hymn- 
spirit  without  which  no  poet  can  make  a  spiritual  song  for  the 
Church,  and  with  which  even  coopers  and  seamstresses  can  take 
their  place  in  the  earthly  choir  of  the  Lord. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  323 

Mr.  Gurney's  death  caused  widespread  sorrow,  and  Dean  Goul- 
burn  paid  him  a  notable  tribute  of  honor  and  esteem  in  the  funeral 
discourse. 

Lord,  at  this  closing  hour. — Fitch. 

Rev.  Eleazar  Thompson  Fitch  was  born  January  ist,  1791,  at 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  entered  Yale  College  in  his  sixteenth 
vear,  being  graduated  in  18 10.  He  then  taught  at  East  Windsor, 
Conn.,  and  in  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School  at  New  Haven. 
His  course  in  theology  was  taken  at  Andover,  1812-1815  ;  and  in 
181 7,  after  pursuing  advanced  studies,  he  was  selected  to  occupy 
the  chair  of  Sacred  Theology  in  Yale  College,  made  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight.  This  made  him  the  college  pastor 
in  effect,  and  after  the  organization  of  the  theological  department 
he  assumed  the  charge  of  Homiletics,  and  became  pastor  in  fact, 
being  ordained  November  5th,  18 17.  He  was  a  leading  advocate 
of  the  so-called  "  New  Haven  theology,"  and  defended  his  views 
on  sin  against  the  severer  opinions  of  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  in  1827. 

Six  of  Dr.  Fitch's  hymns  appeared  in  1845, in  the  book  prepared 
by  a  committee  of  the  General  Association  (Congregational)  of 
Connecticut,  for  use  in  their  churches,  he  being  one  of  the  com- 
mittee. In  1852  he  resigned  his  professorship,  but  lectured  occa- 
sionally. This  lectureship  he  also  relinquished  in  186 1.  He  was 
then  Professor  Emeritus  until  his  death,  January  31st,  1871. 

Dr.  Fitch  was  a  man  of  singularly  retiring  and  modest  disposition,  and 
has  usually  escaped  the  attention  of  the  hymnologists.  The  present  writer 
distinctly  recalls  the  connection  of  thought  in  his  own  mind  between  this 
hymn  as  it  stood  in  the  Yale  College  collection  and  the  aged  man  who  sat 
in  the  south  gallery  of  the  old  chapel,  who  frequently  heard  it  announced 
and  joined  in  his  own  petition  for  a  blessing  on  the  "  word  preached." 
He  had  a  most  benevolent  face,  gentle,  and  indicative  of  no  controversial 
tendency  whatever.  He  would  occasionally  preach,  even  at  this  late 
period  of  his  life,  and  the  sermons  had  features  of  interest  which  a  stu- 
dent-audience (of  all  audiences  the  most  impatient)  did  not  altogether  dis- 
dain. 

Lord,  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing, 

Bid  us  now  depart  in  peace. — Hawker. 

The  "long  and  short  dismission  hymns,"  as  they  are  called, 

both  begin  with  the  same  first  line,  a  fact  which  has  resulted  in 

great  confusion.     The  authorship  of  both  was  also  unsettled,  and 

it  is  only  of  late  years  that  we  are  able  to  state  that  the  present 


324  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

hymn  should  be  ascribed  to  Hawker.  We  are  now  assured  that  its 
first  appearance  was  in  1774,  and  that  it  is  the  composition  of  Rev. 
Robert  Hawker,  M.D.,  of  Plymouth,  England.  He  issued,  in 
1794,  a  small  volume  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  as  sung  by  the  chil- 
dren in  the  church  of  Charles  the  Martyr,  at  Plymouth. 

The  author  was  born  at  Exeter,  in  1753.  He  was  an  only  child, 
and  was  educated  to  be  a  surgeon.  At  nineteen  he  married,  and 
being  induced  by  his  love  of  God's  work  to  enter  the  ministry,  he 
was  ordained  at  Oxford  in  1778.  In  May,  1784,  he  became  the 
curate  of  Charles  the  Martyr's  church,  and  there  continued  to 
officiate  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  his  seventy-fourth  year, 
April  6th,  1827.  His  funeral  was  attended  by  thousands  of  per- 
sons, for  in  his  lifetime  he  was  renowned  as  a  controversial  writer 
of  the  high  Calvinistic  order,  and  as  a  distinguished  commentator 
on  the  Scriptures. 

Dr.  Hawker  was  the  grandfather  of  Robert  Stephen  Hawker,  the 
eccentric  "  vicar  of  Morwenstow,"  whose  oddities  are  so  graphi- 
cally described  by  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould.  In  that  entertaining  and 
unique  volume  we  have  a  story  which,  although  it  has  been  seri- 
ously questioned  on  the  score  of  accuracy,  is  still  too  attractive  to 
be  allowed  to  escape  notice  : 

"  In  Charles  church  the  evening  service  always  closed  with  the  singing 
of  the  hymn,  '  Lord,  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,'  composed  by  Dr. 
Hawker  himself.  His  grandson  did  not  know  the  authorship  of  the 
hymn  ;  he  came  to  the  doctor  one  day  with  a  paper  in  his  hand,  and  said  : 
'  Grandfather,  I  don't  altogether  like  that  hymn,  "  Lord,  dismiss  us  with 
thy  blessing  ;"  I  think  it  might  be  improved  in  metre  and  language,  and 
would  be  better  if  made  somewhat  longer.' 

"  '  Oh,  indeed  !'  said  Dr.  Hawker,  getting  red  ;  'and  pray,  Robert, 
what  emendations  commend  themselves  to  your  precocious  wisdom?' 
'  This  is  my  improved  version,'  said  the  boy,  and  read  as  follows  : 

1  "  Lord,  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,  l  "  May  thy  Spirit  dwell  within  us  ; 
High  and  low  and  rich  and  poor ;  May  its  love  our  refuge  be  ; 

May  we  all,  thy  fear  possessing,  So  shall  no  temptation  win  us 

Go  in  peace  and  sin  no  more !  From  the  path  that  leads  to  thee. 

1  "  Lord,  requite  not  as  we  merit ;  '  "  So  when  these  our  lips  shall  wither. 
Thy  displeasure  all  must  fear ;  So  when  fails  each  earthly  tone, 

As  of  old,  so  let  thy  Spirit  May  we  sing  once  more  together 

Still  the  dove's  resemblance  bear.  Hymns  of  glory  round  the  throne  ! "  ' 

"  Then  Mr.  Baring-Gould  tells  us  that  the  audacious  youngster  actually 
read  to  his  grandfather  the  original  hymn,  and  added  to  his  offences  by 
the  remark  :  '  This  one  is  crude  and  flat  ;  don't  you  think  so,  grand- 
father ? ' 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  325 

"  '  Crude  and  flat,  sir  !     Young  puppy,  it  is  mine  !  7  wrote  that  hymn.' 
"  '  Oh  !    I  beg  your  pardon,  grandfather,  I  did  not   know  that  ;  it  is  a 

very  nice  hymn  indeed  ;  but — but — '  and  as  he  went  out  of  the  door— 

'mine  is  better.'  " 

Lord,  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing, 

Fill  our  hearts  with  joy  and  peace. — Fawcett. 
G.  J.  Stevenson  has  the  following  notes  on  this  hymn  : 

"  The  first  appearance  of  this  hymn  in  print  is  traced  to  A  Collection  of 
Hymns  for  Public  Worship,  issued  by  the  Rev.  John  Harris,  of  Hull,  in 
1774.  There  the  name  of  John  Fawcett  is  printed  at  the  end  of  it.  A 
short  time  previously,  some  of  Fawcett' s  hymns  had  appeared  separately, 
and  had  met  with  public  favor,  some  of  them  being  added  to  collections. 
In  1782,  Mr.  Fawcett  collected  his  compositions,  and  issued  from  Leeds 
the  first  edition  of  Hymns  Adapted  to  the  Circumstances  of  Public  Worship 
and  Private  Devotion.  This  book  was  soon  out  of  print,  and  remained  so 
more  than  thirty  years  ;  the  second  edition  was  issued  in  1817.  This  dis- 
mission hymn  is  inserted  in  t)r.  Conyers's  collection,  date  1774,  but  with- 
out the  author's  name  ;  and  in  Taylor's  Unitarian  Hymn  Book  (1777)  the 
first  and  second  verses  are  printed  with  the  name  of  Fawcett  in  the  index. 
For  half  a  century  his  hymns  were  popular  among  the  Dissenters.  .  .  . 

"  It  should  be  recorded  that  Dr.  Fawcett  did  not  include  this  dismission 
hymn  in  either  of  the  editions  of  his  own  collected  hymns,  and  he  also  ex- 
cluded other  hymns  which  he  had  printed  with  his  name  and  address 
(several  in  the  Gospel  Magazine)  when  he  wrote  them.  There  is  a  hymn- 
book  in  the  college  library  at  Richmond,  published  in  1785,  in  which  this 
hymn  appears  with  the  name  of  J.  Fawcett  to  it.  This  is  the  earliest 
known  date  of  its  publication.  The  last  two  lines  of  the  second  verse  are 
altered  from  the  original.  Two  verses  of  this  hymn,  with  different  ending, 
appear  on  the  same  page  of  A  Collection  of  Hymns,  Anthems,  &"c.,  used  in 
St.  Clement's  Church,  Manchester,  by  Rev.  Edward  Smyth,  1793-  '  Lord, 
dismiss  us,'  is  also  in  Toplady's  Psalms  and  Hymns,  1776,  ending  thus  : 

4  We  shall  surely 
Reign  with  Christ  in  endless  day.' 
This  hymn  appears  in  A  Collection  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  etc.,  by  the  Rev. 
David  Simpson,  M.A.,  the  second  edition,  Macclesfield,  1780.     '  A  New 
Edition  '  of  Select  Psalms  and  Hymns,  Macclesfield,  1795,  contains   both 
these  hymns." 

The  hymn  is  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  Collection,  and  Dobell  also 
includes  it  under  the  line,  "  Lord,  vouchsafe  to  us  thy  blessing," 
crediting  it  to  Taylor's  Collection. 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  by  all  adored.  — Anon. 
It  would  be  a  singular  exercise  of  the  critical  faculty  in  hym- 
nology,  if  we  were  to  dissect  this  hymn  into  its  original  elements. 


326  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

A  portion  of  it  is  the  work  of  Josiah  Conder ;  another  part  is  the 
composition  of  Bishop  John  Gambold  ;  and  there  is  abundant 
evidence  that  the  piece  as  it  now  stands  is  made  up  from  several 
renderings  of  the  ancient  Te  Deum,  and  has  taken  its  present 
shape  in  consequence  of  the  adaptation  of  the  words  to  the  music 
to  which  it  is  set,  and  the  gradual  polishing  produced  by  the  de- 
mands of  an  accurate  taste. 

For  example,  the  line,  "  Thou  Father  of  eternity,"  as  well  as 
the  whole  of  the  fifth  stanza,  can  be  found  in  the  Moravian  Hymn- 
Book,  edition  of  1789,  where  they  are  well  authenticated  as  the 
production  of  Bishop  Gambold.  One  of  the  earliest  and  quaintest 
of  English  translations  of  the  Te  Deum  is  printed,  in  connection 
with  their  rendering  of  the  Psalms,  by  Sternhold  and  Hopkins.  It 
has  many  strong  and  excellent  phrases,  and  the  familiar  piece,  "  O 
God,  we  praise  thee,  and  confess/'  is  undoubtedly  much  indebted 
to  it.  That  hymn  is  generally  recognized  as  really  the  best  English 
form  of  the  Latin  anthem,  and  is  commonly  ascribed  to  the  neb- 
ulous "  Bishop  Patrick,"  though  there  seem  to  be  some  reasons 
why  it  should  be  credited  to  Nahum  Tate. 

Lord  God,  the  Holy  Ghost. — Montgomery. 
In  the  Original  Hymns  this  is  No.  136,  in  three  stanzas,  "  The 
Descent  of  the  Spirit. — Acts  2  :  1-4." 

Lord,  how  mysterious  are  thy  ways. — Steele. 
In  the  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1 760,  this  hymn,  in  five  stanzas,  is 
styled  "  The  Mysteries  of  Providence." 

Lord,  how  secure  and  blest  are  they. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymn  57,  of  Book  II.,  "  The  Pleasures  of 
a  Good  Conscience."     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Lord,  I  am  come  !  thy  promise  is  my  plea.  — Newton. 
The  opening  line  of  this  hymn  in  the  Olney  Hymns  (Book  III., 
No.  11,  six  stanzas)  is,  "  Cheer  up,  my  soul,  there  is  a  mercy-seat. " 
It  is  entitled  "  The  Effort,"  and  is  the  companion  of  the  more  cele- 
brated hymn,  "  Approach,  my  soul,  the  mercy-seat." 

Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine. — Davies. 
The  date  of  this  piece  (now  before  us  in  the  original  publication) 
is  about  1769.      Its  author  was  Rev.   Samuel  Davies,  at  one  time 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  327 

president  of  Princeton  College,  where  he  succeeded  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards. He  was  born  in  Newcastle,  Delaware,  November  3d,  1724  ; 
licensed  to  preach  by  his  native  Presbytery  of  Newcastle,  1745,  and 
ordained  to  the  ministry  in  Virginia  1747.  His  education  had 
been  due  to  the  discrimination  of  Rev.  William  Robinson,  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  which  Princeton  is  situated,  and 
he  was  naturally  selected  by  the  trustees  of  the  college  in  1753  to 
visit  England  with  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  and  solicit  funds.  His 
appointment  to  the  presidency  was  in  1759,  ^ut  ms  death  occurred 
February  4th,  1 761.  It  is  mentioned  as  a  singular  fact  that  he  had 
commenced  the  year  by  preaching  from  the  text,  "  This  year  thou 
shalt  die."  Dr.  Davies  was  a  man  of  distinguished  ability  and 
largely  influential.  His  poetry,  as  well  as  his  prose,  is  highly  cred- 
itable. There  are  few  hymns  of  consecration  which  are  finer  than 
the  one  before  us.  In  a  sermon  preached  August  17th,  1755, 
Dr.  Davies  called  attention  to  the  distinguished  merits  of  "that 
heroic  youth, ' '  the  young  Colonel  George  Washington,  and  spoke 
of  him  as  divinely  preserved  "  for  some  important  service  to  his 
country'' — a  prediction  which  was  signally  fulfilled. 

There  is  now  in  possession  of  the  present  writer  a  fine  copy  of 
Gibbons  s  Hymns,  1769,  bearing  the  autograph  of ' '  D.  Turner"  —  a 
duplicate  from  the  library  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary — 
which  he  owes  to  the  kindness  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Roberts,  D.  D.,  the 
librarian.  It  contains  the  hymns  of  President  Davies,  printed  by 
Thomas  Gibbons,  D.D.,  in  connection  with  his  own,  and  a  few 
other  verses.     Those  assigned  to  our  author  are  : 

"  O  was  my  heart  but  form'd  for  Woe." 
"  Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine." 
"  Eternal  Spirit,  Source  of  Light." 
"  Welcome  to  Earth,  Great  Son  of  God  !" 
"  Jesus,  how  precious  is  thy  Name." 
"Yes,  I  must  bow  my  Head  and  die." 
"  How  great,  how  terrible  that  God  !" 
"  While  in  a  thousand  open'd  veins." 
"  While  o'er  our  guilty  Land,  O  Lord." 
"  While  various  rumors  spread  abroad." 
[These  two  just  previous  are  on  Braddock's  defeat,  and  were  printed  in  connection 
with  two  discourses  from  Amos  3  :  1-6  in  the  year  1756.] 

"  Great  God  of  wonders  ;  all  thy  Ways." 
"  Weak  in  myself,  and  burden'd  too." 

In  his  preface  Dr.  Gibbons  says  : 


328  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  The  pieces  in  the  following  miscellany  ascribed  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davies 
were  found  in  his  Manuscripts  intrusted  with  the  Editor,  from  which,  if  he 
may  be  allowed  the  Digression,  he  has  already  printed  Three  Volumes  of 
Discourses,  and  has  proposed  to  the  Public  to  publish  Two  more  Volumes 
for  the  Benefit  of  Mr.  Davies's  Family." 

The  hymn  before  us  is  in  seven  stanzas,  and  has  been  very 
slightly  changed  in  process  of  years.  It  is  entitled  "  Self-dedica- 
tion at  the  Table  of  the  Lord." 

Lord,  I  cannot  let  thee  go. — Newton. 
In  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  10,  this  begins,    "  Nay,  I 
cannot  let  thee  go,"  and  has  seven  stanzas,  based  on  Gen.  32  :  27. 

Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  blessing.  — Codner. 
This  hymn  was  written  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Codner,  a  clergy- 
man's wife,  of  Islington,  London,  and  published  as  a  leaflet  in 
1 86 1.  Mrs.  Codner  is  identified  with  the  Mildmay  Park  Con- 
ference Hall  and  its  work.  She  says  of  her  hymn  that  it  was  com- 
posed after  hearing  of  the  revival  work  in  Ireland,  and  that  frequent 
tidings  of  its  use  have  come  to  her.  It  was  pasted  on  the  fly-leaf 
of  his  Bible,  by  an  English  officer  in  India,  and  was  received  at 
home  after  his  death.  Its  history  in  revival  services  has  been  that 
the  "  Even  me"  of  its  chorus  has  expressed  our  Saviour's  promise 
to  ' '  save  to  the  uttermost ' '  those  who  accept  his  love. 

Lord  !  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  gives  this  as  his  rendering  of  Ps.  5,  C.  M.,  "  For  the 
Lord's  Day  Morning."     It  has  eight  stanzas. 

Lord  !  in  love  and  mercy  save  us. — Symington. 
This  hymn  is  obtained  from  Songs  of  Grace  and  Glory,  where  it 
is  credited  to  Andrew  J.  Symington,  1869,  one  of  the  minor  Eng- 
lish poets.  He  is  the  nephew  of  Andrew  Symington,  D.D.,  and 
the  son  of  Robert  Brown  Symington,  of  Paisley,  Scotland,  where 
he  was  born,  July  27th,  1825.  His  education  was  received  at  the 
Grammar  School  of  Paisley,  from  which  he  entered  at  once  into 
business  life  with  his  father  and  brother.  He  has  published  Hare- 
bell Chimes,  1848,  Genevieve,  and  Other  Poems,  1855,  and  a  more 
elaborate  treatise,  The  Beautiful  in  Nature,  Art  and  Life,  1857,  to- 
gether with  later  works  of  moderate  value.  This  information 
comes  from  a  work  on  distinguished  Scotchmen  of  the  present  day, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  329 

written  and  published  in  Paisley,  and  is  therefore  likely  to  be  cor- 
rect. It  is  the  only  publication  which  materially  aids  us  in  our 
knowledge  of  the  author's  history. 

Lord,  if  he  sleep,  he  shall  do  well. — Pollock. 

This  hymn  is  found  in  Lyra  Hibernica  Sacra,  second  edition, 
1879.  It  feU  under  the  eye  of  the  present  writer,  who  brought  it 
to  the  notice  of  Dr.  Robinson,  and  it  was  inserted  in  Landes 
Domini  (with  the  omission  of  the  fourth  stanza,  which  is  inapt  and 
prosaic)  precisely  as  it  stood.  The  lines  are,  for  convenience, 
printed  two  in  one.  After  much  examination  of  music  and  the 
rejection  of  different  tunes,  original  and  adapted,  the  choice  fell 
on  "  Dirge,"  composed  to  these  words  by  Colonel  H.  H.  Beadle, 
organist  of  the  South  Congregational  church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

The  Rev.  William  Pollock,  D.D.,  was  born  April  2  2d,  18 12  ; 
was  vicar  of  Bowden,  Cheshire,  1856,  archdeacon  of  Chester, 
1867,  and  died  October  nth,  1873. 

Lord,  in  this  thy  mercy's  day. — I.  Williams. 

The  Rev.  Isaac  Williams  was  born  in  1802,  the  son  of  Isaac 
Lloyd  Williams,  Esq.,  barrister  of  Lincoln's  Inn.  He  received 
the  prize  for  Latin  verse  at  Trinity  College,  Oxford,  in  1823,  and 
was  graduated  there  (B.A.,  1826,  M.A.,  1831,  and  B.D.,  1839). 
He  was  ordained  deacon  in  1829,  and  priest  in  183 1,  and  the 
clerical  lists  give  his  appointments  as  Windrush,  1829,  St.  Mary 
Virgin,  Oxford,  1832,  and  Bisley,  Gloucestershire,  1842-45. 
Mr.  Miller  says  he  was  in  poor  health  for  many  years,  living  in 
his  own  house  at  Stinchcombe,  near  Dursley,  Gloucestershire,  and 
occasionally  assisting  his  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  Sir  George 
Prevost,  Bart. 

Other  items  of  interest  regarding  Mr.  Williams  are  that  he  was 
a  candidate  for  the  professorship  of  poetry  at  Oxford  on  the  retire- 
ment of  Keble,  but  failed  ;  and  that  he  wrote  Nos.  80,  86,  and  8j 
of  the  famous  "Tracts  for  the  Times."  His  poems  and  hymns 
are  scattered  through  several  volumes.  He  is  best  known  by  The 
Cathedral,  or  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  in  England,  1838  ; 
and  by  Thoughts  in  Past  Years,  1831  (sixth  edition,  1852),  and 
The  Baptistery,  1844 — which  contain  many  of  his  hymns.  In  the 
second  of  these  volumes  he  gives  versions  of  the  twelve  hymns  as- 
signed  (not  always  correctly)  by  the  Benedictines,  to  Ambrose. 


33°  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

In  the  third  appears  the  present  piece,  which  is  part  of  a  poem  of 
one  hundred  and  five  stanzas.  He  also,  in  1839,  issued  Hymns 
from  the  Parisian  Breviary.  Mr.  Williams  contributed  to  Lyra 
Apostolica,  1836,  and  was  at  one  time  a  Fellow  of  Trinity  College. 
He  died  at  Stinchcombe,  May  1st,  1865. 

Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care. — Baxter. 

This  is  part  of  a  longer  composition,  given  in  Richard  Baxter's 
Poetical  Fragments,  1681.  It  is  included  in  the  volume  of  his 
poems  edited  by  his  friend,  Matthew  Sylvester,  in  1692.  A  copy 
of  this  rare  and  interesting  work  is  in  the  library  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York  City. 

There  are  eight  double  stanzas  to  the  present  piece.  It  is  en- 
titled "The  Covenant  and  Confidence  of  Faith,"  and  has  this 
note  appended  to  it  :  "  This  Covenant  my  dear  Wife  in  her  former 
Sickness  subscribed  with  a  chearful  will.  Job  12.26."  The 
first  line  of  the  hymn  commences,  "  My  whole  though  broken 
heart,  O  Lord,"  and  this  portion  of  it  has  "  Now  it  belongs  not  to 
my  care' '  instead  of  the  usual  first  line. 

The  life  of  Richard  Baxter  is  so  much  a  part  of  our  accessible 
religious  history  that  it  needs  but  little  extended  notice  from  us. 
Born  November  12th,  16 15,  at  Rowton,  in  Shropshire,  he  took 
orders  in  the  Church  of  England  and  was  appointed  in  1640  to  the 
parish  of  Kidderminster.  His  attachment  was  always  to  the  Puritan 
party,  and  his  name  is  illustrious  among  Nonconformists.  On 
the  passage  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity  he  surrendered  his  charge  at 
Kidderminster  and  lived  in  retirement  from  1663  to  1672.  In 
this  latter  year  the  promulgation  of  the  Act  of  Indulgence  enabled 
him  to  visit  London,  where  he  spent  his  time  partly  in  preaching 
and  partly  in  authorship.  In  1685  the  infamous  Judge  Jeffreys 
condemned  him  to  prison  or  a  fine  of  five  hundred  marks,  on  a 
charge  of  sedition  based  upon  his  Paraphrase  of  the  New  Testament. 
This  confinement  he  sustained  with  exemplary  patience,  and  after 
eighteen  months  he  was  pardoned  and  released.  He  died  Decem- 
ber 8th,  1 69 1,  in  his  seventy-fifth  year. 

To  take  in  one's  hand  the  little  book  whence  these  verses  come, 
and  then  to  go  and  gaze  upon  the  stately  files  of  volumes  which 
owed  their  existence  to  this  good  man's  untiring  industry,  is  like 
walking  with  the  saints  in  white.      Few  sweeter  or  lovelier  charac- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  33 1 


ters  can  be  discovered.  It  is  to  his  honor  that  he  was  an  early  ad- 
vocate of  missionary  labor  among  the  North  American  Indians, 
and  that  men  like  Matthew  Henry  and  Matthew  Sylvester  were 
proud  of  his  friendship.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  said  of  his  works  : 
"  Read  them  all ;  they  are  all  good."  And  George  MacDonald 
properly  proclaims  him  as  "no  mean  poet." 

Richard  Baxter  was  indeed  one  of  the  most  industrious  men  in 
literature.  He  produced  twenty-three  octavo  volumes  of  practical 
writings,  such  as,  Barrow  says,  were  never  surpassed  ;  forty  more 
of  controversy  and  personal  history  ;  his  Call  to  the  Unconverted 
circulated  twenty  thousand  copies  in  its  first  year  ;  his  works  em- 
brace one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  titles  ;  and  when  he  died,  in 
Charter  House  Yard,  1691,  he  reckoned  among  his  friends  many 
of  the  greatest  men  of  his  time. 

At  Kidderminster,  in  1640,  his  labors  were  interrupted  for  six- 
teen years  by  the  Civil  War,  in  which  he  sided  with  Parliament. 
But  he  distrusted  Cromwell,  and  was  grieved  at  the  narrow  views 
of  some  of  the  other  leaders.  It  was  in  those  days,  when  the  coun- 
try was  distracted,  when  the  Church  was  rent  and  torn,  and  when 
his  own  health  was  so  feeble  that  two  men  were  accustomed  to  sup- 
port him  both  into  and  in  the  pulpit,  that  he  wrote  the  Saints' 
Everlasting  Rest.  Across  all  the  noises  of  the  time  he  hears  the 
sound  of  the  praises  of  the  eternal  city,  and  his  words  are  like  those 
of  one  nearly  disembodied  and  longing  to  depart. 

"  Weakness  and  pain,"  he  said  to  Anthony  a'  Wood,  "  helped 
me  to  study  how  to  die  ;  that  set  me  on  studying  how  to  live,  and 
that  on  studying  the  doctrine  from  which  I  must  fetch  my  motives 
and  comforts;  beginning  with  necessities,  I  proceeded  by 
degrees,  and  am  now  going  to  see  that  for  which  I  have  lived  and 
studied."  "  When  his  sleep  was  intermitted  or  removed  in  the 
night,"'  says  Matthew  Sylvester,  in  his  preface,  "he  then  sang 
much,  and  relished  this  course  and  practice  greatly  well." 

"  Baxter's  visage,"  writes  Christophers,  "  would,  of  course,  be  true  to 
its  mission.  A  remarkable  visage  was  that  of  his  ;  never  to  be  forgotten 
if  once  seen.  Long  it  was,  but  decided.  Hard,  some  would  say,  but 
telling  with  fearful  eloquence  how  bravely  his  righteous  soul  ma.nta.ned 
a  life  struggle  against  the  acrid  humors  of  a  diseased  body  ;  how  super- 
human labors  for  the  world's  health  had  been  continued  amidst  losses  of 
blood  and  daily  sweats,  brought  upon  him,  he  tells  us,  by  the  '  acrimonious 
medicaments  '  of  stupid  doctors  who  thought  to  save  him  from  the  effects 


ZZ2  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

of  a  youthful  taste  for  sour  apples,  by  overdoses  of  '  scurvy  grass,'  worm- 
wood-beer, horse-radish,  and  mustard  !  He  looked,  indeed,  like  one  who, 
as  a  last  remedy  for  a  depressing  affliction,  had  literally  swallowed  '  a  gold 
bullet  of  thirty  shillings'  weight,'  and,  having  taken  it,  '  knew  not  how  to 
be  delivered  of  it  again  ! '  With  all  this,  the  marks  of  a  confessor  were 
traceable  on  the  good  man's  countenance.  He  had  been  driven  from 
place  to  place.  Now  in  prison  for  preaching  at  Acton  ;  now  kept  out  of 
his  pulpit  by  a  military  guard  ;  now  seized  again,  and  his  goods  and 
books  sold  to  pay  the  fine  for  preaching  five  sermons — he  being  so  ill  that 
he  could  not  be  imprisoned  without  danger  of  death  ;  and  now,  again,  in 
the  King's  Bench  under  a  warrant  from  the  villainous  Jeffreys,  for  writing 
a  paraphrase  on  the  New  Testament.  His  later  life  was  often  '  in  peril ' 
for  Christ's  sake  ;  and  there  must  have  been  something  deeply  touching 
in  that  impress  of  dignified  sorrow  which  brought  tears  into  the  eyes  of 
Judge  Hale  when  he  saw  the  persecuted  man  standing  before  the  Bench. 
His  presence  must  have  been  felt  wherever  he  appeared.  Everybody  who 
knew  him  acknowledged  his  mental  and  moral  grandeur." 

Let  us  add  to  these  testimonies  and  to  this  description  Baxter's 
own  words  as  to  his  poetical  desires  and  the  exercise  of  this  one  of 
his  spiritual  gifts  : 

"  I  have  made  a  psalm  of  praise  in  the  holy  assembly  the  chief  delight- 
ful exercise  of  my  religion  and  my  life,  and  have  helped  to  bear  down  all 
the  objections  which  I  have  heard  against  church  music,  and  against  the 
149th  and  150th  Psalms." 

Take  also  this  prayer  from  The  Saints   Everlasting  Rest ; 

"  O  Thou,  the  merciful  Father  of  Spirits,  the  attractive  of  love  and  ocean 
of  delight  !  draw  up  these  drossy  hearts  unto  Thyself,  and  keep  them 
there  till  they  are  spiritualised  and  refined  !  Second  Thy  servant's  weak 
endeavors  and  persuade  those  that  read  these  lines  to  the  practice  of  this 
delightful,  heavenly  work  !  Oh  !  suffer  not  the  soul  of  Thy  most  un- 
worthy servant  to  be  a  stranger  to  those  joys  which  he  describes  to 
others  ;  but  keep  me  while  I  remain  on  earth  in  daily  breathing  after  Thee, 
and  in  a  believing,  affectionate  walking  with  Thee.  And  when  Thou 
comest  let  me  be  found  so  doing  ;  not  serving  my  flesh,  nor  asleep  with 
my  lamp  unfurnished,  but  waiting  and  longing  for  my  Lord's  return.  Let 
those  who  shall  read  these  pages,  not  merely  read  the  fruit  of  my  studies, 
but  the  breathing  of  my  active  hope  and  love  ;  that  if  my  heart  were 
open  to  their  view,  they  might  there  read  Thy  love  most  deeply  engraven 
with  a  beam  from  the  face  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  not  find  vanity  or 
lust  or  pride  within  where  the  words  of  life  appear  without  ;  so  that  these 
lines  may  not  witness  against  me  ;  but,  proceeding  from  the  heart  of  the 
writer,  may  be  effectual,  through  its  grace,  upon  the  heart  of  the  reader, 
and  so  be  the  savor  of  life  to  both." 

"  Baxter  was   a  singularly  happy  man,"  wrote  Rev.  William 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  m 

Orme,  his  biographer,  in  1830.  M  He  tells  us  that  he  knew  noth- 
ing of  low  spirits  or  nervous  depression,  notwithstanding  all  his 
bodily  sufferings.  His  hopes  of  heaven  and  its  blessedness  were 
rarely  clouded  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  Christian 
course. ' ' 

Nor  are  incidents  lacking  to  prove  the  value  of  this  particular 
hymn.  Professor  Clark  Maxwell,  of  Cambridge,  frequently  quoted 
it  in  his  last  illness.  A  man  of  great  scientific  learning,  he  came 
back  to  the  perfect  trust  which  could  say  : 

"  But  'tis  enough  that  Christ  knows  all 
And  I  shall  be  with  him." 

Lord,  it  is  thy  holy  day. — Anon.,  1863. 
This  is  No.  1 133  in  the  Hymnologia  Christiana  of  Rev.  Benjamin 
Hall  Kennedy,  D.  D.,  London,  1863.     The  volume,  with  its  dis- 
appointing blankness  as  to  authors,  can  be  consulted  in  the  Astor 
Library. 

Lord,  lead  the  way  the  Saviour  went.  — Crosswell. 

This  hymn  is  by  the  Rev.  William  Crosswell,  D.D.,  who  was 
born  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  in  1804  ;  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1823,  and  was  successively  rector  of  Christ  church,  Boston  ;  St. 
Peter's,  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  Boston, 
where  he  died  in  185 1.  His  Poems  :  Sacred  and  Secular,  were 
published  in  1861.  The  circumstances  of  his  death  were  very 
affecting.  While  engaged  in  the  afternoon  service,  instead  of  ris- 
ing from  his  knees  at  the  close  of  the  last  collect,  he  was  observed 
to  sink  to  the  floor.  Being  removed  to  his  own  house,  he  shortly 
expired. 

The  hymn  in  question  was  written  for  an  anniversary  of  the 
Howard  Benevolent  Association  of  Boston,  1831.  It  appears  in 
Lyra  Sacra  Americana,  in  two  double  stanzas,  with  the  title,  "  For 
Visitors  of  the  Sick."  Dr.  Crosswell  was  a  friend  of  the  first 
Bishop  Doane,  who  dedicated  to  him  an  edition  of  Keble's  Chris- 
tia?i  Year, 

Lord,  my  weak  thought  in  vain  would  climb. — Palmer. 
Dr.  Ray  Palmer  wrote  this  hymn  in  1858,  and  based  it  upon 
Rom.  n  :  $$.     At  that  time  the  author  was  in  the  midst  of  an 
experience  of  great  personal  suffering — an  attack  of  sciatica — which 


334  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

rendered  him  almost  helpless.  The  verses  express  sentiments  of 
the  highest  grandeur  and  of  deepest  trust.  In  the  history  of  this 
venerable  man  there  have  been  repeated  periods  of  quick  coming, 
and  swift  passing,  of  severe  discipline.  We  who  receive  these 
treasures  of  spiritual  song  can  well  afford  to  pity  the  pain,  and  at 
the  same  time  rejoice  in  the  fruits  of  the  grace  that  grew  out  of  it. 

Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar.  —Holmes. 

Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  with  this  hymn  closed  The  Professor 
at  the  Breakfast  Table,  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  for  December,  1859. 
He  called  it  a  "  Sun-day  Hymn,"  and  it  was  very  soon  employed, 
with  the  author's  permission,  in  a  collection  prepared  for  the 
Methodist  Protestant  denomination. 

Dr.  Holmes  writes  : 

"  And  so  my  year's  record  is  finished.  The  Professor  has  talked  less 
than  his  predecessor  [The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table\  but  he  has 
heard  and  seen  more.  Thanks  to  all  those  friends  who  from  time  to  time 
have  sent  their  messages  of  kindly  recognition  and  fellow-feeling.  Peace 
to  all  such  as  may  have  been  vexed  in  spirit  by  any  utterance  the  pages 
have  repeated.  They  will  doubtless  forget  for  the  moment  the  difference 
in  the  lines  of  truth  we  look  at  through  our  human  prisons,  and  join  in 
singing  (inwardly)  this  hymn  to  the  Source  of  the  light  we  all  need  to 
lead  us,  and  the  warmth  which  alone  can  make  us  all  brothers." 

Then  follows  this  beautiful  lyric. 

Lord  of  all  worlds,  incline  thy  bounteous  ear.  — Dwight. 
This  is  Ps.  53,  "as  the  new  50th,"  in  Dwight' s  Collection, 
1800,  where  it  has  six  stanzas  of  six  lines  each.  It  is  called  there 
a  "  Prayer  for  the  Latter-day  Glory,"  and  the  note  prefixed  reads  : 
"  The  last  verse  paraphrased,  together  with  several  passages  from 
Isaiah,  Malachi,  and  St.  Paul." 

The  origin  of  Dwight 's  Collection  is  of  historic  interest  in  view  of  the 
relations  existing  between  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches 
at  that  date.  The  General  Association  of  Connecticut  requested  Dr. 
Timothy  Dwight,  in  the  year  1797,  to  "revise  Dr.  Watts's  imitation  of 
the  Psalms  of  David,  so  as  to  accommodate  them  to  the  state  of  the 
American  churches,  and  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  those  Psalms  which 
Dr.  Watts  has  omitted."  There  was  a  resolution  passed  in  1799  by  the 
Association,  desiring  "  the  advice  and  concurrence  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  in  this  important 
business."  In  consequence,  a  joint  committee  was  appointed,  consisting 
of  John  Rodgers,  John  Smalley,  Cyprian  Strong  and  Isaac  Lewis  for  the 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  335 

Presbyterians,  and  Joseph  Strong,  Asa  Hillyer,  Jr.,  and  Jonathan  Free- 
man for  the  Congregationalists.  This  committee  met  at  Stamford,  Conn., 
June  10th,  1800,  and  approved  Dr.  Dwight's  revision  of  Watts's  psalms. 
They  also  recommended  him  to  select  such  hymns  "  from  Dr.  Watts,  Dr. 
Doddridge  and  others,  and  annex  them  to  his  edition  of  the  Psalms  as 
shall  furnish  the  churches  with  a  more  extensive  system  of  psalmody." 
Owing  to  this  action  the  use  of  many  of  these  lyrics  was  localized  in  the 
American  churches  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  order.  But 
the  Presbyterians  were  not  less  generous  than  their  brethren,  for,  in  1798, 
they  already  had  the  same  subject  before  them,  and  postponed  all  action 
pending  the  revision  undertaken  in  Connecticut. 

Lord  of  earth,  thy  forming  hand. — Grant. 
This  hymn  is  from  the  volume  of  Sir  Robert  Grant's  poems, 
posthumously  published  by  his  elder  brother,  Lord  Glenelg. 
There  are  but  twelve  of  these  hymns,  and  this  appears  in  three 
twelve-line  stanzas,  reprinted  in  Lyra  Britannica  from  the  original 
edition.  The  current  form  of  the  hymn  is  produced  by  the  omis- 
sion, from  the  first  and  second  stanzas,  of  the  middle  quatrain, 
and  of  the  whole  of  the  third  stanza. 

Lord  of  glory,  thou  hast  bought  us. — Mrs.  Alderson. 
This  hymn  was  composed  by  Mrs.  Eliza  Sibbald  (Dykes)  Aider- 
son,  who  contributed  it  to  the  Appendix  to  Hymns,  Ancient  and 
Modern,  1868.      She  is  doubtless  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, but  further  information  is  lacking. 

Lord  of  mercy  and  of  might. — Heber. 

Bishop  Reginald  Heber  has  a  sure  renown  in  several  ways.  He 
was  truly  a  poet,  as  his  Palestine  denotes.  He  was  a  dignitary  of 
the  Church  of  England,  who  employed  his  high  office  for  the 
worthiest  ends.  He  was  a  traveller,  whose  Journey  Through  India, 
published  in  1828,  showed  what  fine  powers  of  observation  and 
reflection  he  possessed.  He  was  filled  with  genuine  missionary 
zeal,  as  his  religious  work  and  his  immortal  lyric,  "  From  Green- 
land's icy  mountains,"  alike  testify.  And,  to  crown  all,  he  is  one 
of  the  most  graceful,  spiritual  and  effective  of  English  hymn- 
writers. 

Born  at  Malpas,  Cheshire,  April  21st,  1783,  he  was  the  second 
son  of  Rev.  Reginald  Heber,  a  man  of  wealth  and  learning,  and 
the  co-rector  of  Malpas  with  Dr.  Townson.  His  elder  brother, 
Richard  Heber,  was  a   great  book-collector,  who  accumulated  a 


336  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

hundred  and  fifty  thousand  volumes.  Thus  the  young  Reginald 
had  every  opportunity  that  education  could  afford.  He  early  dis- 
played his  literary  skill,  and  versified  Phaedrus  at  seven  years  of 
age.  Entering  Brasenose  College,  Oxford,  in  1800,  he  gained 
the  Chancellor's  prize,  for  the  best  Latin  poem,  in  his  first  year  ; 
and  in  1803  he  obtained  the  prize  for  English  poetry,  with  his 
Palestine.  At  his  graduation  he  took  a  third  prize  for  the  best 
prose  essay,  with  his  Sense  of  Honor.  Naturally  he  became  a 
Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College  as  the  result  of  this  brilliant  career. 

In  1 807,  his  brother  Richard  presented  him  with  the  living  of 
Hodnet,  of  which  place  Julius  Charles  Hare  has  somewhat  to  say 
in  his  Memorials  of  a  Quiet  Life,  since  he  was  the  cousin  of  Mrs. 
Heber,  and  often  a  guest  at  the  rectory.  April,  1822,  brought 
to  him  the  preachership  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  London,  which  added 
six  hundred  pounds  to  his  income.  In  January,  1823,  he  was 
appointed  Bishop  of  Calcutta.  Thither  he  sailed,  there  he 
labored,  and  there,  April  3d,  1826,  he  died.  He  had  returned  to 
his  home  one  day,  somewhat  heated,  having  attended  an  early  con- 
firmation ceremony.  There  he  was  attacked  by  apoplexy  when  he 
was  in  a  cold  bath.  His  servant,  alarmed  at  his  delay,  opened 
the  door  and  found  him  dead. 

The  present  hymn  first  appeared  in  the  Christian  Observer  for 
November,  181 1.  It  is  assigned,  in  the  collection  of  1827,  to 
Quinquagesima  Sunday,  where  the  Gospel  for  the  day  gives  an  ac- 
count of  the  healing  of  the  blind  Bartimeus. 

Lord  of  our  life  and  God  of  our  salvation. 

— Herbert  and  Pusey,  tr. 
The  date  assigned  to  this  hymn  is  commonly  given  as  1856.  It 
appeared  in  the  Salisbury  Hymn-Book.  It  is  there  said  to  be  a 
translation  from  a  Latin  hymn  of  the  eighth  century,  made  in 
1859,  by  Algernon  Herbert,  aided  by  Philip  Pusey  and  "  others." 
There  is  no  clew  to  the  original.  Philip  Pusey  was  born  January 
25th,  1799,  and  died  July  9th,  1855.  Oneof  Algernon  Herbert's 
pieces  [1839]  ^s  No.  363  in  the  Book  of  Praise. 

Lord  of  the  harvest,  hear. — C.  Wesley. 
There  is  a  hymn  by  Professor  Joseph  Anstice,  often  attributed  to 
Keble,  which    commences,  "  Lord  of  the  harvest,   once  again," 
and  with  which  this  must  not  be  confused.     The  present  piece  is 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  337 

founded  on  Matt.  9:38,  and  is  from  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems, 
1742.      It  is  entitled  "  A  Prayer  for  Laborers." 

Lord  of  the  worlds  above. — Watts. 

In  Dr.  Watts' s  version  of  the  Psalms  this  is  Ps.  84,  P.  M., 
'*  Longing  for  the  House  of  God."  It  has  four  stanzas,  and  first 
appeared  in  171 9. 

Dear  old  George  Herbert  when  he  comes  to  speak  of  "  The 
Parson  on  Sundays,"  aptly  says  : 

"His  thoughts  are  full  of  making  the  best  of  the  day  and  contriving  it 
to  his  best  gains.  To  this  end,  besides  his  ordinary  prayers,  he  makes  a 
peculiar  one  for  a  blessing  on  the  exercise  of  the  day.  .  .  .  Then  he 
turns  to  request  for  his  people  that  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  to  sanctify 
them  all,  that  they  may  come  with  holy  hearts  and  awful  minds  [minds 
full  of  awe]  into  the  congregation,  and  that  the  good  God  would  pardon 
all  those  who  came  with  less  prepared  hearts  than  they  ought. 

"  As  he  opened  the  day  with  prayer,  so  he  closeth  it,  humbly  beseech- 
ing the  Almighty  to  pardon  and  accept  our  poor  services,  and  to  improve 
them  that  we  may  grow  therein,  and  that  our  feet  may  be  like  hinds'  feet 
ever  climbing  up  higher  and  higher  unto  Him." 

Lord  of  the  hearts  of  men. — Woodford,  tr. 

The  Rev.  James  Russell  Woodford,  D.D.,  was  the  late  Bishop 
of  Ely.  He  was  born  at  Henley-on-Thames,  April  30th,  1820, 
and  after  a  preparatory  training  at  the  Merchant  Tailors'  School 
he  was  sent  to  Cambridge  and  entered  Pembroke  College,  being 
graduated  there  in  1842. 

He  was  an  excellent  scholar,  and  obtained  several  honors  during 
his  course.  In  1843  he  was  ordained  as  deacon,  and  two  years 
later  as  priest.  Dr.  Woodford  has  been  rector  of  St.  Mark's, 
Easton,  1847-55,  of  Kempsford,  Gloucestershire,  1855-68,  and 
of  Leeds  from  that  date  until  his  elevation  to  the  episcopate.  He 
was  consecrated  as  Bishop  of  Ely,  December  14th,  1873.  The 
revenue  of  this  diocese  is  $27,500.  On  the  24th  of  October, 
1885,  after  a  short  illness,  he  laid  down  his  earthly  work. 

Dr.  Woodford  has  written  a  number  of  hymns  which  Miller 
characterizes  as  "  solid  and  good."  Of  these,  some,  like  the 
present  piece,  are  renderings  from  the  Latin.  This,  for  example, 
is  the  ' '  Supreme  motor  cordium, ' '  a  hymn  from  the  Paris  Breviary. 
It  is  found  in  Newman's  Hymni  Ecclesice,  and  there  is  information 
about  the  breviary  and  its  writers  in  "  The  Latin  Hymn- Writers 


33&  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and   their   Hymns."     This  translation    was   contributed    to    The 
Parish  Hymn- Book,   1863. 

"  Dr.  Woodford  was  the  close  friend  of  Bishop  Wilberforce  ;  and  when 
the  latter  was  once  asked  who  was  the  best  preacher  in  England  he  re- 
sponded instantly,  '  Woodford  ;  that  is — he  is  the  second  best !  '  Dr. 
Woodford  was  appointed  to  the  living  at  Leeds  through  the  advice  of 
Wilberforce.  Mr.  Disraeli  offered  the  place  to  Canon  Lloyd,  a  co-chap- 
lain with  Woodford  of  Bishop  Wilberforce — the  '  tandem  Lloyd  '  as  he 
was  called  in  Buckinghamshire.  Canon  Lloyd  went  down  to  the  great 
Yorkshire  borough,  and  on  his  way  to  Downing  Street  to  decline  the  liv- 
ing, met  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  who  said  :  '  What  is  your  decision  ?'  '  I  am 
too  old  by  ten  years  for  such  a  work,'  was  the  reply,  '  and  I  am  on  my 
way  to  Mr.  Disraeli  to  decline  the  living.'  '  Recommend  Woodford,'  said 
the  bishop.     The  advice  was  taken." 

Lord,  remove  the  veil  away.  — Findlater,  ir. 

This  is  taken  from  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Luther,  page  219, 
fourth  series,  1862.  The  original  is  the  ' '  Zeige  dich  uns  ohne  Hillle' ' 
of  Klopstock.  The  Scripture  text  annexed  to  it  is  Rev.  1  :  10. 
It  is  a  "  Sabbath  Hymn,"  and  appears  in  four  eight-line  stanzas. 
The  translation  is  considered  to  be  by  Mrs.  Eric  Findlater,  the 
sister  of  Miss  Borthwick. 

Friedrich  Gottlieb  Klopstock  was  born  at  Quedlinberg,  July 
2d,  1724.  At  thirteen  years  of  age  he  attended  the  gymnasium — 
or  high-school — in  Mansfield;  and  in  1739  he  went  to  Schul- 
pforte,  where  he  pursued  classical  studies  and  became  acquainted 
with  the  works  of  Tasso  and  Milton.  This  influence  determined 
him  to  essay  an  epic  poem  himself.  In  fact,  his  Messiah,  1746, 
bears  the  same  relation  to  the  grander  Faust  of  Goethe  that  Pol- 
lock's Course  of  Time  bears  to  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  or  Tasso's 
Jerusalem  Delivered  bears  to  Dante's  Inferno.  Miller  very  keenly 
and  justly  remarks  that  the  Messiah  "  has  been  more  praised  than 
read  ;"  which  remark  is  also  true  of  the  Course  of  Time.  How- 
ever, Klopstock' s  poem  was  at  first  quite  popular.  A  young  friend 
named  Schmidt  had  carried  it  off,  and  it  appeared  anonymously  in 
•the  volume  entitled  Contributions,  1748.  Thus  the  author  grew 
famous,  and  in  1751  Count  Bernstoff,  the  prime  minister  ol  Den- 
mark, invited  him  to  reside  at  Copenhagen,  finish  his  great  poem, 
and  enjoy  a  pension  of  four  hundred  thalers  while  he  was  thus  em- 
ployed. At  Hamburg,  when  he  was  upon  this  journey  northward, 
Klopstock  encountered  a  bright  and  intelligent  girl,  Meta  Moller, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  339 

a  merchant's  daughter,  and  one  who  was  a  correspondent  of 
Richardson,  the  novelist,  and  Young,  the  poet.  This  acquaint- 
ance brought  about  a  marriage,  June  10th,  1754.  But  after  four 
years  of  happiness  the  bride  died,  and  for  the  next  nine  years  poor 
Klopstock  seems  like  a  man  dazed,  and  with  his  song  struck  from 
his  lips.  What  he  wrote  was  almost  entirely  religious,  and  to 
this  grief  of  his  life  we  are  indebted  for  the  hymns  which  he  has 
left  to  the  Christian  Church.  He  was  between  thirty  and  forty 
years  of  age,  and  resided  mainly  in  Count  Bernstoffs  house  dur- 
ing this  gloomy  period  of  his  career. 

About  the  year  1770  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Hamburg,  at  that 
time  a  noted  literary  centre.  Here  he  became,  as  Miss  Winkworth 
puts  it,  "a  kind  of  Dr.  Johnson" — revered  and  esteemed  by  all, 
and  not  so  gruff  to  anybody  as  was  the  Englishman  to  some.  At 
length,  in  this  congenial  atmosphere  he  completed  the  Messiah  in 
1773.  Ten  cantos  only  had  been  achieved  when  his  wife,  Meta, 
was  taken  away  ;  but  now  the  entire  history  of  redemption  was 
written.  At  Hamburg  he  was  living  in  the  house  of  one  Von 
Winthem,  who  had  married  Meta's  niece.  In  1792  he  himself 
married  this  lady,  who  had  for  some  time  been  a  widow.  He  died 
as  a  Christian  should,  in  the  peace  of  the  Gospel,  March  14th, 
1803.  He  wrote  much,  but  the  finest  of  his  productions  are  his 
odes. 

Lord,  that  I  may  learn  of  thee. — J.  Berridge. 

A  more  eccentric  or  earnest  man  than  John  Berridge  it  would 
not  be  easy  for  us  to  discover.  He  was  the  son  of  a  rich  farmer, 
born  at  Kingston,  Nottinghamshire,  March  1st,  1716,  and  became 
vicar  of  Everton  in  1755.  He  published  his  Ziori s  Songs  in 
1785,  and  died  on  the  2 2d  of  January,  1793.  These  are  the  brief 
outlines  of  an  energetic  and  eventful  life. 

Young  John  had  his  education  at  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge,  be- 
cause his  father  found  it  of  no  use  to  tie  him  to  the  plough,  and  so 
sent  him  forth  to  be,  as  he  declared,  a  "  light  to  the  Gentiles." 
His  conversion  was  due  to  one  of  his  boy  friends  and  to  the  pious 
exhortations  of  a  tailor  who  was  often  employed  about  the  house. 
But  although  he  was  graduated  and  entered  regularly  on  his 
theological  duties  he  lacked  something  vital  in  his  preaching.  At 
length  he  discovered  what  it  was,  and  when  he  had  known  the  way 
of  salvation  by   faith  his  sermons   at  once  became   a   power   of 


34©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

righteousness.  His  neighbor,  Rev.  Mr.  Hicks,  was  one  of  his 
new  adherents,  and  in  the  month  of  November,  1758,  John  Wes- 
ley happened  along  and  was  swept  into  the  current  of  this  marvel- 
lous work  of  grace.  He  and  the  vicar  of  Everton  became  warm 
friends,  and  the  account  in  Wesley's  journals  of  what  he  saw  and 
heard  reads  almost  like  romance.  Fully  four  thousand  persons 
were  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the  saving  power  of  the  Gospel  in 
about  twelve  months. 

And  now  Berridge  was  in  his  element.  He  had  a  mighty  voice 
and  a  robust  constitution,  and  he  rode  down  and  rode  out  all 
manner  of  persecution.  For  nearly  thirty  years  his  enemies  called 
him  "  the  old  devil."  But  in  the  midst  of  amazing  success  he 
was  always  humble  and  sincere.  "  Do  you  know  Berridge  ?"  he 
was  asked  by  a  stranger,  who  did  not  recognize  him.  "  He  is  a 
troublesome,  good-for-nothing  fellow,  they  tell  me."  "Yes,  I 
know  him,"  Berridge  said,  "  and  I  assure  you  half  his  wickedness 
has  not  been  told."  When  this  wicked  wretch  eventually  ascended 
the  pulpit  and  preached,  his  inquiring  friend  was  stupefied.  "  Is 
it  possible  !"  he  cried.  "  Can  you  forgive  me  ?  Will  you  admit 
me  to  your  house  ?"  "  Yes,  and  to  my  heart,"  said  the  bluff  old 
evangelist. 

Berridge  was  full  of  mirth  and  good  humor,  and  had  a  peculiar 
quaint  wit  of  his  own.  In  one  of  his  controversial  papers  he  de- 
clares the  doctrine  of  "sincere  obedience"  to  be  a  "nose  of 
wax,"  which  every  one  can  tweak  to  suit  himself.  To  his  oppo- 
nent he  exclaims  : ' '  Doctor,  my  patience  is  worn  to  the  stump — 
and  the  stump  is  going  !" 

It  is  by  his  hymns,  however,  that  we  are  here  called  on  to  re- 
member him  especially.  He  wrote  ' '  Dear  Jesus,  cast  a  look  on 
me,"  and  "  O  Father,  let  thy  kingdom  come."  His  preface  to 
the  hymns  which  he  published  is  as  characteristic  as  himself  : 
"  My  Saviour  and  my  God,  accept  this  mite  of  love  which  is  cast 
into  thy  treasury.  Give  it  a  blessing,  and  it  shall  be  blessed. 
What  is  water  in  the  hymns  turn  into  wine." 

He  even  jested  with  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon  upon  the 
solemn  subject  of  matrimony — being  then  and  always  a  bachelor 
— and  tells  her  :  "  Eight  or  nine  years  ago,  having  been  grievously 
tormented  with  housekeepers,  I  truly  had  thought  of  looking  out 
for  a  Jezebel  for  myself.  "     Then  he  adds — quite  seriously  now — 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  341 

that  he  fell  on  his  knees  and  desired  a  sign  of  the  Lord,  probably 
by  opening  the  Bible  in  the  old  fashion  of  the  Sorles  Virgiliance, 
and  taking  a  place  at  random.  The  first  time  was  inconclusive. 
At  the  second  trial  he  read  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  thee  a  wife." 
This  was  enough,  and  upon  it  he  pivoted  his  condition  all  the  rest 
of  his  days. 

Once  he  took  a  guest  at  Everton  and  showed  him  the  pictures 
on  his  wall.  "That,"  he  said,  "is  Calvin.  That  is  Luther. 
And  that  " — pointing  to  a  glass  over  the  fireplace—  "  is  the  Devil. " 
The  guest  hurriedly  stepped  forward  to  see  this  frightful  face — and 
beheld  his  own  !  "  Is  it  not  a  striking  likeness  of  his  Satanic 
Majesty?"  exclaimed  the  grim  preacher. 

He  appreciated,  however,  the  dangers  of  this  vein  of  mirth,  and 
bade  himself,  in  one  of  his  hymns,  "  March  off  and  quit  this 
giggling  road  ;"  and  he  never  allowed  his  sense  of  humor  to  dull 
his  spiritual  force.  Yet,  to  a  young  preacher  who  was  to  occupy  his 
pulpit  he  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  offering  the  advice  : 
11  Lift  up  your  voice  like  a  man,  and  scare  the  daws  out  of  the 
steeple  !"  There  was  much  in  him  which  resembled  the  famous 
Father  Taylor,  of  Boston,  the  sailor-missionary.  "  Oh,  Lord," 
cried  that  eccentric  person  once,  "  deliver  us  from  bad  rum  and 
bigotry  !     Thou  knowest  which  is  worst.     I  don  t.     Amen  !" 

Berridge  kept  up  this  cheerful  courage  to  the  very  end.  As  he 
drew  close  to  death  one  said  to  him  :  "  The  Lord  has  enabled  you 
to  fight  a  good  fight. "  ' '  Blessed  be  his  name  for  it, ' '  was  the  an- 
swer. "  He  will  soon  call  you  up  higher. "  "  Ay,  ay,"  exclaimed 
the  dying  man,  ' '  higher  !  higher  !  higher  !  Yes,  and  my  chil- 
dren, too,  will  shout  and  sing  :  '  Here  comes  our  father  !'  "  These 
were  his  final  words.      He  fulfilled  his  own  hymn  : 

"  In  this  posture  let  me  live, 
And  hosannas  daily  give  ; 
In  this  temper  let  me  die, 
And  hosannas  ever  cry." 

The  present  hymn  sometimes  commences,  "  Jesus,  cast  a  look 
on  me,"  and  dates  from  1785. 

Lord,  thou  hast  searched  and  seen  me  through.  — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts's  Ps.  139,  First  Part,  L.  M.,  "The  All-seeing 
God."     It  has  thirteen  stanzas,  with  two  "  pauses."     A  compari- 


342  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

son  of  this  with  Tate  and  Brady's  version  of  the  same  Psalm  shows 
that  it  has  been  borrowed  from  them  almost  verbatim.  It  is  proper 
to  add,  however,  that  the  "  conveyance"  has  been  acknowledged 
by  Dr.  Watts  in  a  foot-note. 

Lord,  thou  on  earth  didst  love  thine  own. — R.  Palmer. 
This  hymn  was  written  in  Albany,   N.  Y.,  1864,  and  is  based 
on  John  13  :  1  and  17  :  21. 

Lord,  thou  wilt  bring  the  joyful  day. — R.  Palmer. 
Dr.  Palmer  wrote  this  hymn  in  New  York  City,  1865,  and  based 
it  on  Rev.  22:5. 

Lord,  thy  glory  fills  the  heavens.  — Mant. 
This  is  from  Bishop  Mant's  Ancient  Hymns,  1837.     The  present 
hymn  is  made  from  that,  which  is  entitled  "  Hymn  Commemora- 
tive of  the  '  Thrice  Holy,'  "  by  the  omission  of  the  first  double- 
stanza,  "  Bright  the  vision  that  delighted,"  etc. 

Lord,  we  come  before  thee  now. — Hammond. 
The  author,  Rev.  William  Llammond,  was  born  in  171 9,  and 
was  one  of  the  early  Calvinistic  Methodists  who  subsequently,  with 
his  friend,  the  hymn-writer  Cennick,  joined  the  Moravian  brethren. 
In  this  connection  he  remained  until  his  decease  in  1783.  A 
graduate  of  St.  John's  College  in  Cambridge,  England,  he  was  an 
ecclesiastical  writer  and  preacher  ;  his  poetry  is  scriptural  and 
spiritual.  He  was  buried  at  Chelsea,  in  London,  and  left  behind 
him  in  manuscript  an  autobiography  written  in  Greek.  This 
hymn  is  found  in  his  Psalms,  Hymns,  and  Spiritual  Songs,  1745, 
where  it  consists  of  eight  double  stanzas.  Both  Whitefield  and 
Evans  included  it  in  their  collections,  as  did  also  Rippon  and 
Dobell. 

Lord  !  when  I  all  things  would  possess. — Gill. 
This  hymn  is  taken  from  T.  H.  Gill' s  Golden  Chain  of  Praise, 
p.  160.     Its  title  is,  "  Lowly  Ambition,"  and  it  has  eight  stanzas. 

Lord,  when  my  raptured  thought  surveys. — Steele. 

In  the  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1760,  this  is  entitled  "  Meditating 
on  Creation  and  Providence."     It  has  fourteen  stanzas. 

"  I  enjoy  a  calm  evening  on  the  terrace  walk,"  said  that  gentle  voice 
(Anne  Steele's),  tremulous  with  holy  feeling,  "  and  I  wish,  though  in  vain, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  343 

for  numbers  sweet  as  the  lovely  prospect,  and  gentle  as  the  vernal  breeze 
to  describe  the  beauties  of  charming  spring  ;  but  the  reflection,  how  soon 
these  blooming  pleasures  will  vanish,  spread  a  melancholy  gloom,  till  the 
mind  rises  by  a  delightful  transition  to  the  celestial  Eden— the  scenes  of 
undecaying  pleasure  and  immutable  perfection." 

Lord  !   when  we  bend  before  thy  throne.  — Carlyle. 

Joseph  Dacre  Carlyle,  the  son  of  George  Carlyle,  was  born  at 
Carlisle,  England,  in  1759.  He  became  a  very  learned  and  ac- 
complished man,  and  accompanied  Lord  Elgin  in  1799  on  an  em- 
bassy to  the  Sublime  Porte.  The  purpose  of  this  expedition  was 
to  ascertain  what  literary  treasures  survived  in  the  public  library  of 
Constantinople.  Our  author  had  been  for  five  years  the  Professor 
of  Arabic  at  Cambridge,  and  was  afterward  the  vicar  of  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne.  His  journey  on  the  trip  taken  with  Lord  Elgin  was 
extended  to  Asia  Minor  and  the  Greek  islands. 

The  poems  of  this  author  were  posthumously  published  in  1805, 
under  the  editorship  of  his  sister,  Susanna  Maria  Carlyle.  His 
Specimens  of  Arabian  Poetry  were  issued  in  1 796.  He  had  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  the  4rabic  language  as  the  result  of  his  intimacy 
with  David  Zamio,  a  native  of  Bagdad  ;  and  when  his  college 
Fellowship  was  lost  by  his  marriage  in  1793,  he  devoted  himself  to 
the  study  of  that  tongue  and  became  professor  two  years  later. 
His  reputation,  therefore,  is  not  that  of  the  hymn-writer,  but  of 
the  Orientalist ;  and  his  editorship  of  the  Arabic  text  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  would  have  been  his  greatest  achievement, 
but  it  was  cut  short  by  his  death,  and  the  work,  when  it  appeared 
in  181 1,  showed  the  loss  which  it  had  sustained. 

In  1804,  on  the  12th  of  April,  Mr.  Carlyle  died  at  the  vicarage 
in  Newcastle.  He  was  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers,  and  was 
deeply  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him.  Sir  Egerton  Brydges 
speaks  of  him  in  the  highest  terms  ;  he  describes  the  Orientalist 
as  being  "  a  tall,  dark,  thin  man,  of  reserved  manners  and  recluse 
habits."  He  was,  however,  a  person  of  genial  and  cheerful  dis- 
position, reputed  to  be  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  Scotch 
ancestry,  modest,  benevolent,  and  sincerely  pious.  His  learning 
was  great,  and  of  a  kind  likely  to  be  much  in  demand.  When 
we  take  all  these  qualities  into  consideration  it  is  clear  that  his 
death  was  truly  a  ' '  public  calamity. ' ' 

The  hymn  to  which  his  name  is  attached  in  Laudes  Domini  is 


344  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

one  of  three  religious  pieces,  at  the  end  of  his  Poems  Suggested  by 
Scenes  i?i  Asia  Minor,  Syria  and  Greece,  1805.  Only  by  this, 
which  has  been  much  altered,  is  he  known  in  the  American  collec- 
tions.     It  is  entitled,  "  A  Hymn  before  Public  Worship." 

Lord,  when  with  dying  lips. — Maclagan. 

The  Rev.  William  Dalrymple  Maclagan,  D.D.,  the  present 
Bishop  of  Lichfield,  was  born  in  1826,  in  Edinburgh.  He  is  the 
son  of  David  Maclagan,  M.D.,  and  in  early  life  served  with  the 
army  in  India,  retiring  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant.  He  then  en- 
tered St.  Peter's  College,  Cambridge,  whence  he  was  graduated  in 
1856,  taking  his  degree  of  M.A.  in  i860.  His  D.D.  is  an  honor 
jure  dignitatis,  and  came  to  him  with  his  episcopate  in  1878.  He 
was  ordained  as  deacon  in  1856,  and  as  priest  in  1857,  becoming 
then  the  curate  of  St.  Saviour's,  Paddington,  and  next  of  St. 
Stephen' s,   Marylebone. 

His  career  took  the  direction  of  ecclesiastical  employment  about 
this  period,  and  he  was  the  secretary  of  the  Diocesan  Church  Build- 
ing Association,  London,  for  some  length  of  time.  Bishop  Cotton, 
who  had  known  him  in  India,  brought  his  name,  in  1856,  to  the 
notice  of  Archbishop  Tait.  This  resulted  in  his  becoming  curate 
in  charge  of  Enfield,  1869,  and  then  being  placed  as  vicar  of  St. 
Mary's,  Newington.  The  Bishop  of  London  was  his  warm  friend, 
and  when  Newington  was  transferred  to  the  diocese  of  Rochester 
he  promoted  Mr.  Maclagan  to  the  vicarage  of  St.  Mary  Abbots, 
Kensington,  that  he  might  have  him  at  hand.  Here  he  remained 
until  1878,  when  he  was  nominated  by  the  Crown,  at  Lord 
Beaconsfield' s  recommendation,  to  the  Bishopric  of  Lichfield, 
made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Selwyn.  He  was  consecrated  in 
St.  Paul's,  June  24th,  1878.  He  has  published  sermons  and 
hymns — and  little  else  than  these. 

Lord  !  where  shall  guilty  souls  retire. — Watts. 
This  is  Ps.  139,  First  Part,  C.  M.,  in  the  version  of  Dr.  Watts, 
with  the  title,  "  God  is  Everywhere."     It  has  nine  stanzas. 

Lord,  while  for  all  mankind  we  pray. — Wreford. 
This  hymn  was  composed  as  a  national  hymn  for  England  about 
the  time  of  Queen  Victoria's  coronation,  1837.     The  author  pub- 
lished it  "with  other  loyal  and  patriotic  pieces,"  and  afterward 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  345 

included  it  among  the  fifty-five  hymns  which  he  contributed  to 
Dr.  J.  R.  Beard's  Collection,  1837.  It  came  into  American  use 
through  the  collections  of  Sewall  (1845),  and  of  Dr.  Hastings 
(1858),  but  was  incorrectly  assigned  to  "  Welford." 

Rev.  John  Reynell  Wreford,  born  at  Barnstable,  Devonshire, 
England,  December  nth,  1800,  was  educated  at  Manchester  Col- 
lege, York  ;  left  that  institution  1825,  and  became  co-pastor  with 
Rev.  John  Kentish,  of  the  New  Meeting  House,  Birmingham. 
But  his  voice  failed  him,  and  he  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the 
ministry  in  1831,  since  which  date  he  has  been  a  teacher,  and  was 
living,  in  1869,  near  Bristol.  It  cannot  have  escaped  the  reader 
that  Bristol  is  a  name  that  claims  all  hymn-writers  for  its  own, 
and  that  it  may  be  fairly  set  down  as  the  omphalos  of  English  hym- 
nology.  Here,  at  all  events,  Dr.  Wreford  resided,  having  given 
up  his  teaching,  but  using  his  pen  as  constantly  as  ever. 

As  to  his  opinions,  Dr.  Wreford  regards  himself  as  one  of 
those  "  English  Presbyterians  who  always  carefully  repudiated  all 
sectarian  names  and  doctrinal  distinctions."  It  is  apparent  that 
he  is  not  a  Unitarian  in  the  modern  sense,  though  Beard's  book 
professed  to  take  only  the  writings  of  Unitarians.  Dr.  Wreford's 
published  works  include  several  volumes  of  poetry.  He  died  in 
London,  July  2d,  1881. 

Lord,  with  glowing  heart  I'd  praise  thee. — Key. 

Francis  Scott  Key  was  born  in  Frederick  County,  Md.,  August 
1  st,  1779  ;  was  graduated  at  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Md., 
and  studied  law  with  his  uncle,  Philip  Barton  Key.  He  studied 
at  the  bar,  Fredericktown,  Md.,  from  1801,  and  then  removed  to 
Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  became  District  Attorney  for  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  died  January  nth,  1843.  He  was  an 
Episcopalian,  and  a  devout  and  exemplary  man. 

A  full  notice  of  this  author  is  in  nearly  every  literary  manual. 
The  memory  of  the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner"  will  be  always  asso- 
ciated with  his  name,  and  the  circumstances  of  its  composition 
are  thus  related  : 

"  Key  and  his  friend.  Skinner,  had  been  sent  with  a  flag  of  truce, 
August  14th,  1814,  from  Baltimore  to  the  British  fleet,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Potomac,  to  obtain  the  release  of  prisoners  captured  in  the  expedition 
against  Washington.  As  the  enemy  were  just  about  to  make  an  attack 
on  Baltimore  the  truce-boat  was  detained  with  the  fleet  under  guard.     The 


346  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry,  begun  in  the  evening,  continued 
through  the  night.  Key  and  his  friends  awaited  the  result  with  the 
deepest  anxiety.  Just  before  day  the  cannonading  ceased,  and  they  paced 
the  deck  until  dawn,  eager  for  the  first  streak  of  day  to  disclose  the  result. 
With  '  the  dawn's  early  light '  they  caught  sight  of  '  the  broad  stripes  and 
bright  stars  '  of  the  dear  old  flag  still  floating  over  the  fort.  As  they  now 
made  their  way  back  to  the  city,  Key,  all  aglow  with  the  fervor  of  the 
moment,  composed  and  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  letter  this  grand  national 
lyric.  The  same  day  it  was  put  in  print  and  circulated  all  over  the  city. 
It  was  written  and  sung  then,  as  now,  to  the  tune  of  '  Anacreon  in 
Heaven.'  To  this  tune  the  ode  of  Thomas  Paine,  entitled  '  Adams  and 
Liberty,'  had  been  previously  adapted."  The  manuscript  was  set  in  type 
by  Samuel  Jennings,  who  died  November  22d,  1885,  in  Baltimore,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-eight. 

Mr.  Key's  brother-in-law,  Chief-Justice  Taney,  has  furnished  some  fur- 
ther particulars  of  the  origin  of  this  national  hymn.  It  was  not  completed 
on  the  boat,  but  was  jotted  in  rough  notes,  and  written  out  in  Baltimore 
immediately  upon  Key's  arrival.  He  had  gone,  by  authority  of  President 
Madison,  to  secure  the  release  of  a  personal  friend,  Dr.  Beanes,  and  had 
obtained  it  after  an  interview  with  General  Ross  and  Admirals  Cockburn 
and  Cochrane.  Mr.  Key's  poems  were  published  in  1857.  A  costly 
monument  has  been  erected  to  his  memory  in  San  Francisco,  California. 

It  is  as  a  hymn-writer,  however,  that  we  are  chiefly  concerned 
with  his  name.  He  wrote,  in  addition  to  the  present  piece,  an- 
other, "  Before  the  Lord  we  bow,"  for  a  Fourth  of  July  celebra- 
tion in  1832. 

He  is  also  credited  with  "  If  life's  pleasures  cheer  thee,"  and 
with  several  other  hymns.  All  of  these  are  in  Cleveland's  Lyra 
Sacra  Americana. 

Love  divine,  all  love  excelling. — C.  Wesley. 

The  earliest  home  of  the  Wesley  family  was  Charmouth,  a  vil- 
lage at  the  base  of  the  hill  as  one  went,  in  the  old  times,  from 
Exeter  by  coach  through  Dorset  and  down  from  the  heights  above 
Lyme  Regis.  Here,  almost  from  a  veritable  "  hole  of  the  pit," 
was  dug  that  remarkable  genius  by  whom  God  has  been  pleased  to 
bless  both  England  and  America.  Charles  Stuart,  the  Second, 
once  landed  here  under  the  convoy  of  Lord  Wilmot  While  he 
was  waiting  for  the  boat  to  arrive  in  the  creek  to  take  them  off  to 
the  vessel  beyond,  and  so  to  the  French  coast,  he  allayed  suspicion 
by  visiting  a  little  chapel  where  Bartholomew  Wesley  held  forth  in 
"  long-breathed  devotions  and  bloody  prayers. "     This  progenitor 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  347 


of  our  poet  is  described  as  the  "  puny  parson  of  the  place  ;"  true 
to  his  duties  and  his  people,  however,  and  as  ready  to  supply  himself 
with  his  own  handiwork  in  doublet  and  homespun  hose,  as  Paul 
was  to  fall  to  his  tent-making  when  times  were  hard.  Charles 
narrowly  escaped  capture  here,  and  the  account  of  Mr.  Christo- 
phers' visit,  long  years  afterward,  is  very  picturesque  in  its  descrip- 
tion of  the  circumstances,  the  scenery,  and  all  the  ifs  and  buts  in 

the  case. 

Bartholomew  Wesley  was  made  rector  of  Charmouth  in  1640  ; 
and  John  Wesley,  the  grandfather  of  John  and  Charles,  spent  his 
youth   there.     This  John  went  to  Oxford  and  took  his  degree, 
passed  his  examination  in  theology,  and  proceeded  to  labor  in  the 
fishing- villages  near  Weymouth.     Next  he  had  charge  of  the  parish 
of   wlnterborn-Whitchurch,   and    was   a   fellow  sufferer   with  his 
father  and   Richard  Baxter  under  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  which 
took  effect  on  Bartholomew's  Day,  1662.     Worn  out  by  privation, 
persecution  and  sorrow,  he  died  even  earlier  than  the  rector   of 
Charmouth,  who,   although  silenced  in  the  pulpit,   preached  the 
Gospel  as  he  could,  and  practised  medicine  to  support  himself  and 
his   family.       Not  long  after  his  son's  death,  Bartholomew  also 
died,  having  suffered  a  great  deal  for  his  Nonconformist  opinions. 
The  stock,  however,  was  too  good  to  perish  from  the  earth,  and 
in  1683  Samuel  Wesley  (1662-1735),  son  of  John  and  grandson 
of  Bartholomew,    marched    on  foot  into   Oxford  from   London. 
The  university  was  in  a  way  to  recover  from  the  effects  of  the  civil 
war.     And  here  Samuel  Wesley  arrived,  without  a  friend  and  with 
only  forty-five  shillings  in  his  pocket,  but  with  a  strong  purpose  to 
secure  an  education  after  the  same  sort  as  his  ancestors.      He  en- 
tered Exeter  College,  being  admitted  as  "pauper  scholaris,"  and 
acting  as  serving- man  to  his  richer  companions. 

With  the  lack  of  money  came— as  it  often  does— the  presence  of 
that  wit  which  seems  to  be  the  compensation  of  honorable  poverty. 
Samuel  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  student,  and  shortly  issued  a  little 
book  called  Maggots  j  or,  Poems  on  several  Subjects  never  before 
Handled;  by  a  Scholar.  It  even  had  the  author's  picture  in  front  ; 
not  with  a  laurel,  however,  but  with  a  maggot  on  his  forehead. 
And  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  poem  was  somewhat  coarse  in 
its  satire,  and  suited  the  fashion  of  an  age  that  was  given  to  gross- 
Dunton,  the  eccentric  bookseller,  issued  this  unexpectedly 


ness. 


348  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

successful  venture.  His  young  protege  and  himself  were  eventually 
brothers-in-law,  having  married  sisters.  Pope,  even,  did  not  dis- 
dain to  allude  to  the  poem  in  his  "  Dunciad, "  and  we,  who  only 
know  Samuel  Wesley  by  his  hymn,  "  Behold  the  Saviour  of  man- 
kind "  (1709),  may  well  smile  at  the  severity  with  which  the  sage 
of  Twickenham  attacks  the  frivolous  verses  which  Dunton  pub- 
lished. 

In  his  odd  and  genial  manner  Mr.  Christophers  joins  Samuel 
Wesley's  Maggot  on  A  Tobacco  Pipe,  with  his  son  John's  letter 
to  a  friend  in  Ireland.  Samuel's  taste  was  strongly  nicotian  ;  but 
John  was  an  early  Traskite. 

"  Use  all  diligence  to  be  clean,"  he  says  to  the  Irish  unknown, 
"  '  Let  thy  mind's  sweetness  have  its  operation 
Upon  thy  person,  clothes  and  habitation.' 

"  Use  no  tobacco — it  is  an  uncleanly  and  unwholesome  self-indulgence. 
Use  no  snuff.  I  suppose  no  other  nation  in  Europe  is  in  such  vile  bond- 
age to  this  silly,  nasty,  dirty  custom  as  the  Irish  are.  But  let  Christians 
be  in  this  bondage  no  longer." 

It  is  the  correct  phrase  when  we  call  Samuel  Wesley's  wife  the 
**  well-trained  Susannah."  She  was  the  daughter  of  the  Noncon- 
formist divine,  Dr.  Samuel  Annesley,  and  it  was  a  part  oi  her  home 
discipline  to  train  her  children  pretty  thoroughly.  If  the  little 
Samuel,  John,  or  Charles  cried,  he  must  cry  under  his  breath. 
If  he  was  to  be  punished  he  got  no  light  nor  trivial  thrashing.  It 
was  not  for  him  to  eat  or  drink  between  meals.  He  was  washed 
and  put  to  bed  at  eight  o'clock,  and  no  servant  was  allowed  to  sit 
by  him.  He  must  say  "  brother  "  or  "  sister  "  before  the  proper 
name  of  the  other  children  when  he  spoke  to  them.  The  Lord's 
Prayer  was  taught  him  as  soon  as  he  could  speak,  and  he  repeated 
it  morning  and  night,  ever  afterward.  At  five  years  it  was 
equally  imperative  that  he  should  be  instructed  to  read  ;  and  six 
hours  a  day  were  school-time,  and  his  parents  were  the  teachers. 
It  adds  a  grim  touch  of  humor  to  read,  in  Tyerman's  record,  of 
this  well-arranged  family  system  that,  when  the  boy  (or  girl,  for 
the  method  was  impartial)  reached  this  fifth  year,  he  had  one  day, 
and  only  one,  in  which  to  learn  his  letters  !  He  must  master  the 
twenty-six  within  the  twenty-four  hours  or — alas  for  him  !  Religion 
was  an  exact  science  in  that  home,  and  Bible-reading  and  prayer 
were  punctually  attended  to.  Certainly  the  results  are  not  dis- 
couraging to  any  who  reflect  upon  the  process. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  349 

It  must  be  sufficient  to  add  to  these  preliminaries  of  the  life  of 
Charles  that  his  father  deserves  our  esteem  for  his  real  ability.  His 
poem  on  "  The  Life  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,"  was 
terribly  tinkered  and  "  improved  "  (for  the  worse)  by  Dr.  Coke, 
but  its  original  form  speaks  well  for  its  author.  He  had  graduated 
at  Oxford,  1688,  and  in  return  for  the  dedication  of  this  poem 
(1693)  to  Queen  Mary,  she  gave  him  the  living  of  Epworth,  in 
Lincolnshire,  in  1696 — for  he  was  no  longer  a  Dissenter.  In 
learning,  benevolence  and  piety,  he  stood  high.  He  wrote  much 
for  current  literature,  and  so  eked  out  a  salary  which  needed  size 
to  meet  the  wants  of  his  nineteen  children — nine  of  whom,  it  is 
proper  to  state,  died  in  infancy.  John  and  Charles  gave  some  of 
his  verses  place  in  their  first  volume  of  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems, 
1739.  His  single  hymn,  "  Behold  the  Saviour  of  mankind,"  is  in 
six  stanzas,  and  shows  plainly  the  influence  at  work  upon  his  sons. 

When  the  Epworth  parsonage  was  burned,  the  piece  of  music 
on  which  this  hymn  had  been  written  was  rescued  from  the 
flames,  somewhat  scorched.  At  the  same  time  little  John,  then 
about  six  years  of  age,  was  saved  almost  by  a  miracle.  Not  much 
else  escaped. 

The  love  of  music  and  poetry  was  born  in  the  boys.  John 
Wesley  says  of  his  mother's  death  :  "  We  stood  around  her  bed  and 
fulfilled  her  last  request,  uttered  a  little  before  she  lost  her  speech  : 
1  Children,  as  soon  as  I  am  released,  sing  a  Psalm  of  praise  to 
God  ! '  "  This  hymn  which  they  sang  is  said  to  have  been  "  Bless- 
ing, honor,  thanks  and  praise" — one  which  Charles  wrote  in  1742 
for  this  very  use. 

This  was  the  ancestry  and  this  was  the  home  of  Charles  Wesley. 
Is  it  wonderful  that  he  came  to  be  what  he  was  ?  or  that,  after  his 
parents'  death,  he  could  compose  such  a  eulogy  upon  them  as 
that  which  is  contained  in  his  hymn,  "  Who  are  these  arrayed  in 
white  ?"  (1745). 

Charles  Wesley,  the  youngest  of  the  nineteen  children,  was  born 
at  Epworth,  Lincolnshire,  December  18th,  1708,  "  old  style"  (i.  e.f 
December  29th  of  our  present  reckoning,  the  difference  in  calendar 
being  eleven  days).  In  childhood  it  was  proposed  by  a  wealthy 
namesake  in  Ireland  to  adopt  him — but  he  himself  declined.  The 
person  who  was  taken  in  his  stead  became  an  earl,  and  was  grand- 
father to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  while  the  poor  lad  in  the  debt- 


35 o  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

oppressed  parsonage  was  spared  for  a  more  spiritual  life  and  for 
wider  usefulness.  His  brother  Samuel  (Junior)  cared  for  his 
education  at  Westminster  School  (171 6),  and  he  was  at  Christ 
Church  College,  Oxford,  in  1726,  with  his  brother  John.  Here 
began  the  name  of  "  Methodist,"  from  the  systematic  ideas  of  the 
"Holy  Club." 

Charles  was  ordained  in  1735,  and  went  with  John  to  Georgia 
in  1735-6.  In  1738  (May  21st)  he  expressly  declares  that  he  re- 
ceived the  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  came  through  the 
agency  of  a  poor  mechanic  named  Bray  who  "  knew  nothing  ex- 
cept Christ." — He  married  Sarah  Gwynne,  April  8th,  1749,  and 
had  by  her  eight  children,  two  of  whom  became  eminent  as 
musicians. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  we  look  in  vain  for  some  of  these  "  cen- 
tos" which  have  been  selected  from  his  poetry.  The  Wesleyan 
Conference,  1868-72,  issued  the  poetical  works  of  the  brothers  in  a 
complete  edition,  making  thirteen  volumes,  and  containing  nearly 
six  thousand  pages  !  Charles's  work  was  mainly  original  ;  while 
John  rendered  some  forty  of  the  German  hymns,  and  wrote  very 
little  otherwise.  It  was  Charles  who  sang  the  doctrines  of  the 
Methodists  into  the  hearts  of  believers — and  his  evangelical  fervor 
is  such  that  he  has  made  all  Christendom  his  parish  in  a  grander 
sense  even  than  his  administrative  brother,  John.  Nothing  that 
John  has  written  reaches  the  height  of  "  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul," 
or  the  beauty  of  "  Love  divine,  all  love  excelling,"  or  the  dignity 
of  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives. ' '  And  yet  these  are  only 
portions  of  that  great  choral  in  which  his  many- voiced  genius  bore 
a  part.  Samuel  Wesley,  Jr.,  the  High  Churchman,  was  chilled  too 
60on  ever  to  compare  verses  with  his  brothers.  His  hymns  are 
few — and  lack  power  and  popularity. 

After  eighty  years  of  a  well- spent  and  fruitful  life,  Charles  Wes- 
ley died,  March  29th,  1788,  leaving  his  brother  to  lament  him  for 
three  years  longer  and  then  to  join  him  beyond  the  "  narrow 
stream  of  death." 

John  Wesley,  who  was  born  June  17th,  1703,  was  the  fourth 
son  of  this  remarkable  family.  As  the  founder  of  Methodism, 
and  the  organizer  and  manager  of  a  vast  denomination,  he  stands 
among  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  and  his  story  is  everywhere  at 
hand.     He  left  Oxford  in  1727,  and  was  his  father's  chaplain  at 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


351 


Epworth  until  1729,  having  been  ordained  September  28th,  1728. 
On  the  death  of  their  father,  in  1735,  John  and  Charles  cast  in 
their  lot  with  Oglethorpe's  colonists,  and  went  to  Georgia.  There 
John  had  a  troublesome  love-affair  with  which  we  have  no  con- 
cern. 

In  1738  we  find  him  in  London,  and  a  Moravian,  through  the 
influence  of  Peter  Bohler.  In  the  following  year,  after  a  visit  to 
Herrnhut,  he  commenced  open-air  preaching  in  Whitefield's  man- 
ner. The  "foundry" — famous  in  Methodist  annals— was  fitted 
up  in  November,  1739,  an^  thenceforward  John  Wesley  was  the 
head  and  front  of  the  operations  of  this  new  body  of  Christians. 
He  did  not  marry  until  1751,  when  he  espoused  a  widow  of  means 
and  with  four  children,  who  made  twenty  years  of  his  life  wretched, 
and  then  left  him  entirely. 

By  virtue  of  sound  health  and  earnest  faith  this  wonderful  man 
lived  until  past  fourscore  in  active  usefulness.  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  he  held  not  less  than  forty  thousand  preaching  services, 
and  travelled  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  miles.  At  his  death 
the  Methodists  numbered  fully  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
communicants.  In  1791,  after  preaching  in  the  parlor  of  a  magis- 
trate at  Leatherhead,  near  London,  he  returned  home  fatigued 
and  ill.  His  text  was,  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be 
found" — and  on  March  2d,  1791,  he  proceeded  to  seek  him 
11  beyond  the  stars,"  where  was  his  rest  indeed. 

Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned.  — S.  Stennett. 
This  hymn  was  contributed  to  Rippon' s  Selection,  1787,  where 
it  has  nine  stanzas,  commencing,  "  To  Christ  the  Lord  let  every 
tongue."  The  Scripture  prefixed  is  Sol.  Song  5  :  10-16,  and  the 
title  is,  "  Chief  among  Ten  Thousand  ;  or,  the  Excellencies  of 
Christ. ' ' 

Master,  speak  !  thy  servant  heareth. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
From  her  Poems,  p.  214  :    "  Master,   say  on."     It  has  nine 
stanzas.     The  date  is  1867. 

May  the  grace  of  Christ,  our  Saviour.  — Newton. 
This  is  from  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  101.     The  text 
is  11  Cor.    13  :  14.       It  has  one  double  stanza,  and  is  a  favorite 
form  of  doxology.     The  large  meeting  of  Presbyterian  ministers 


35  2  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

held  in  New  York  City  each  Monday  noon,  invariably  closes  with 
its  use. 

'Mid  scenes  of  confusion  and  creature  complaints. — Denham. 

The  author  of  this  hymn  was  Rev.  David  Denham,  an  English 
Baptist,  1 791-1848.  He  was  connected  with  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S. 
Hawker' s  congregation,  became  a  Baptist,  entered  the  ministry  and 
was  settled  at  Margate,  London,  and  Cheltenham.  He  was  the  ed- 
itor of  a  collection  of  hymns  which  bears  his  name,  but  wrote  his 
poetry  mostly  for  the  religious  magazines.  His  title  for  this  piece 
was,  "  The  Saint's  Sweet  Home,"  to  which  he  appended  the  words 
of  Scripture,  Ps.  73  :  24.  It  was  in  use  in  America  in  the  Chris- 
tian Lyre  in  1830,  and  the  author  contributed  seventy  hymns  to 
his  own  book,  The  Saint's  Melody,  1837,  which  contains  over 
eleven  hundred  pieces. 

Mighty  God,  while  angels  bless  thee.  — R.  Robinson. 

The  name  of  Robert  Robinson  merits  an  attention  which  it  has 
not  yet  received.  Few  persons  are  aware  that  this  man  not  only 
wrote  the  famous  hymn,  "  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing," 
but  that  he  also  was  the  inspirer  of  no  less  a  pulpit  orator  than 
the  great  Robert  Hall,  as  Hall  himself,  in  turn,  was  the  inspirer 
of  Spurgeon.  And  if  we  add  to  these  facts  that  the  hymn, 
"  Mighty  God,  while  angels  bless  thee,"  was  composed  by  him, 
and  that  his  ecclesiastical  career  is  almost  unique,  we  have  at  least 
begun  the  story  with  some  elements  of  unusual  interest. 

Born  in  Norfolk,  at  Swaffham,  September  27th,  1735,  he  re- 
moved, at  eight  years  of  age,  with  his  parents,  to  Seaming  in  the 
same  county.  In  a  short  time  his  father  died,  and  he  was  left  to 
be  the  sole  support  of  his  widowed  mother.  We  therefore  find 
him,  at  fourteen,  apprenticed  to  one  Joseph  Anderson,  a  barber 
in  London,  and  very  often  under  reprimand  for  giving  too  much 
time  to  his  books  and  too  little  to  his  business.  He  was  not  the 
steadiest  of  young  fellows  in  his  habits  either,  for  a  singular  inci- 
dent is  on  record  to  show  that  he  and  some  other  lads  plied  a  gypsy 
fortune-teller  with  liquor,  and  secured  from  her  a  prediction  as  to 
their  future  lives.  To  Robinson  the  poor  drunken  wretch  made 
a  statement  which,  however  it  arose,  had  the  strangest  of  effects. 
She  said  he  "  would  see  his  children  and  grandchildren."  And 
he  believed  this  so  thoroughly  that  he  set  about  preparing  to  be 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  353 

useful  to  his  prospective  family,  and  even  began  his  laudable  refor- 
mation by  a  visit  to  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield 
that  very  night. 

Six  years  later  he  confessed  to  Whitefield  that  he  had  gone  there 
that  evening  disposed  to  pity  "  the  poor  deluded  Methodists,"  but 
had  come  away  envious  of  their  happiness.  He  was  at  this  time 
seventeen  years  of  age  ;  and  the  sermon,  which  was  from  Matt. 
3  :  7,  so  moved  him  that  it  could  not  be  forgotten.  With  a  sin- 
gular accuracy  of  observation  he  has  himself  stated  that,  after  two 
years  and  seven  months,  in  1755,  the  full  force  of  the  truth  was  at 
length  felt  in  his  heart.  At  this  date  he  considered  himself  to  have 
been  truly  converted,  and  entered  the  fact  in  Latin  of  his  own  de- 
vising upon  the  pages  of  his  journal.  The  language  is  worthy  of 
quotation  : 

"  Robertus,  Michaelis  Mariaeque  Robinson  filius,  Natus  Swaffhami, 
comitatu  Norfolciae,  Saturni  die,  Sept.  27th,  1735.  Renatus  Sabbati  die, 
Maii  24,  1752,  per  predicationem  Georgii  Whitefield.  Et  gustatis  doloribus 
renovationis  duos  annos  mensesque  septem,  absolutionem  plenam  gratu- 
itamque,  per  sanguinem  pretiosum  Jesu  Christi,  inveni  (Tuesday,  Decem- 
ber 10,  1755),  cui  sit  honor  et  gloria  in  secula  seculorum.     Amen." 

This  Latin  is  scarcely  classical  ;  but  it  is  very  expressive.  It  re- 
veals a  depth  of  feeling  which  was  soon  to  find  its  proper  scope  in 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  As  early,  then,  as  1758,  he  commenced, 
in  a  crude  way,  to  exhort  and  even  preach,  being  associated  with 
those  Methodists  whom  he  once  despised. 

Mr.  Robinson  now  became  a  Baptist,  married,  and  removed  to 
Cambridge,  where  he  supplied  the  pulpit  of  a  small  congregation. 
It  was  a  college  town,  and  such  towns  are  proverbially  hard  toward 
preachers,  requiring  brains,  courage  and  good  judgment  in  those 
who  occupy  their  pulpits.  Undoubtedly  the  ci-devant  barber  felt 
this  ;  for  he  declined  at  first  to  be  settled  as  pastor.  Another  point 
— that  of  the  terms  of  communion — was  also  under  debate  ;  and 
not  until  it  was  decided  that  there  should  be  open  communion  did 
he  consent.  In  1761  this  was  conceded,  and  Mr.  Robinson  was 
installed.  He  was  poor,  and  his  church  was  poor,  but  in  a  few 
years  he  had  a  good  chapel  and  a  large  congregation.  From  this 
time  he  maintained  himself  successfully  against  the  ofttimes  hostile 
influence  of  the  university,  and  managed  to  command  the  respect 
of  the  students,   for  Robert  Robinson  was  a  scholar,  by  nature 


354  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  by  practice,  and  his  biography  is  a  remarkable  example  of  a 
self-taught  man  ranking  as  the  peer  of  those  who  have  received  the 
best  advantages.  It  was  under  the  stress  of  his  financial  necessities 
that  he  also  became  a  farmer,  in  addition  to  his  other  pursuits  ; 
and  any  one  who  will  read  his  delightful  "  Morning  Exercise* '  on 
"  Industry,"  will  see  how  well  he  improved  his  acquaintance  with 
the  former  companions  of  his  youth.  He  knew  the  soil,  and  he 
knew  its  tillers,  and  he  spoke  to  the  outlying  rustic  audiences  on 
divers  occasions  with  a  certain  pithy  simplicity  which  is  wonderfully 
attractive.  At  Little  Shelford  we  hear  him  saying  :  "We  contend, 
that  in  regard  to  you  in  this  parish,  neither  the  rose,  nor  the  water- 
lily,  nor  any  other  flower  in  the  world  is  the  subject  of  your  chief 
attention  ;  it  is  saffron,  and  saffron  alone,  that  you  are  called  by 
Providence  to  study."  And  then  he  declares  that,  as  with  the 
saffron  among  flowers,  so  it  is  with  the  Bible  among  books.  This 
one  book  is  the  only  one  they  really  need  to  know.  He  is  gifted 
with  a  Spurgeon-like  wit  ;  and,  indeed,  if  Robert  Hall  was  his  son 
in  the  ministry,  Charles  Spurgeon  must  be  his  grandson. 

From  1782  to  1785  he  had  a  good  deal  of  land  under  his  con- 
trol. He  had  also  a  good  deal  of  a  family,  and  his  "  numerous 
children"  compelled  him  to  be  active  in  supplying  their  wants. 
Yet  he  was  by  no  means  a  farmer  solely,  or  even  specially.  He 
contrived  to  obtain  the  time  for  a  knowledge  of  French,  and  his 
various  discourses  easily  prove  him  to  have  been  well  versed  in  the 
ancient  literatures. 

Here  before  us  are  several  of  Robinson's  works.  The  sermons 
have  received  the  commendation  of  Paxton  Hood,  and  this  particu- 
lar volume  has,  for  years,  been  dear  to  the  present  writer.  Its  title 
is,  "  Sixteen  Discourses  ...  to  which  are  added  Six  Morning 
Exercises,  London,  printed  for  Charles  Dilly,  in  the  Poultry, 
MDCCLXXXVI."  These  are  quaint  and  excellent,  full  of  bright 
and  original  ideas,  uttered  in  many  an  epigrammatic  sentence. 
The  style  is,  indeed,  so  modern  that  it  might  easily  be  the  produc- 
tion of  the  last  five  years.  Out  of  abundant  illustrations  take 
this  :  "A  common  good  book,  like  a  good  man,  is  not  without 
its  defects,  but  good  upon  the  whole  ;  but  this  good  Gospel  resem- 
bles a  good  angel,  perfect  without  a  mixture  of  imperfection." 
His  topics,  too,  are  such  as  we  would  to-day  be  likely  to  choose. 
Here  are  some  :   "Almighty  God  is  the  lovely  Father  of  all  man- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  355 

kind  ;"  "  The  merit  of  Jesus  Christ  distinguishes  him  from  all 
other  persons  ;"  "  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  obtained  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  ;"  "  Incorrigible  sinners  will  be  without  excuse  at  the 
last  day  ;*'  "  Any  person  who  understands  Christianity  may  teach 
it." 

We  cannot  pass  this  volume  without  especially  commending  it 
to  any  lover  of  racy  and  original  expression.  It  is  thus  that  he 
begins  his  sermon  on  Ps.  16  :  6,  entitled,  "  We  ought  to  be 
content  with  Providence.  "  "  *  True, '  says  one  of  my  hearers,  '  you 
had  a  goodly  heritage,  David  ;  and  I  would  say  of  my  lot  as  you 
did  of  yours,  had  I  a  Jesse  for  my  father,  a  Solomon  for  my  son, 
a  palace  for  my  habitation,  gold  and  silver  in  abundance,  ability 
to  write  Scripture  and  hope  in  a  joyful  resurrection. '  But  recollect, 
if  David  had  a  Jesse  for  his  own  father,  he  had  a  Saul  for  a  father- 
in-law  ;  if  he  had  one  son  a  Solomon,  he  had  others  who  were  dis- 
obedient, rebellious  and  wicked  ;  if  he  had  a  palace,  he  could  not 
sometimes  get  an  hour's  rest  in  it ;  he  was  weary  with  groaning, 
made  his  bed  every  night  to  swim,  and  watered  his  couch  with  his 
tears  ;  if  he  had  riches,  and  abilities,  and  religion,  he  had  also  a 
lady  for  his  wife  who  ridiculed  religion,  and  despised  him  for  em- 
ploying his  wealth  and  abilities  in  the  service  of  it.  In  a  word, 
happiness  is  distributed  among  mankind  much  more  equally  than 
most  men  imagine. " 

Robinson  loved  liberty  with  an  intense  and  almost  morbid  de- 
votion. He  was  passed  along  from  the  Established  Church  into 
Methodism,  Independency  and  the  Baptist  connection.  About 
1780,  he  is  usually  (though  somewhat  unfairly)  considered  to  have 
become  a  Unitarian  ;  and  his  biographer,  the  Rev.  William  Robin^ 
son,  placidly  admits  the  fact  and  apparently  glories  in  it.  This  is 
strange  enough,  supposing  it  to  be  true  ;  for  this  edition  of  his 
sermons,  open  on  this  desk  this  instant,  testifies  directly  to  the 
contrary.  The  preface  indicates  that  the  author  is  "  at  a  distance 
from  the  press,"  and  distinctly  asserts  that  "  the  Christian  religion 
ought  to  be  distinguished  from  the  philosophy  of  it."  He  then 
adds,  as  to  himself  :  "  He  hath  his  own  opinions  of  the  nature 
of  God,  and  Christ,  and  man,  and  the  decrees,  and  so  on.  But 
he  doth  not  think  that  the  opinions  of  Athanasius,  or  Arius,  or 
Sabellius,  or  Socinus,  or  Augustine,  or  Pelagius,  or  Whitby,  or 
Gill,  on  the  subjects  in  dispute  between  them  ought  to  be  consid- 


356  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ered  of  such  importance  as  to  divide  Christians  by  being  made 
standards  to  judge  of  any  man's  Christianity.  He  thinks  virtue 
and  not  faith  the  bond  of  union,  though  he  supposes  the  subject 
ought  to  be  properly  explained. ' '  It  certainly  should  be  explained, 
so  as  not  to  convey  the  opinion  that  this  Bible  Christian  meant  by 
"  faith"  anything  except  what  he  did  mean — namely,  the  creed 
statements  of  a  denomination  ;  for  by  "  virtue"  he  doubtless  in- 
tended the  only  virtue  which  he  recognized,  a  new  life  through 
Jesus  Christ. 

Admitting,  shortly  afterward,  that  "  his  ideas  of  this  subject  do 
not  meet  the  views  of  some  of  his  brethren,"  he  still  avers  that  they 
may  enjoy  their  sentiments  without  his  opposition,  but,  for  his 
part,  he  cannot  feel  compelled  to  think  as  they  do.  In  a  word, 
Mr.  Robinson  was  a  man  of  broad  and  charitable  views — far 
broader  and  more  charitable  than  the  times  in  which  he  lived  and 
wrote.  One  only  needs  to  read  with  care  the  sermon,  "  The  death 
of  Jesus  Christ  obtained  the  remission  of  sins"  to  see  how  close  it 
is  to  modern  belief,  and  how  thoroughly  scriptural  are  its  proposi- 
tions. These  sermons,  as  has  been  already  said,  are  wonderfully 
outspoken,  fresh  and  vitally  suggestive.  They  would  do  no  dis- 
credit to  a  reissue,  nor  would  their  value  be  at  an  end.  Nay,  we 
even  think  they  would  attract  many  readers,  and  do  good. 

Space  permits  no  further  vindication  of  the  orthodoxy  of  this 
talented  man.  Nor  do  we  require  any  special  pleading  to  rescue 
the  hymn,  "Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing, "  from  the 
Serbonian  bog  of  Mr.  D.  Sedgwick's  assertion  that  it  was  the  pro- 
duction of  Lady  Huntingdon.  It  is  here  as  the  work  of  "  R — n" 
in  Evans's  Collection,  where  it  embellishes  the  Supplement  of  1786. 
In  addition  there  appears  the  other  hymn,  ' '  Mighty  God,  while 
angels  bless  thee  "  (of  which  "  Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  " 
is  a  part)  ;  and  this  also  has  the  same  initials.  It  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  Mr.  Robinson  ever  composed  any  hymns  except 
these.  In  a  list  of  his  writings,  made  by  himself,  there  is  a  record 
of  all  that  he  wrote  in  prose  and  verse  up  to  the  year  1781.  The 
date  of  these  hymns  is  earlier  than  that,  and  "  Come,  thou  Fount 
of  every  blessing  "  has  been  confidently  assigned  to  1757.  There 
seems  to  have  been  a  confusion  as  to  the  number  of  hymns  which 
he  wrote  while  he  "  was  among  the  Methodists,"  and  which  were 
published  by  Whitefield.     Some  say  "  eleven  ;"  but  as  these  were 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  357 

"  composed  for  a  fast-day"  it  is  probable  that  the  mistake  has  oc- 
curred of  taking  "  II  hymns"  as  if  this  meant  "  eleven  hymns." 
If  he  composed  others  than  these,  they  are  certainly  lost  beyond 
recovery. 

Benjamin  Williams,  "  senior  deacon  of  the  First  Baptist  church 
at  Reading,  England,"  told  Dr.  Belcher  that  he  sat,  as  a  little 
child,  on  Robinson's  knee,  while  he  composed  the  hymn, 
"  Mighty  God,  while  angels  bless  thee,"  and  that  the  author  put 
it  into  his  hand  when  it  was  finished.  Many  years  afterward,  at 
his  own  fireside,  the  veteran  repeated  this  story  to  Dr.  Belcher  ; 
and  thus  we  have  a  beautiful  incident  to  join  with  this  piece  when- 
ever we  may  read  it. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr.  Robinson  was  a  friend  of  the 
celebrated  Priestley,  whose  Unitarian  opinions  probably  affected  the 
judgment  of  those  who  were  disposed  to  think  uncharitably  of  the 
preacher  of  Cambridge.  But  the  memorial  tablet  erected  to  him 
by  his  congregation  at  Cambridge  would  hardly  have  committed 
the  error  of  assigning  to  him  "  the  Virtues  which  adorn  the  Man 
and  the  Christian,"  unless  his  successor,  Robert  Hall,  had  been 
willing  to  believe  that  the  stone  told  the  truth. 

It  was  Robinson's  expressed  wish  to  die  "  softly,  suddenly  and 
alone."  This  was  accomplished  ;  for  he  died,  during  the  night, 
at  the  residence  of  Dr.  Priestley,  in  Birmingham.  He  was  found 
lifeless  in  his  bed  on  the  morning  of  June  9th,  1790.  Always 
earnest  and  active  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  was  still  the 
pastor  of  the  ' '  Congregation  of  Stone  Yard, ' '  in  Cambridge,  at 
the  time  of  his  death. 

Not  long  before  he  died  he  wrote  from  Hauxton  in  the  follow- 
ing strain  respecting  certain  neighboring  clergymen:  "Alas, 
where  is  that  ancient  simplicity  and  power  ?  They  are  modern- 
ized." Of  another  person  he  says  :  "  Does  he  court  popularity 
and  applause  ?  or  is  he  aiming  at  winning  souls  for  Christ  ?  .  .  . 
We  have  some  Jonahs,  though  in  the  belly  of  hell  ;  I  mean, 
though  at  Cambridge. ' ' 

Mine  eyes  and  my  desire — Watts. 

This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  Psalm  25,  Third  Part,  S.  M.,  w.  15-22. 
It  has  eight  stanzas.  The  title  is,  ' '  Distress  of  Soul ;  or,  Back- 
sliding and  Desertion." 


35 8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

More  love  to  thee,  0  Christ.  — Mrs.  Prentiss. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Payson)  Prentiss  was  the  daughter  of  the  pious 
Edward  Payson,  and  was  born,  Portland,  Me.,  October  26th, 
18 1 8.  Erom  an  early  age  she  wrote  verse  and  prose  with  facility, 
and  contributed  at  sixteen  years  to  the  Youth' s  Companion,  published 
in  Boston.  Her  sketches  and  stories  were  very  highly  commended, 
and  her  mind,  under  judicious  education,  was  properly  trained  and 
disciplined  for  literary  pursuits.  Her  piety  was  always  deep,  and 
her  sympathies  fine  and  large.  As  a  teacher  in  Portland  and  at 
Ipswich,  Mass.,  she  won  the  devoted  love  of  her  pupils.  She  also 
held  a  similar  position,  and  with  much  the  same  results,  at  Rich- 
mond, Va. 

It  is,  however,  as  the  wife  of  Rev.  Professor  George  L.  Prentiss, 
D.  D. ,  that  she  is  best  known  to  the  religious  and  literary  world. 
She  was  married  in  1845,  and  mainly  resided  in  New  York  City, 
where  Dr.  Prentiss  has  been  pastor  of  the  Mercer  Street  Presbyterian 
church  and  of  the  Church  of  the  Covenant,  being  transferred  from 
this  last  charge  to  the  professorship  of  Homiletics  and  Church 
Government  in  Union  Theological  Seminary.  Mrs.  Prentiss  was 
never  in  robust  health,  and  died  at  length,  after  a  short  illness, 
at  her  summer  home,  Dorset,  Vt.,  August  13th,  1878. 

Of  her  writings,  The  Flower  of  the  Family  was  among  the  first  of 
the  stories  to  secure  a  notable  popularity  ;  while  Only  a  Dandelion, 
Fred  and  Maria  a?td  Me,  and  the  child's  book,  Little  Susy  s  Six 
Birthdays,  were  decidedly  successful.  Stepping  Heavenward,  1869, 
has  had  an  almost  unique  reputation.  Over  seventy  thousand 
copies  have  been  sold  in  this  country  alone.  Mrs.  Prentiss's- 
hymn,  also,  is  no  inapt  companion  piece  to  Dr.  Ray  Palmer's 
"  My  faith  looks  up  to  thee. "     It  was  printed  on  a  slip  in  1856. 

Morn*  s  roseate  hues  have  decked  the  sky.  —  W.  Cooke. 
Rev.  William  Cooke  [died  i884(?)]  was  the  joint  editor  of 
Barney' s  (Novello's)  Hymnary,  1872,  and  his  residence  is  given 
as  6  Clifton  Place,  Sussex  Square,  London,  W.  He  is  a  graduate 
of  Trinity  Hall,  Cambridge  (B.A.,  1843,  and  M.A.,  1847).  He 
became  deacon  in  1844,  and  priest,  1845  ;  was  perpetual  curate  of 
St.  John,  Charlotte  Street,  Fitzroy  Square,  London,  1 848-1 850  ; 
then  held  the  same  position  at  St.  Stephen,  Hammersmith,  1850- 
1856  ;  then  vicar   of  Gazeley,  Suffolk,  1856-1866,  and   was  hon- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  359 

orary  canon  of  Chester,  1854.  His  writings  show  him  to  have 
been  concerned  in  the  Ritualistic  controversy.  This  is  a  copyright 
hymn  in  the  Hymnary. 

Mourn  for  the  thousands  slain.— Brace. 
This  well-known  and  widely-used  temperance  hymn  was  written 
by  the  Rev.  Seth  Collins  Brace  in  1843-  Mr.  Brace  was  born  at 
Newington,  Conn.,  August  3d,  181 1,  where  his  father,  Rev.  Joab 
Brace,  was  pastor  for  fifty-six  years.  He  was  graduated  from  Yale 
College  in  the  class  of  1832.  From  1835  to  1838  he  was  a  tutor 
in  the  college.  He  then  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  was  licensed  to  preach,  in  1842,  by  the  Wilmington 
Presbytery. 

In  1843  he  was  engaged  in  compiling  Parish  Hymns  for  Perkins 
and  Purves  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  looking  for  some  hymns  upon 
the  subject  of  temperance  was  disappointed  not  to  find  any.  He 
therefore  wrote  this,  under  the  spur  of  the  occasion,  and  has  had 
the  happiness  of  finding  it  useful  in  other  collections. 

Some  debate  was  occasioned  as  to  this  hymn  in  1882  by  the 
question  of  a  correspondent  directed  to  the  Christian  Advocate.  It 
drew  out  a  reply  from  Mr.  Brace,  who  briefly  stated  the  foregoing 
facts— which  have  been  confirmed  to  us,  personally,  by  himself. 

He  is  now  a  Congregational  clergyman,  residing  in  Philadelphia, 
and  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Mercantile  Library.  His  last  settle- 
ment was  in  Bethany,  Conn. 

This  notice  is  not  complete  until  we  add  the  list  of  his  other 
hymns.  The  present  was  No.  514,  and  was  signed,  like  the  rest, 
"  C. "     The  others  were  : 

"  Assembled  in  thy  name." 

"  And  shall  I  still." 

"  We  gather  at  the  mercy-seat." 

Mr.  Brace  considers,  however,  that  he  has  done  quite  as  effec- 
tive temperance  work  by  opposing  the  "  two- wine  heresy,"  as^  in 
any  other  way.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  unremitting 
antagonists  of  it,  and  has  left  a  record  in  the  columns  of  the  In- 
dependent and  the  Congregationalist  upon  the  subject.  The  contro- 
versy was  as  to  the  production  of  a  ''non-fermented"  wine  in 
Palestine— a  belief  which  has  been  a  favorite  tenet  of  temperance 
workers  in  this  country,  but  which  has  met  much  opposition. 


360  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

My  country  !  '  tis  of  thee.  — S.  F.  Smith. 
The  Rev.  Samuel  Francis  Smith,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Boston, 
October  21st,  1808  ;  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1829  [Dr.  0.  W. 
Holmes's  class]  ;  and  at  Andover  Seminary  in  1832.  He  is  a 
Baptist,  and  has  been  pastor,  professor  and  editor  during  a  long 
and  actively  useful  life.  His  golden  wedding  was  celebrated 
September  16th,  1884,  at  Newton  Centre,  Mass.  Dn  Holmes 
once  described  him  in  a  class  poem  thus  : 

"  And  there's  a  fine  youngster  of  excellent  pith, 
Fate  tried  to  conceal  him  by  naming  him  Smith." 

This  hymn  of  his  has  been  very  popular,  and  was  written  in 
1832,  and  first  sung  at  a  children's  Fourth  of  July  celebration  in 
Park  Street  church,  Boston.  It  is  truly  the  American  national 
hymn.  As  admirable  a  tribute  to  its  use  as  we  know  are  these 
anonymous  verses  from  the  Boston  Courier,  September,  1885  : 

PASSING   THE    PRIMARY   SCHOOL. 

Again  each  morning  as  we  pass 

The  city's  streets  along, 
We  hear  the  voices  of  the  class 

Ring  out  the  nation's  song. 

The  small  boys'  treble  piping  clear, 

The  bigger  boys'  low  growl, 
And  from  the  boy  who  has  no  ear 

A  weird,  discordant  howl. 

With  swelling  hearts  we  hear  them  sing 

"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee — " 
From  childish  throats  the  anthem  ring, 

"  Sweet  land  of  liberty  !" 

Their  little  hearts  aglow  with  pride, 

Each  with  exultant  tongue 
Proclaims  :  "  From  every  mountain  side 

Let  freedom's  song  be  sung." 

Let  him  who'd  criticise  the  time, 

Or  scout  the  harmony, 
Betake  him  to  some  other  clime — 

No  patriot  is  he  ! 

From  scenes  like  these  our  grandeur  springs, 

And  we  shall  e'er  be  strong, 
While  o'er  the  land  the  schoolhouse  rings 

Each  day  with  Freedom's  song. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  361 

The  author  has  kindly  helped  our  knowledge  of  his  hymn  by  a 
personal  letter. 

He  says  that  it  "  was  written  in  1832.  I  found  the  tune  "  ["  America"], 
he  adds,  "  in  a  German  music-book  brought  to  this  country  by  the  late 
Mr.  William  C.  Woodbridge,  and  put  into  my  hands  by  Lowell  Mason, 
Esq.,  '  because,'  he  said,  '  I  could  read  German  books  and  he  could  not.' 
It  is  not,  however,  a  translation,  but  the  expression  of  my  thought  at  the 
moment  of  glancing  at  the  tune."  Of  this  tune  we  have  already  treated 
more  fully  under  "  Come,  thou  Almighty  King." 

Says  a  recent  description  : 

"  Dr.  Smith  still  resides  at  Newton  Centre,  Mass.,  which  place  he  has 
made  his  home  for  several  years.  The  author  is  seventy-seven  years  of 
age,  though  in  appearance  he  resembles  a  much  younger  man.  He  has 
a  large,  full  head  of  hair,  with  puffs  around  the  ears  ;  a  pair  of  keen  gray 
eyes  and  a  ring  beard  that  is  almost  entirely  white.  He  has  given  up  all 
literary  work,  with  the  exception  of  conducting  the  large  correspondence 
which  comes  to  him." 

My  dear  Redeemer  and  my  Lord. — Watts. 
This  is   Dr.  Watts's   Hymn    138,  Book   II.,  and  has  the  title, 
* '  The  Power  of  the  Gospel. ' '     There  are  six  stanzas. 

My  faith  looks  up  to  thee. — Palmer. 

In  an  article  upon  "  Hymns  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  in  The  In- 
dependent, the  Rev.  J.  E.  Rankin,  D.  D.,  gives  some  new  facts 
relative  to  this  which  is  the  most  widely-circulated  of  American 
hymns,  if  we  allow  the  exception  of  Dr.  S.  F.  Smith's  "  The 
morning  light  is  breaking,"  and  Dr.  Duffield's  "  Stand  up,  stand 
up  for  Jesus."  Combining  this  account  with  the  best  accounts 
given  by  others,  and  with  Dr.  Ray  Palmer's  own  account  in  his 
collected  Poems,  1875,  we  nave  these  authentic  facts  : 

The  hymn  was  written  in  1830,  but  not  published  (as  a  hymn)  until 
1833.  The  author  was  in  New  York  City,  "  between  his  college  and 
theological  studies,"  and  was  in  poor  health  and  a  teacher  in  a  ladies' 
school.  Dr.  Palmer  says  :  "  I  gave  form  to  what  I  felt,  by  writing,  with 
little  effort,  the  stanzas.  I  recollect  I  wrote  them  with  very  tender  emotion 
and  ended  the  last  line  with  tears."  The  manuscript  was  then  placed  in 
a  pocket-book,  where  it  remained  for  some  time.  Its  true  discoverer  was 
Lowell  Mason,  the  musician,  who  asked  young  Palmer  if  he  had  not  some 
hymn  or  hymns  to  contribute  to  his  new  book.  The  pocket-book  was 
produced,  and  the  little  hymn  (then  between  two  and  three  years  old  and 
never  previously  utilized,  though  it  had  been  in  print  as  a  poem)  was 
brought  to  light.     Dr.   Mason  was  attracted  by  it,  and  desired  a  copy. 


362  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

They  stepped  together  into  a  store  (it  was  in  Boston),  and  the  copy  was 
made  and  taken  away  without  any  further  comment.  On  carefully  re- 
reading the  hymn  at  home,  Dr.  Mason  was  so  much  interested  that  he 
wrote  for  it  the  tune  of  "  Olivet,"  to  which  it  is  usually  sung. 

Two  or  three  days  later  he  again  met  the  author  on  the  street,  and, 
scarcely  waiting  to  salute  him,  he  said  in  substance  :  "  Mr.  Palmer,  you 
may  live  many  years  and  do  many  good  things,  but  I  think  you  will  be 
best  known  to  posterity  as  the  author  of  '  My  faith  looks  up  to  thee.'  " 

The  first  publication  of  this  hymn  really  occurred  in  1832,  but  it  received 
no  particular  notice  in  America.  It  had,  however,  obtained  a  reprint  in 
some  religious  newspapers,  from  one  of  which  the  Rev.  Andrew  Reed, 
D.D.,  of  Scotland,  secured  it  while  he  was  in  this  country.  Dr.  Reed 
took  it,  a  waif,  for  his  prospective  hymn-book,  and  published  it  anony- 
mously. "  It  had,"  says  Dr.  J.  E.  Rankin,  "  several  years  of  transat- 
lantic life  before  it  was  much  known  in  America  ;  and  possibly  was  in- 
debted to  its  foreign  and  uncertain  origin  for  its  first  recognition  here,  as 
many  another  native  production  has  been." 

"As  originally  written"  (says  Mr.  Frederick  Saunders,  in  Evenings 
with  the  Sacred  Poets)  "  the  hymn  consisted  of  six  stanzas  ;  the  first  two 
are  omitted,  four  only  being  given  in  the  Church  collections.  It  has  been 
translated  into  Arabic,  and  much  used  at  missionary  stations  in  Turkey. 
It  has  not  only  been  translated  into  Tamil,  but  into  Tahitian,  the 
Mahratta,  and  will  doubtless  find  its  way  wherever  the  Bible  has  pene- 
trated." We  have  ourselves  seen  it.  in  Chinese,  and  in  fact  it  is  to  be 
found  wherever  American  missionaries  have  rendered  into  native  tongues 
the  hymns  familiar  to  themselves  or  their  home  churches.  Its  first  ap- 
pearance in  America  was  in  Spiritual  Songs  for  Social  Worship  (by  Dr. 
Thomas  Hastings  and  Dr.  Lowell  Mason)  in  1833.  In  this  book  the  tune 
is  entitled,  "  My  faith  looks  up  to  thee,"  but  is  the  same  as  "  Olivet." 

The  Rev.  Ray  Palmer,  D.D.,  is  the  son  of  Honorable 
Thomas  Palmer,  and  was  born  at  Little  Compton,  R.  I. ,  November 
1 2th,  1808.  His  early  education  was  received  at  home,  but  he 
was  soon  out  in  the  world,  at  thirteen,  as  clerk  in  a  dry-goods  store 
in  Boston.  The  lives  of  the  English  hymn-writers,  as  a  rule, 
show  the  presence  of  wealth  and  culture  ;  those  of  Americans — 
equally  as  a  rule — show  the  presence  and  pressure  of  poverty  and 
hard  surroundings.  In  Dr.  Palmer's  case  this  rule  was  unaltered. 
He  was  a  boy  earning  his  daily  bread  in  a  large  city — and  it  was 
providential  that  his  steps  were  soon  directed  to  the  Park  Street 
Congregational  church,  where  Rev.  Sereno  Edwards  Dwight, 
D.D.,  was  then  pastor.  With  this  church  young  Palmer  united, 
and  his  gifts  and  calling  in  the  direction  of  the  ministry  were  soon 
apparent. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  363 

He  now  took  a  three  years'  course  at  Phillips  Academy,  An- 

dover which  holds  to  the  American  colleges  the  same  relation 

which  Eton  or  Rugby  does  to  those  of  England.  From  Andover 
he  entered  Yale  College,  where  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1830.  He  then  pursued  a  theological  course  for  one  year  in  New 
York,  and  for  three  years  at  New  Haven— both  of  these  institu- 
tions representing  a  moderate  Calvinistic  theology. 

For   a   time  Dr.   Palmer  was   associated  at  New    Haven   with 
E.  A.  Andrews,  LL.D.  (author  of  a  well-known  Latin  Grammar  and 
joint  author  of  a  standard  Latin- English  Lexicon)  in  the  conduct 
of  a  ladies'  seminary.     He  was  then  licensed  to  preach,  and  was 
ordained,  1835,  on  reception  of  a  call  from  the  Central  Congrega- 
tional church  of  Bath,  Me.,  where  (as  his  personal  kindness  has 
verified  for  the  present  volume)  some  of  his  best  hymns  were  com- 
posed.     In  1850  he  was  called  to  the  First  Congregational  church 
of  Albany,  N.  Y.     Here  also  some  hymns  were  written.     From 
this  position  he  removed,  in   1865,  to  New  York  City  to  become 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  American  Congregational  Union. 
After  performing  these  duties  until   1878,  he  resigned,  and  has 
since  remained  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  which  was,  for  the   most  part, 
his  residence   during  his  labors  in  New  York  City.      As  he  was 
connected    with    the    Belleville   Avenue    Congregational    church, 
he  became  its  "  pastor";  the  Rev.  George  H.  Hepworth,  D.D., 
being  its  "  preacher,"  and  the  Rev.  William  Hayes  Ward,  D.D. 
(the  editor  of   The  Independent)  being  its  "  superintendent  of  mis- 
sion work."     This  unique  arrangement  was  satisfactory,  and  was 
continued  for  some  years,  although  since  the  beginning  of  1885 
Dr.  Palmer's  duties  have  been  assumed  by  another,  owing  to  his 
increasing  feebleness.     The  writer  would  gratefully  acknowledge 
the  personal  care  with  which  Dr.  Palmer  has  lent  his  aid  to  these 
annotations  of  the  hymns  in  his  friend   Dr.  Robinson's  Laudes 
Domini     The  list  of  Dr.  Palmer's   writings   has   been    given   at 
length  by  another  friend,  Dr.  Hatfield,  in   Poets  of  the  Church. 
We°may  safely  venture  the  assertion  that  he  has  written  more  and 
better  hymns  than  any  other  American.      "  My  faith  looks  up  to 
thee"  would,  of  itself,  have  immortalized  his  name  in  sacred  song. 
Mrs.  Lay  yah  Barakat,  a  native  Syrian  woman,   was  educated   in  the 
schools  at  Beirut,  and  afterward  married  and  went  as  a  teacher  to  Egypt. 
Driven  out  in  1882  by  the  insurrection  of  Arabi  Pasha,  she,  with  her  hus- 


364  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

band  and  child,  came  to  this  country  by  way  of  Malta  and  Marseilles. 
Her  history  is  a  strange  illustration  of  God's  providential  care,  as  they 
were  without  any  direction  or  friends  in  Philadelphia  when  they  landed. 
But  the  Lord  took  them  into  his  own  keeping,  and  brought  them  to  those 
who  had  known  of  her  in  Syria.  While  in  this  country  she  frequently 
addressed  large  audiences,  to  whom  her  deep  earnestness  and  broken  but 
piquant  English  proved  unusually  attractive.  Among  other  incidents  she 
related  that  she  had  been  permitted  to  see  the  conversion  of  her  whole 
family,  who  were  Maronites  of  Mount  Lebanon.  Her  mother,  sixty-two 
years  of  age  (1884),  had  been  taught  this  hymn  by  her  in  Arabic.  They 
would  sit  on  the  house  roof  and  repeat  it  together  ;  and  when  the  news 
came  back  to  Syria  that  the  daughter  was  safe  in  America  the  mother 
could  send  her  no  better  proof  of  her  faith  and  love  than  in  these  words, 
assuring  her  that  her  faith  still  looked  up  to  the  Lamb  of  Calvary. 

My  Father,  God  !  how  sweet  the  sound.  — Doddridge. 

Rev.  Philip  Doddridge  was  the  son  of  an  oil  merchant  in  Lon- 
don, where  he  was  born  June  26th,  1702.  He  became  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  Church  at  Northampton,  and  principal  of  the 
Theological  Academy  there.  He  died  in  Lisbon,  October  26th, 
1 75 1.  His  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul  has  been 
equally  famous  and  blessed  with  his  hymns.  Of  the  hymns  them- 
selves, many,  like  the  present,  have  undergone  material  alterations 
before  they  could  be  generally  adopted.  They  frequently  drop 
from  great  heights  of  pure  devotion  into  prosaic  or  commonplace 
expressions.  Yet  they  are  so  thoroughly  excellent  in  spirit,  and 
oftentimes  so  admirable  in  phraseology,  that  they  are  indispensable 
to  any  collection  of  sacred  verse.  They  belong  with  the  deepest 
experiences  of  the  Christian  life,  and  can  never  be  omitted  or  neg- 
lected. 

Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  were  circulated  in  manuscript  during 
his  life,  but  were  not  printed  until  1755.  This  may,  perhaps,  ac- 
count for  many  changes  which  we  find. 

His  famous  epigram,  "  Live  while  you  live,  the  epicure  would  say,"  is 
a  remarkable  instance  of  this  variation  of  texts.  Upon  examining  it  as  a 
matter  of  curiosity  in  several  different  volumes,  including  Doddridge's 
Collected  Works,  there  were  no  two  that  exactly  agreed  in  language  or 
punctuation  or  in  the  capitalizing  of  words.  Yet  there  was  nothing  es- 
sential by  way  of  difference  among  the  five  or  six  which  were  compared. 
Any  one  desiring  an  excellent  illustration  of  Tischendorf's  statement 
about  the  texts  of  the  New  Testament  can  find  it  in  this  fact. 

The  epigram  was  made  upon  his  family  motto,  "  Dum  vivimus 
vivamus,"  and  stands  thus  in  his  Works  : 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  365 

11  Live  while  you  live,  the  Epicure  will  say, 
And  take  the  pleasure  of  the  passing  day. 
Live  while  you  live,  the  sacred  Preacher  cries, 
And  give  to  God  each  moment  as  it  flies. 
Lord,  in  my  views  let  both  united  be  ; 
I  live  in  pleasure  when  I  live  to  Thee." 

My  God,  how  endless  is  thy  love. — Watts. 

In  the  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts,  this  is  No.  81,  of  the  first  book,  and 
is  entitled  "  A  Song  for  Morning  or  Evening. — Lam.  3  :  23,  and 
Isa.  45  :  7  ;"  and,  indeed,  it  belongs  at  the  close  of  a  sermon  on 
these  portions  of  Scripture. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  group  some  incidents  respecting  Dr.  Watts  under 
this  most  lovely  hymn.  He  was  admitted  to  the  select  society  of  the 
English  poets  through  Dr.  Johnson,  who  included  him  in  the  collection 
commonly  known  as  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Poets.  During  his  father's  im- 
prisonment for  Nonconformity,  the  poet,  then  a  babe  at  the  breast,  was 
often  taken  by  his  mother  to  the  jail-door.  There  she  would  sit  on  a  stone 
near  the  entrance  with  him  in  her  arms.  He  was  the  oldest  of  nine  chil- 
dren, and  one  of  the  earliest— if  not  the  very  earliest— of  his  attempts  at 
verse  was  the  couplet  prepared  for  the  prize  of  a  farthing  : 

"  I  write  not  for  a  farthing,  but  to  try 
How  I  your  farthing  authors  can  outvie." 

Watts's  memoranda  of  his  life  and  learning  may  also  be  noted  : 

"  Began  to  learn  Latin  of  my  father 1678. 

To  Latin  school  and  writing 1680. 

Began  to  learn  Greek  1683,  or  before. 

I  had  ye  smallpox 1683. 

Learnt  French 1684,  1685. 

Learnt  Hebrew 1687,  or  1688." 

"  That  is  a  good  sermon,"  says  Watts,  "  which  brings  my  heart  nearer 
to  God,  which  makes  the  grace  of  Christ  sweet  to  my  soul,  and  the  com- 
mands of  Christ  easy  and  delightful.  That  is  an  excellent  discourse,  in- 
deed, which  enables  me  to  mortify  some  unruly  sin,  to  vanquish  a  strong 
temptation,  and  weans  me  from  all  the  enticements  of  this  lower  world  ; 
that  which  bears  me  above  all  the  disquietude  of  life  ;  which  fits  me  for 
the  hour  of  death,  and  makes  me  ready  and  desirous  to  appear  before 
Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord."  "  Divine  love,"  he  thought,  "  did  not  send 
dreaming  preachers  to  call  dead  sinners  to  life." 

Burder's  version  of  the  anecdote  about  Watts's  size  is  that,  on  hearing 
some  one  in  a  coffee-house  ask,  "  What  !  is  that  the  great  Dr.  Watts  ?"  he 
replied  immediately  in  a  stanza  from  the  Lyrical  Poems  : 

11  Were  I  so  tall  to  reach  the  pole, 

Or  grasp  the  ocean  with  my  span, 
I  must  be  measur'd  by  my  soul : 

The  mind's  the  standard  of  a  man." 


366  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

This  is  frequently  misquoted.     It  occurs  in  the  ode  on  "  False  Great- 
ness." 

Dr.  Watts  was  also  something  of  an  artist,  and  could  use  his  pencil 
with  facility.  His  opinions  were  larger  than  the  views  of  those  about 
him,  and  in  spite  of  the  dark  and  gloomy  utterances  of  some  of  his  less- 
known  hymns,  he  was  a  man  of  generous  and  liberal  theology.  His  ver- 
sion of  the  Psalms  achieved  what  Merrick  in  vain  attempted— even  with 
Tattersall's  help.  Four  thousand  copies  were  sold  in  the  first  year  of 
their  publication. 

My  God,  and  is  thy  table  spread. — Doddridge. 

The  "  New  Version"  of  the  Psalms  was  introduced  by  the  gen- 
eral order  of  William  III.,  December  3d,  1696.  At  the  end  of 
this  New  Version  occur  several  hymns,  of  which  this  is  one -and 
"  Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing,"  by  Charles  Wesley,  is  another. 
The  history  of  this  addition — evidently  much  later  than  the  "  New 
Version" — has  been  traced  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  year  18 18. 
At  that  time  an  anonymous  "  Dissenting  University  printer" 
filled  up  certain  blank  pages  of  his  "  form"  with  six  hymns,  which 
were  not  objected  to,  and  have  not  been  cancelled. 

Nor  is  it  merely  true  that  this  piece  was  thus  added  ;  but  it, 
above  all  the  others,  has  been  made  welcome.  Its  doctrine  has 
certainly  offended  some  Church  of  England  critics  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  called  by  Rev.  L.  C.  Biggs,  "  our  most  popular 
and  very  beautiful  "  sacramental  hymn.  The  date  is  convention- 
ally given  as  1755. 

Nothing  so  well  expresses  the  calmness  of  the  poet's  own  trust 
as  his  letter  to  a  friend  who,  about  the  year  1720,  condoled  with 
him  on  being  "  buried  alive"  at  Kibworth.  This  was  in  Leices- 
tershire where  he  was  studying  for  the  ministry  under  the  patronage 
of  Dr.  Clarke  of  St.  Albans.     Doddridge  says  : 

"  Here  I  stick  close  to  those  delightful  studies  which  a  favoring  Provi- 
dence has  made  the  business  of  my  life.  One  day  passeth  away  after  an- 
other, and  I  only  know  that  it  passeth  pleasantly  with  me. 

11  As  for  the  world  about  me,  I  have  very  little  concern  with  it.  I  live 
almost  like  a  tortoise  shut  up  in  its  shell,  almost  always  in  the  same  town, 
the  same  house,  the  same  chamber  ;  yet  I  live  like  a  prince — not,  indeed, 
in  the  pomp  of  greatness,  but  the  pride  of  liberty  ;  master  of  my  books, 
master  of  my  time,  and,  I  hope  I  may  add,  master  of  myself.  I  can  will- 
ingly give  up  the  charms  of  London,  the  luxury,  the  company,  the  popu- 
larity of  it,  for  the  secret  pleasures  of  rational  employment  and  self-ap- 
probation ;  retired  from  applause  and  reproach,  from  envy  and  contempt, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  367 

and  the  destructive  baits  of  avarice  and  ambition.  So  that,  instead  of 
lamenting  it  as  my  misfortune,  you  should  congratulate  me  upon  it  as  my 
happiness,  that  I  am  confined  in  an  obscure  village,  seeing  it  gives  me  so 
many  valuable  advantages  to  the  most  important  purposes  of  devotion 
and  philosophy,  and,  I  hope  I  may  add,  usefulness,  too." 

Frances  Ridley  Havergal  has  written  in  the  autobiography, 
which  she  left  in  an  incomplete  shape,  that  she  was  always  deeply 
affected  by  the  idea  of  the  Communion.  Her  father,  Rev.  W.  H. 
Havergal,  denied  her  permission,  as  a  child,  to  remain  at  the  ser- 
vice before  she  was  confirmed.  She  would  therefore  creep  around 
into  the  vestry  and  listen  to  all  that  she  could  hear,  and  would  sit 
there  during  the  entire  service  in  profound  emotion.  Once  this 
hymn  was  given  out  in  church  before  the  sermon,  and  when  she 
caught  the  lines,  "  My  God,  and  is  thy  table  spread,"  she  was 
greatly  moved  by  them  and  wept  bitterly.  So  earnest  was  her  de- 
sire to  sit  among  those  who  remembered  the  death  of  Christ  ! 

My  God,  how  wonderful  thou  art. — Faber. 

This  is  from  the  hymn,  "  Our  Heavenly  Father" — which  has 
nine  stanzas. 

Frederick  William  Faber  had  a  marvellous  insight  into  the  char- 
acter and  attributes  of  God.  No  uninspired  poet  has  ever  written 
more  grandly  than  in  such  stanzas  as  these  : 

"  Thus  doth  thy  hospitable  greatness  lie 
Outside  us  like  a  boundless  sea  ; 
We  cannot  lose  ourselves  where  all  is  home, 
Nor  drift  away  from  thee. 
****** 

"  Thus  doth  thy  grandeur  make  us  grand  ourselves  ; 
'Tis  goodness  [only]  bids  us  fear  ; 
Thy  greatness  makes  us  brave  as  children  are, 
When  those  they  love  are  near. 

11  Great  God  !  our  lowliness  takes  heart  to  play 
Beneath  the  shadow  of  thy  state  ; 
The  only  comfort  of  our  littleness 
Is  that  thou  art  so  great." 

But  this  is  by  no  means  a  rare  instance  of  his  remarkable  power 
of  expression.  Here  is  something  from  one  of  his  least-observed 
poems  which  is  very  profound  and  true.  It  is  indelibly  associated, 
in  the  mind   of  the  present  writer,  with  a  certain   quiet  Sunday 


36S  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

afternoon  and  with  the  charm  of  the  interpreter's  voice.     The  sun 
was  slanting  through  the  trees,  and  two  listened  as  one  read  : 
"  Is  it  hard  to  serve  God,  timid  soul  ?     Hast  thou  found 

Gloomy  forests,  dark  glens,  mountain-tops  on  thy  way  ? 
All  the  hard  would  be  easy,  all  the  tangles  unwound 
Wouldst  thou  only  desire,  as  well  as  obey. 
"  For  the  lack  of  desire  is  the  ill  of  all  ills  ; 

Many  thousands  through  it  the  dark  pathway  have  trod, 
The  balsam,  the  wine  of  predestinate  wills 
Is  a  jubilant  pining  and  longing  for  God!* 

My  God,  my  Father  ! — blissful  name  ! — Steele. 
The  title   to  this  piece  in  the  Poems  by   Theodosia,    1760,   is 
11  Humble  Reliance."     It  has  eight  stanzas. 

My  God,  is  any  hour  so  sweet. — C.  Elliott. 
The  fact  that  "  grace  runs  in  the  blood  "  was  never  better  illus- 
trated than  in  this  instance.  Miss  Charlotte  Elliott  had  for  a 
maternal  grandfather  the  devout  and  gifted  Henry  Venn,  minister 
of  Huddersfield,  and  author  of  "  The  Complete  Duty  of  Man." 
His  daughter  Eling  (a  curious  affectation  in  orthography)  married 
Mr.  Charles  Elliott  of  Clapham  and  Brighton,  and  Charlotte  was 
the  third  daughter  of  six  children.  Two  of  her  brothers  were 
clergymen,  and  Rev.  John  Venn  was  her  uncle.  From  her  child- 
hood she  was  surrounded  by  culture  and  piety,  and,  like  many 
another  brilliant  woman  under  a  high  musical  and  artistic  educa- 
tion, relapsed  into  a  state  of  chronic  ill-health.  Yet  this  very  per- 
sonal sympathy  with  suffering  and  sorrow  has  much  to  do  with  the 
inward  reach  and  grasp  of  her  poetry.  In  such  a  case,  and  in  the 
similar  instances  of  Anne  Steele,  Frances  Ridley  Havergal,  and 
Phoebe  Ann  Brown,  one  naturally  recalls  Mrs.  Browning's  poem, 
"  A  Musical  Instrument."  That  gifted  woman,  to  whom  in  ill- 
ness this  same  inspiration  had  come,  could  write  : 

"  The  true  gods  sigh  for  the  cost  and  the  pain — 
For  the  reed  that  grows  nevermore  again 
As  a  reed  with  the  reeds  of  the  river." 

But  in  Christian  experience  it  is  this  cost  which  is  compensated  by 
the  crown— a  cost  which  is  paid  by  the  one  who 

"  Strikes  the  strings 
With  fingers  that  ache  and  bleed," 

and  a  crown  which  is  beheld  by  those  who  listen  to  the  strain. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  369 

An  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  bruise  and  wrench  and  pain  are 
below  the  noblest  of  our  hymns  will  do  much  to  make  us  devout 
in  our  use  of  them,  and  reverent  in  their  handling.  Many  of 
Miss  Elliott's  verses,  for  instance,  were  written  during  illness,  and 
out  in  an  arbor  overlooking  the  beautiful  bay  of  Torquay. 

Charlotte  Elliott  was  born  March  18th,  1789,  at  Westfield 
Lodge,  Brighton,  England.  In  1821  she  became,  and  after  that 
continued  to  be,  a  confirmed  invalid.  In  1822,  this  affliction  was 
blessed  to  her  spiritual  uplifting  through  the  instrumentality  of 
that  man  of  God,  Dr.  Caesar  Malan,  of  Geneva,  who  was  then  on 
a  visit  to  her  father's  house.  From  this  date,  although  at  some 
times  better  in  health  than  at  others,  she  was  never  really  anything 
but  a  helpless  sufferer,  sinking  in  1829  into  a  condition  of  feeble- 
ness from  which  no  physical  relief  was  to  be  found.  Her  father 
died  in  1833,  and  about  this  period  she  was  able  to  derive  a  great 
deal  of  consolation  from  the  employment  of  her  pen  in  prose  and 
verse.  She  assumed  the  editorial  care  of  The  Christian  Remem- 
brancer Pocket- Book,  an  annual  which  she  conducted  for  twenty  five 
years  after  the  previous  editor,  her  personal  friend,  Miss  Harriet 
Kiernan,  relinquished  it. 

To  the  Invalid's  Hymn-Book,  published  in  1836,  Miss  Elliott 
contributed  one  hundred  and  fifteen  pieces,  including  the  one  now 
so  famous  and  dear,  "Just  as  lam."  She  wrote  also  for  other 
publications.  In  1835  she  visited  Scotland  ;  in  1837,  Switzer- 
land ;  and  she  had  already  been  in  Normandy  in  1823. 

On  the  death  of  her  mother  and  two  sisters  in  1843.  tne^r  home 
was  broken  up  ;  and  in  1845,  herself  and  her  sole  surviving  sister 
went  to  the  Continent.  They  finally  fixed  upon  Torquay  as  a 
place  of  residence,  and  for  fourteen  years  it  was  their  abode.  After 
this,  they  returned  to  Brighton,  from  which  town,  in  1867,  Miss 
Elliott  once  ventured  for  a  short  sojourn  in  a  neighboring  village. 
With  this  exception,  she  was  always  confined  to  her  limited  horizon 
at  Brighton;  and  here,  September  22d,  1871,  she  gently  passed 
away,  aged  eighty- two  years.  Considering  her  physical  infirmities, 
this  was  a  great  age  ;  and  it  can  be  truly  said  of  her  that  length  of 
days  taught  wisdom  to  all  who  beheld  her.  She  was  abundantly 
charitable,  patient  and  devout,  and  she  was  continually  adding  to 
her  hymns  and  other  verses  until  the  close  of  her  life.  At  four- 
score, she  wrote  as  smoothly  and  sweetly  as  ever. 


37©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

My  God,  my  Father  !  while  I  stray. — C.  Elliott. 

This  hymn  is  reprinted  in  the  Free  Church  Hymn-Bookirom  Miss 
Elliott's  Hours  of  Sorrow  Cheered  and  Comforted  (fifth  edition, 
1856).  The  second  "my"  is  incorrect,  for  she  wrote  it  "  My 
God  and  Father."  The  stanza,  "  If  thou  shouldst  call  me  to  re- 
sign," was  originally  put  in  the  past  tense,  as  a  personal  state- 
ment of  her  own  history  :  ' '  Though  thou  hast  called  me  to  re- 
sign."    There  are  eight  stanzas  altogether. 

Miss  Elliott's  description  of  her  religious  experience  is  worth 
quoting.  She  says  of  God's  knowledge  of  her  illness  and  conse- 
quent sufferings  : 

"  He  knows,  and  He  alone,  what  it  is,  day  after  day,  hour  after  hour, 
to  fight  against  bodily  feelings  of  almost  overpowering  weakness,  languor 
and  exhaustion,  to  resolve  not  to  yield  to  slothfulness,  depression  and  in- 
stability, such  as  the  body  causes  me  to  long  to  indulge,  but  to  rise  every 
morning  determined  to  take  for  my  motto  :  '  If  any  man  will  come  after 
Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  daily,  and  follow  Me.'  " 

My  God,  my  King,  thy  various  praise. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  has  this   as  his   version   of   Ps.  145,  L.  M. :   "The 
Greatness  of  God."     It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

My  God,  my  Life,  my  Love.  — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns  this  is  Book  II.,  No.  93,  in  eight  stanzas. 
The  title  is,  "  God  all  in  all,"  with  a  reference  to  Ps.  73  :  25. 

My  God  !  permit  my  tongue. — Watts. 
This  is  a  version  of   Ps.   63,  S.  M.,  with  the  title,  "  Seeking 
God,"  and  is  in  eight  stanzas. 

My  God,  the  covenant  of  thy  love.  — Doddridge. 
This  is  No.  21  in  Dr.  Doddridge's  Hymns.      Its  title  is,  "  Sup- 
port  in    God's    Covenant   under   Domestic   Troubles. — 11   Sam. 
23  :  5."     It  has  five  stanzas. 

My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys. — Watts. 
We  have  this  as   Book   II.,  No.  54,  Dr.  Watts's  Hymns.     Its 
title  is,  "  God's  Presence  in  Light  and  Darkness.  " 

"  And  as  the  ancient  Hebrews  rejoiced  at  the  shining  forth  of  the  glori- 
ous shekinah,  so  may  our  spirits  feel,  while  contemplating  this  heavenly 
light,  that  our  treasure  and  our  heart  are  there  ;  and,  armed  by  divine 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  37 1 

love,  and  lit  up  by  the  coruscations  of  glory  which  radiate  from  that 
throne  of  grace,  we  may  even  here  exultingly  exclaim  : 

•  The  opening  heavens  around  me  shine 
With  beams  of  sacred  bliss, 
If  Jesus  shows  his  mercy  mine 
And  whispers  I  am  his.'  " 

So  writes  George  Smith  at  the  close  of  a  splendid  discourse  in  his  Har- 
mony of  the  Divine  Dispensations. 

My  gracious  Redeemer  I  love. — Francis. 

The  fervid  genius  of  the  Welsh  people  has  its  place  in  English 
hymnology  not  merely  through  the  verses  of  William  Williams, 
but  also  by  reason  of  Benjamin  Francis,  whose  hymn  is  now  be- 
fore us.  Not  until  his  twentieth  year  did  he  learn  the  English 
tongue.  He  was  born  in  1734,  and  joined  the  Baptist  Church  at 
fifteen  years  of  age.  After  a  preliminary  education  at  Bristol 
{tonjours  Bristol  !)  beginning  in  1753,  he  was  regularly  prepared, 
by  theological  studies,  for  the  ministry.  In  1757  he  had  preached 
to  acceptance  and  was  ordained  at  Horsley  in  1758. 

His  preaching  was  in  English,  but  he  often  fell  back  into  Welsh 
on  his  visits  to  his  home.  With  the  years,  his  congregation  largely 
increased,  and  he  remained  with  them,  declining  calls  to  London 
and  elsewhere,  until  his  death,  December  14th,  1799. 

The  present  hymn  is  in  Rippori s  Selection,  1787,  and  has  six 
double  stanzas.  Like  all  the  writers  of  that  time,  Francis  has  a 
fondness  for  "  Meshech"  as  a  synonym  for  the  abode  and  home 
of  the  impenitent. 

My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt. — Borthwick,  tr. 

The  original  of  this  hymn  is  the  German  lyric  of  Benjamin 
Schmolke,  "  Meinjesu,  wie  duwillst." 

He  was  born  Dec.  21st,  1672,  at  Brauchitsdorf,  near  Liegnitz, 
in  Silesia.  He  was  the  son  of  a  poor  minister,  and  would  have  ex- 
perienced much  difficulty  in  securing  an  education  if  some  benevo- 
lent friends  had  not  supplied  the  means.  It  is  related  of  him  that 
once,  while  his  studies  were  in  progress,  he  preached  in  his  father's 
pulpit,  taking  the  text,  "lam  poor  and  needy,  yet  the  Lord 
thinketh  on  me,"  a  sermon  which  so  touched  the  heart  of  a  wealthy 
relative  that  he  made  a  large  contribution  toward  his  expenses. 

In  the  year  1694  the  young  man  became  his  father's  curate,  and 
was  much  beloved  by  the  congregation   owing  to  his  excellent 


372  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

pulpit  abilities.  Having  married  in  1702,  he  received  the  church 
at  Schweidnitz,  where  he  was  able  to  overcome  the  devices  of  the 
Jesuits  through  his  gentle  and  peaceable  character.  In  memory  of 
a  conflagration  which  destroyed  half  the  town,  Schmolke  wrote,  in 
1 71 8,  a  hymn  which  is  still  used  on  the  anniversary  of  that  sad 
event. 

In  the  year  1 730,  the  good  man  was  stricken  by  paralysis  and 
partially  lost  his  sight ;  but  though  he  remained  at  his  post  for  five 
years  longer,  this  courage  of  the  wounded  soldier  could  not  always 
sustain  him.  He  died  on  the  12th  of  February,  1737.  His  pat- 
tern was  Gerhardt,  and  he  followed  close  after  his  master. 

"  As  the  olive  did  not  yield  its  oil  before  it  was  bruised,  so," 
said  the  rabbis,  "  Israel  never  produced  the  fruits  of  righteousness 
before  the  afflictions  of  God  came  upon  them. ' '  Perhaps  it  was 
from  some  such  sense  of  the  nature  of  the  divine  discipline  that 
this  hymn  was  so  great  a  favorite  with  the  late  Dr.  T.  H.  Skinner, 
of  Union  Theological  Seminary. 

My  heart  lies  dead,  and  no  increase. — Herbert. 

The  biography  of  "  holy  George  Herbert"  was  written  by  the 
author  of  The  Complete  Angler,  the  excellent  Izaak  Walton.  It 
would  be  a  source  of  unmitigated  delight  to  the  present  writer  if 
he  could  use  the  space  required  to  set  forth,  properly  and  fully, 
the  merits  of  the  composer  of  this  hymn.     But  that  may  not  be. 

George  Herbert  was  born,  April  3d,  1593,  in  the  ancestral 
castle  of  the  Herberts  at  Colebrook,  County  ot  Monmouth,  Eng- 
land. He  had  a  mother  whose  judicious  care  and  training  did 
much  for  him  from  his  earliest  years,  both  for  his  health  and  his 
morals.  "  He  seemed,"  says  quaint  Izaak,  "  to  be  marked  out 
for  piety,  and  to  become  the  care  of  heaven,  and  of  a  particular 
angel  to  guard  and  guide  him."  His  education  was  rounded  off 
at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  where  he  entered  as  a  "  King's 
Scholar"  in  1608.  He  was  afterward  "  orator"  of  his  university, 
and  turned  the  compliments  required  at  the  advent  of  royal  and 
distinguished  personages. 

In  1630,  Herbert  married  a  fit  helpmate  in  Jane  Danvers,  whom 
he  met,  courted  and  espoused  in  three  days.  This  haste  is  con- 
doned by  the  fact  that  the  parties  had  been  diligently  brought  to- 
gether by  mutual  friends,  and  that  they  were  well  aware  of  each 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  373 

other's  antecedents  and  qualities.  Herbert  was  first  settled  at 
Lay  ton  Ecclesia  in  1626,  where  he  rebuilt  the  church  and  revived 
the  congregation.  After  his  marriage  he  was  made  rector  uf  Bemer- 
ton,  where,  also,  he  reconstructed  both  place  and  people.  From 
April  26th,  1630,  for  about  three  years,  the  holy  man  lived  here, 
in  full  illustration  of  his  own  beautiful  treatise,  The  Priest  to  the 
Temple.  He  occupied  any  moments  of  leisure  by  the  cultivation 
of  sacred  music  ;  and  the  anecdotes  of  his  patience,  generosity  and 
gentleness  are  numerous  and  touching. 

The  story  of  his  last  hours  shows  that  his  piety  produced  a  pro- 
found impression  on  all  who  were  permitted  to  enter  his  chamber, 
and  converse  with  him  ere  he  went  home  to  God.  Among  his 
dying  words  were  such  as  these  :  "  I  shall  now  suddenly  (with  Job) 
make  my  bed  also  in  the  dark  ;  and  I  praise  God,  I  am  prepared 
for  it."  .  .  .  "  My  hope  is,  that  I  shall  shortly  leave  this  valley 
of  tears,  and  be  free  from  all  fevers  and  pain."  .  .  .  "Every 
day  that  I  have  lived  hath  taken  part  of  my  appointed  time  from 
me.  I  shall  not  live  the  less  time,  for  having  lived  this,  and  the 
day  past."  .  .  .  And  on  the  Sunday  before  his  death  he  rose 
suddenly  from  his  couch,  called  for  one  of  his  instruments,  took  it 

in  hand  and  said  : 

"  My  God,  my  God, 
My  music  shall  find  thee, 

And  every  string 
Shall  have  his  attribute  to  sing." 

Then,  having  tuned  it,  he  sang  : 

"  The  Sundays  of  man's  life, 
Threaded  together  on  Time's  string, 
Make  bracelets  to  adorn  the  wife 
Of  the  eternal,  glorious  King  : 
On  Sundays,  heaven's  door  stands  ope  ; 
Blessings  are  plentiful  and  rife, 
More  plentiful  than  hope." 

Thus,  in  February,  1632,  he  passed  away  with  songs  of  deliver- 
ance. "  He  pleased  God,"  says  good  Izaak,  "  and  was  beloved 
of  him  ;  so  that,  whereas  he  lived  among  sinners,  he  translated 
him." 

My  opening  eyes  with  rapture  see. — Hutton. 

Our  hymn  is  from  the  appendix  to  the  ' '  Memoirs  of  James 
Hutton,  Comprising  the  Annals  of  his  Life  and  Connection  with 


374  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  United  Brethren  :  by  Daniel  Benham,"  1856.  Hutton  was 
the  cousin  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  and  was  born  in  London,  Septem- 
ber 3d,  1 71 5.  His  father  was  a  clergyman,  and  gave  this  son  a 
good  education.  Afterward  he  apprenticed  him  to  a  bookseller. 
But,  having  met  with  the  Wesleys,  our  author  was  religiously  im- 
pressed, and  commenced  holding  meetings  in  his  bookstore  at 
about  the  same  time  as  their  Georgia  voyage  was  undertaken.  He 
seems  also  to  have  been  greatly  inclined  toward  the  Moravians 
meanwhile  ;  and  in  1739  he  visited  Herrnhut,  as  Miller  states, 
whose  account,  mainly,  we  are  following.  There  he  met  Count 
von  Zinzendorf,  and  was  by  him  in  1740  married  to  Louise  Brandt. 

Hutton  was  the  printer  of  the  second  Moravian  Hymn-Book,  in 
1 74 1,  and  of  their  Manual  0/  Doctrine,  in  1742.  He  continued 
his  business  until  1745.  In  1754  a  fuller  collection  of  hymns  was 
issued  by  the  Brethren,  followed  by  another  in  1769.  Then  in 
1789,  both  of  the  previous  books  being  out  of  print,  another  col- 
lection was  prepared.  That  of  1754  was  "  too  voluminous,"  as 
the  earlier  one  appears  to  have  been  considered  too  small.  The 
one  issued  in  1789  was  largely  based  upon  the  German  Moravian 
book,  printed  at  Barby,  1788.  Many  new  translations  were  made 
from  the  German  tongue  at  this  time.  The  list  we  have  mentioned 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  including  all  the  hymn-books  used  by 
the  United  Brethren,  but  merely  those  which  are  ordinarily  noted. 

Hutton' s  hymns  are  not  in  these  later  books — at  least  not  in 
such  a  form  as  to  be  easily  recognized.  The  collection  of  1754 
contained  several  of  his  pieces,  and  perhaps  this  was  the  source 
from  which  succeeding  compilers  have  drawn.  "  J.  Hutton  "  is 
not  to  be  confounded  with  his  contemporary,  "  J.  Hupton."  This 
Job  Hupton  was  one  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  associates,  who  died 
in  1849,  aged  eighty-eight. 

In  style,  the  hymns  of  Hutton  follow  that  of  Zinzendorf.  He 
was  a  thoroughly  devout  man,  and  partook  of  the  missionary  zeal 
of  his  friends  to  such  an  extent  as  to  relinquish  his  secular  busi- 
ness, and  to  engage  entirely  in  the  cause.  For  some  years  he  re- 
sided on  the  Continent,  in  order  to  advance  their  church-work,  and 
in  1749  he  was  made  a  deacon  among  them.  He  also  served  for 
awhile  as  president  of  the  "Society  for  the  Furtherance  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Heathen" — one  of  the  noblest  missionary 
agencies  of  modern  times.     Among  his  other  labors  he  wrote  an 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  375 

account  of  the  life  and  character  of  Count  von  Zinzendorf,  1755. 
His  Memoirs  show  that  he  was  intimate  with  the  Wesleys,  with 
Cennick  and  others,  who  are  well  known  to  us  by  their  Christian 
fervor  as  well  as  by  their  immortal  songs.  Hence  he  is  by  no 
means  to  be  overlooked  in  any  study  of  those  men  and  their  times. 
He  died  May  3d,  1795,  and  was  buried  at  Chelsea,  in  England. 

My  Saviour,  I  would  own. — Mrs.  Taylor. 

Mrs.  R.  H.  Taylor  is  an  English  lady,  the  wife  of  Herbert  W. 
Taylor,  a  member  of  the  religious  body  known  as  Plymouth 
Brethren.  This  hymn  is  not  in  the  usual  collections.  We  are 
only  able  to  locate  it  in  Scobell's  Plymouth  Brethren  Collection,  at- 
tributed to  "R.  H.  Taylor." 

My  Saviour  !  my  almighty  Friend. — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  has  afforded  us  this  version  of  "  Ps.  71,  Second 
Part,  C.  M.,  w.  15,  14,  16,  23,  22,  24,"  with  the  title,  "  Christ  our 
Strength  and  Righteousness."     It  has  seven  stanzas. 

My  Saviour,  whom  absent  I  love.  — Cowper. 

This  hymn  is  more  frequently  and  properly  arranged  under  the 
line  "  To  Jesus  the  Crown  of  my  hope."  Its  date  is  stated  to  be 
1783,  or  1800,  and  it  is  often  called  "  Cowper' s  last  hymn." 
The  statement  is  made  that  it  was  composed  after  the  contributions 
to  the  Olney  Collection,  and  "  was  probably  the  last  hymn  Cowper 
wrote."     In  1796  Cowper  writes  to  Lady  Hesketh  : 

"  All  my  themes  of  misery  may  be  summed  in  one  word.  He  who 
made  me  regrets  that  ever  He  did.  Many  years  have  passed  since  I 
learned  this  terrible  truth  from  Himself,  and  the  interval  has  been  spent 
accordingly."  The  next  year,  and  to  the  same  person,  he  says  :  "  It  is 
unnecessary  to  add  that  this  comes  from  the  most  miserable  of  beings, 
whom  a  terrible  minute  made  such."  In  1798  he  speaks  of  everything 
being  a  "  universal  blank." 

In  1799  he  wrote  to  Newton  thanking  him  for  a  book  and  adding  :  "  If 
the  book  afforded  me  any  amusement,  or  suggested  to  me  any  reflections, 
they  were  only  such  as  served  to  embitter,  if  possible,  still  more  the 
present  moment  by  a  sad  retrospect  of  those  days  when  I  thought  myself 
secure  of  an  eternity  to  be  spent  with  the  spirits  of  such  men  as  he  whose 
life  afforded  the  subject  of  it.  But  I  was  little  aware  of  what  I  had  to  ex- 
pect, and  that  a  storm  was  at  hand  which  in  one  terrible  moment  would 
darken,  and  in  another  still  more  terrible  blot  out  that  prospect  forever. 
Adieu,  dear  sir,  whom  in  those  days  I  called  dear  friend  with  feelings  that 
justified  the  appellation." 


376  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Thus  in  the  midst  of  an  ever-gathering  gloom,  Cowper's  soul 
went  "  shuddering  through  the  darkened  spheres."  He  was  re- 
vising his  translation  of  Homer  ;  Mrs.  Unwin  was  dead  ;  Newton 
was  away  in  London — and  the  light  had  gone  out  in  the  temple  of 
the  Lord  !  The  last  original  poem  of  which  we  have  cognizance 
is  "  The  Castaway,"  founded  on  an  incident  in  Anson's  voyage, 
not  then  read  for  the  first  time,  but  recalled  after  many  years. 

Why  this  present  hymn  should  be  so  confidently  assigned  to 
Cowper's  pen  is  not  easily  explained.  Mrs.  Oliphant,  Cowper's 
latest  (though  not  his  best)  biographer,  does  not  include  it  among 
the  autobiographic  pieces,  nor  mention  it  in  any  way.  The  free, 
glad  utterance  of  this  song  of  aspiration  is  what  we  would  have 
wished  from  the  poet's  dying  muse.  But  it  is  much  against  our 
wishes  that  his  final  words  to  his  physician  were,  ' '  I  feel  unutter- 
able despair."  There  are  few  finer  passages  than  that  in  which 
(in  his  Theology  in  the  English  Poets)  Stopford  Brooke  depicts 
Cowper's  state  of  mind  : 

"The  weight  of  this  dreadful  belief  did  not  always  oppress  him.  It 
came  and  went  like  dark  clouds  upon  an  April  day  of  sunshine,  and,  till 
the  last  three  years,  his  life  had  many  intervals  of  happiness.  Many 
lovely  landscapes  lay  between  these  three  valleys  of  the  Shadow  of  Death, 
where  he  rested  and  was  at  peace  ;  sweet  idleness  and  fruitful  contempla- 
tion—tender friendship  and  simple  pleasures— hours  where  charming  hu- 
mor and  simple  pathos  ran  through  one  another,  and  interchanged  their 
essence  like  the  colors  of  a  sunset  sea— days  of  sweet  fidelity  to  Nature  in 
her  quietest  and  most  restoring  moods — times  when  the  peace  that  passeth 
all  understanding  made  him  as  a  child  with  God  ;  but  in  the  end  the  dark- 
ness settled  down,  deep  and  impenetrable  :  and  the  Poet,  who  of  all  Eng- 
lish artists,  has  written,  to  my  mind,  the  noblest  hymns  for  depth  of 
religious  feeling  and  for  loveliness  of  quiet  style  ;  whose  life  was  blame- 
less as  the  water-lilies  which  he  loved,  and  the  way  of  life  of  which  on 
silent  streams  he  made  his  own  ;  whose  heart  breathed  the  sweetest  air 
of  natural  piety,  and  yet  could  sympathize  with  the  supersensuous  world 
in  which  Guyon  lived — died  in  ghastly  hopelessness,  refusing  comfort  to 
the  last." 

So  he  might  have  written  it,  as  all  the  indexes  affirm. 
"  Brethren,"  saith  the  apostle,  "  if  our  heart  condemn  us,  God 
is  greater  than  our  heart,  and  ktioweih  all  things  /" 

But  it  may  seem  that  this  piece  deserves  rather  more  of  our  critical 
notice  than  such  a  brief  dismissal.  It  has  been  greatly  varied  in  different 
collections. 

In  Southey's  edition  of  Cowper's  Works  we  have  only  eight  lines.     This 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  377 

stanza  is  called  "  Fragment  of  a  Hymn,"  and  is  printed  among  the  Olney 
contributions  as  No.  67.  The  best  texts— those,  that  is  to  say,  which  are 
critical  and  scholarly — adopt  this  arrangement  and  leave  the  hymn  incom- 
plete. The  standard  editions  on  both  sides  of  the  water  go  no  further, 
in  other  words,  than  the  printing  of  these  eight  lines.  Rossetti's  and 
the  Littell  and  Brown  editions  are  notable  examples. 

But  in  1835  Rev.  T.  S.  Grimshawe,  a  devout  admirer  of  the  poet,  re- 
published his  works  in  eight  octavo  volumes.  Among  the  Olney  hymns 
he  places  this  one,  but  he  enlarges  it  to  eight  stanzas,  and  marks  it  with 
his  critical  approval.  His  language  merits  quotation,  as  it  helps  us  to 
dissect  his  capacity  to  form  a  judgment  upon  doubtful  points. 

"  The  total  number  [of  the  Olney  hymns]  contributed  by  Cowper  has 

been  variously  stated.     Hayley  estimates  at  68.     Other  biographers  have 

considerably  reduced  the  number.     Some  editions  assign  63  ;  others,  65. 

We  trust  that  we  have  the  means  of  deciding  this  controverted  subject. 

So  far  as  the  original  edition,  now  lying  before  us,  published  under  the 

superintendence  of  Newton  himself  and  bearing  the  date  of  1779,  may  be 

considered  as  the  most  authentic  guide  and  criterion,  we  are  enabled  to 

state  that  the  original  number  distinguished  by  the  initial  letter  C.  (Cow- 

per's  signature)  is  67.     If  to  the  above  we  add  a  hymn  not  inserted  in 

Newton's  original  edition,  because  subsequently  composed,  but  which  we 

have  been  enabled  to  authenticate  as  the  production  of   Cowper,  the  total 

number  entitled  to  be  ascribed  to  his  pen  is  68.     The  hymn  that  we  allude 

to  begins  : 

1  To  Jesus  the  Crown  of  my  hope/  " 

Following  Grimshawe,  other  editions  of  Cowper's  poems  include  this 
hymn  in  its  lengthened  condition.  Bell,  in  his  London  reprint  of  1854, 
frankly  says  that  all  the  stanzas  after  the  second  "  are  adopted  from  Mr. 
Grimshawe's  edition.  The  first  two  stanzas  only  are  given  by  Mr. 
Southey  with  the  title,  '  Fragment  of  a  Hymn.'  " 

Remembering  that  Grimshawe's  text  only  dates  from  1835,  we  confess 
to  some  little  scepticism  about  all  except  the  first  two  stanzas.  We  may 
ask  such  pertinent  questions  as,  "  Why  did  not  Mr.  Southey  find  all  the 
other  stanzas  when  he  found  the  first  two?"  and,  "What  is  the  proof 
which  enables  Mr.  Grimshawe  to  'authenticate'  the  last  six?"  But  we 
'    have  a  better  method  to  pursue. 

There  is  before  us  at  this  moment  an  excellent  edition  of  the  Olney 
Hymns,  containing  Newton's  original  preface  of  Feb.  15th,  1779,  and  some 
later  poems  of  Newton's  at  the  back.  Its  date  of  publication  is  1824,  and 
it  was  printed  for  Allman,  London,  and  Allardice,  Edinburgh.  In  this 
edition  the  letter  "  C."  is  prefixed  to  exactly  64  hymns.  The  number  of 
those  credited  to  him  has  therefore  grown  with  the  desire  of  his  admirers. 
Miller  (not  always  accurate)  assigns  him  68.  The  more  careful  notes 
which  accompany  the  Canada  Hymnal  allow  him  but  62.  Gadsby  states 
that  "  Breathe  from  the  gentle  south,  O  Lord,"  is  restored  to  Cowper  by 
Southey  on  the  authority  of  "  Mrs.  Johnson,  the  widow  of  his  excellent 


37 8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

kinsman."  He  adds  :  "  I  believe  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  Cowper's, 
though  at  one  time  I  doubted  it.  The  omission  of  the  C.  must  have  been 
an  error  of  the  printers." 

We  perceive,  then,  that  the  original  authority  for  the  hymns  which 
Cowper  wrote  was  Newton  himself.  Then  we  find  Southey  adding  others, 
on  various  testimony  which  he  held  to  be  satisfactory.  Finally  comes 
Grimshawe  and  lengthens  the  hymn  before  us.  In  his  preface  Newton 
makes  himself  personally  accountable  for  all  hymns  not  marked  with  a  C. 
There  were  but  two  hands  at  work  upon  these  compositions,  and  we  may 
properly  inquire  whether  Newton  would  not  know  his  own  hymns.  The 
puzzling  fact  is  that  there  are  67  in  Grimshawe's  1779  edition,  and  there 
are  but  64  in  this  edition  of  1824.  On  this  small  pivot  may  turn 
Mr.  Grimshawe's  accuracy.  For  the  hymns  are  distinguished  by 
Roman  numerals  and  not  by  Arabic,  and  there  are  exactly  three  hymns 
to  which  C.  is  prefixed  to  indicate  that  the  number  is  100.  If  any  of 
these  had  been  Cowper's  it  would  have  had  a  second  C.  This  may 
not  be  the  explanation  of  Mr.  Grimshawe's  reckoning,  but  it  sounds 
plausible. 

Setting  such  a  petty  criticism  aside,  however,  it  is  plain  that  Southey, 
by  the  exercise  of  that  minute  investigation  for  which  he  was  famous, 
ran  up  the  number  of  Cowper's  contributions  to  the  usually  accepted 
figure.  How  safe  this  enlargement  has  been  any  person  can  judge  for 
himself.  The  additions  have  been  pieces  which  the  Church  never  adopted, 
and  which  have  not,  consequently,  excited  any  special  attention. 

To  return  to  Grimshawe,  we  find  that  he  was  not  the  first  to  publish 
the  hymn  in  its  entirety.  It  appears  in  a  small  book  of  Sacred  Poetry, 
which  passed  to  at  least  a  tenth  edition,  and  whose  second  edition  was 
dated  in  1824.  This  was  issued  by  W.  Oliphant,  Edinburgh,  and  the 
eight  stanzas  are  printed  in  it  in  full.  In  1832,  J.  H.  Hickok  credited 
them  to  Cowper,  and  included  them  in  the  Sacred  Harp,  published  at 
Lewistown,  Pa.  He  seems  to  have  taken  them  verbatim  from  the  Scottish 
book.  Both  of  these  instances  are  manifestly  anterior  to  Grimshawe's 
acceptance. 

Until  further  evidence  is  offered  we  are  therefore  unwilling  to  admit 
that  the  last  six  stanzas  were  written  by  Cowper.  Miss  Maria  de  Fleury, 
Newton  himself,  and  especially  Benjamin  Francis,  wrote  frequently  and 
easily  in  this  metre.  No  one  can  examine  "  My  gracious  Redeemer  I 
love"  and  not  feel  that  Francis  could  have  completed  the  M  Fragment"  if 
he  desired.  So  could  Newton,  when  we  recall  "  How  tedious  and  taste- 
less the  hours." 

The  piece  itself  was  so  great  a  favorite  with  Rev.  Charles  J.  Warren, 
of  Harlem,  N.  Y.  City,  that  he  set  it  to  music  on  his  eighty-second  birth- 
day, August  3d,  1877.  The  tune  was  printed  in  the  Christian  at  Work  of 
August  9th,  1877. 

We  commend  to  any  one  who  cares  to  pursue  this  inquiry  a  comparison 
of  this  with   similar  hymns  of  Cowper's  contemporaries,   and   we  also 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  379 

desire  him  not  to  forget  Mrs.  Browning's  pathetic  and  beautiful  poem, 
"  Cowper's  Grave." 

My  Shepherd  will  supply  my  need. — Watts. 

This  is  Ps.  23,  C.  M.,  in  six  stanzas. 

My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard. — Heath. 

George  Heath,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was  long  untraced  and 
unknown.  He  is  now  recorded  as  a  Unitarian  clergyman,  educated 
at  Exeter,  England,  and  at  first  the  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church 
at  Honiton,  Devonshire.  This  position  he  assumed  in  1770,  but 
proving  unworthy  of  his  office,  he  was  deprived  of  his  pastorate. 
It  is  a  striking  commentary  on  his  hymn  that  its  author  should 
have  failed  in  the  very  mode  against  which  his  stirring  trumpet- 
blast  ought  effectually  to  have  warned  him.  But  perhaps  we  are 
uncharitable,  and  this  was  one  of  the  fruits  of  true  penitence  ;  for 
it  was  published  in  1781  in  his  Hymns  and  Poetic  Essays  Sacred  to 
the  Worship  of  the  Deity,  which  contains  two  hundred  and  forty- 
four  hymns.     He  also  wrote  a  History  of  Bristol,  1797. 

Robert  Simpson,  doctor  of  divinity  and  theological  tutor  of  the  Hoxton 
Academy,  died  in  an  unusual  manner.  As  though  he  were  in  actual 
conflict  with  the  King  of  Terrors  he  cried  out,  much  as  Paul  might  have 
done,  "  Now  have  at  thee,  Death  !  Have  at  thee,  Death  !  What  art 
thou  ?  I  am  not  afraid  of  thee  !  Thou  art  a  vanquished  enemy  by  the 
blood  of  the  cross.  Thou  art  only  a  skeleton,  a  mere  phantom  !"  And 
twice  or  thrice  he  repeated,  "  Have  at  thee,  Death  !"  as  though  in  deadly 
combat,  giving  and  taking  sword-thrusts.  Triumphantly  he  thus  passed 
away  in  his  seventy-second  year,  on  the  21st  of  December,  1817. 

My  soul  complete  in  Jesus  stands. — Hinsdale. 

Mrs.  Grace  Webster  Hinsdale,  the  widow  of  the  late  Honorable 
Theodore  Hinsdale,  was  born  at  Hanover,  N.  H.,  May  17th, 
1833.  Her  father  was  Professor  Charles  B.  Haddock,  D.D., 
whose  mother  was  the  sister  of  Daniel  Webster,  thus  making  that 
distinguished  statesman  the  grand-uncle  of  our  author.  She  was 
married  to  Mr.  Hinsdale  in  1850.  He  died  in  1880,  leaving  be- 
hind him  an  honorable  and  Christian  reputation. 

Mrs.  Hinsdale  has  latterly  written  very  little.  She  had  previously 
obtained  no  slight  recognition  as  a  contributor  to  religious  period- 
icals, and  has  published  two  books  for  children,  Coming  to  the  King 
and  Thinking  Aloud.  Both  were  republished  in  London  by  Strahan. 
Four  of  her  pieces  are  included  in  Christ  in  Song.     Mrs.  Hins- 


380  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

dale  is  exceptional  among  lady  writers  in  the  fact  that  she  never 
composed  poetry  until  she  was  beyond  thirty  years  of  age.  Per- 
haps this  may  account  for  the  value  of  what  has  been  written,  and 
for  the  notice  which  it  has  obtained.  At  present  she  resides  quietly 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  with  her  children,  and  is  a  member  of  Dr. 
R.  S.  Storrs's  congregation. 

My  soul,  how  lovely  is  the  place. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  Ps.  84,  C.  M.,  vv.  1,  4,  2,  3,  10,  "  Para- 
phrased."    Its  title  is  "  Delight  in  Ordinances  of  Worship;   or, 
God  Present  in  His  Churches,"  and  it  has  nine  stanzas. 

My  soul,  repeat  his  praise. — Watts. 
The  present  hymn  is  Ps.  103  of  Dr.  Watts' s  version,  Second 
Part,  S.   M.,  "  vv.  8-18.     Abounding  Compassion  of  God;    or, 
Mercy  in  the  Midst  of  Judgment."     There  are  eight  stanzas. 

My  spirit,  on  thy  care. — Lyte. 
This  is  Mr.  Lyte's  version  of  Ps.  31.     It  is  a  lovely  commen- 
tary on  his  own  physical  condition  and  upon  that  spirit  of  trustful 
obedience  which  governed  his  life.     The  closing  stanza  is  pecul- 
iarly fine  : 

"  Let  good  or  ill  befall, 

It  must  be  good  for  me  ; 

Secure  of  having  Thee  in  all,"! 

Of  having  all  in  Thee." 

It  points  the  moral  of  his  little  poem,  "  Declining  Days  ": 

11  Might  verse  of  mine  inspire 

One  virtuous  aim,  one  high  resolve  impart — 
Light  in  one  drooping  soul  a  hallowed  fire, 
Or  bind  one  broken  heart  ; 

"  Death  would  be  sweeter  then, 

More  calm  my  slumber  'neath  the  silent  sod, 
Might  I  thus  live  to  bless  my  fellow-men, 
Or  glorify  my  God. 
****** 

"  O  Thou  !  whose  touch  can  lend 

Life  to  the  dead,  Thy  quickening  grace  supply  ; 

And  grant  me,  swan-like,  my  last  breath  to  spend 
In  song  that  may  not  die  !" 

We  can  trace  the  influence  of  Vaughan  in  these  very  stanzas,  which 
resemble  those  of  the  "  Swan  of  Usk  "  in  his  own  song.      Indeed, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  381 

Lyte  reprints  Vaughan's  own  preface,  in  which  that  fervent  poet 
says  : 

"  He  that  desires  to  excel  in  this  kinde  of  Hagiography,  or  hoi}'  writ- 
ing, must  strive  by  all  means  for  perfection  and  true  holyness,  '  that  a 
door  may  be  opened  to  him  in  heaven,'  Rev.  iv.  1  ;  and  then  he  will  be 
able  to  write,  with  Hierotheus  and  holy  Herbert  '  a  true  hymn.'  "  And, 
truly,  one  should  remember  with  Vaughan  that  "  he  that  writes  idle  books 
makes  for  himself  another  body,  in  which  he  always  lives,  and  sins  after 
death  as  fast  and  as  foul  as  ever  he  did  in  his  life." 

Perhaps,  too,  the  stricture  of  Lyte  on  Vaughan's  times  might 
not  misapply  to  his  own  surroundings,  for  he  speaks  of  the  "  taste- 
less and  godless  generation  "  for  whom  the  Silurist  was  writing. 
It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the  perpetual  curate  of  Lower  Brixham 
had  elements  of  sympathy  about  him  such  as  he  needed  for  his 
best  personal  development — but  he  gave  us  hymns  that  will  never 
cease  to  thrill  the  heart. 

My  soul,  weigh  not  thy  life.  — L.  Swain. 
This  hymn  is  by  Rev.  Leonard  Swain,  D.  D.,  and  appeared  in 
the  Sabbath  Hymn  Book,  1858.  The  author  was  born  in  Concord, 
N.  H.,  February  26th,  182 1,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College 
in  1 84 1.  He  then  entered  Andover  Theological  Seminary  and 
completed  his  course  there  in  1846.  Next  he  became  pastor  of  a 
Congregational  church  at  Nashua,  N.  H.,  in  1847,  and  was  also 
the  pastor  of  the  Central  church,  Providence,  R.  I.  (1852).  His 
death  occurred  July  14th,  1869.  It  is  probable  that  his  two 
hymns,  "  My  soul,  it  is  thy  God,"  and  "  My  soul,  weigh  not  thy 
life,"  may  have  been  parts  of  a  single  longer  piece,  utilized  by 
Lowell  Mason  and  Professors  Park  and  Phelps,  the  compilers  of 
the  New  Sabbath  Hymn  and  Time  Book.  Both  of  these  hymns  are, 
however,  anonymous  in  that  collection,  and  the  authority  for  assign- 
ing them  to  Dr.  Swain  comes  from  his  friend,  the  late  Professor 
Robinson  P.  Dunn,  of  Brown  University. 

My  times  of  sorrow  and  of  joy.  —  Beddome. 
The  date  of  this  hymn  is  fixed  by  a  most  pathetic  incident.  It 
was  prepared  to  be  sung  at  the  close  of  a  sermon  from  the  text,  Ps. 
31  :  15,  on  Sunday,  January  4th,  1778.  Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome, 
the  author,  learned,  after  the  service,  that  his  son,  a  physician, 
bearing  the  same  name,  had  that  day  died  of  fever  in  Edinburgh. 


382  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Near  the  cross  was  Mary,  weeping. — J.  W.  Alexander,  tr. 
This  is  the  Stabat  Mater  of  Jacoponus  [Giacopone  da  Todi],  for 
whose  strange  character  and  brilliant  genius  see  "  The  Latin 
Hymn- Writers  and  their  Hymns/'  The  translator  is  Rev.  James 
Waddell  Alexander,  D.D.,  who  must  be  distinguished  from  his 
brother,  Professor  Joseph  Addison  Alexander,  D.D.  (1 809-1859), 
whose  hymn,  "  There  is  a  line  by  us  unseen,"  is  the  most  powerful 
presentation  of  the  doctrine  of  probation  anywhere  in  our  collec- 
tions. 

There  is  a  time,  we  know  not  when, 

A  point,  we  know  not  where, 
That  marks  the  destiny  of  men, 
To  glory  or  despair. 

There  is  a  line,  by  us  unseen, 

That  crosses  every  path, 
The  hidden  boundary  between 

God's  patience  and  His  wrath. 

To  pass  that  limit  is  to  die, 

To  die  as  if  by  stealth  ; 
It  does  not  quench  the  beaming  eye, 

Nor  pale  the  glow  of  health. 

The  conscience  may  be  still  at  ease, 

The  spirit  light  and  gay  ; 
That  which  is  pleasing  still  may  please, 

And  care  be  thrust  away. 

O,  where  is  this  mysterious  bourne 

By  which  our  path  is  crossed  ; 
Beyond  which  God  himself  hath  sworn 

That  he  who  goes  is  lost  ? 

How  far  may  we  go  on  in  sin  ? 

How  long  will  God  forbear  ? 
Where  does  hope  end,  and  where  begin 

The  confines  of  despair  ? 

An  answer  from  the  skies  is  sent, — 

"  Ye  that  from  God  depart, 
While  it  is  called  to-day,  repent, 
And  harden  not  your  heart." 
[Cf.  his  Life,  I.  415-]  7-  A-  41™™der>  1837. 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee. — Adams. 
Few  hymns  have  received  such  general  approval  as  this.    Yet  it 
has  been  severely  criticised  as  the  production  of  a  Unitarian,  and 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  383 

one  otherwise  candid  writer  says  :  "It  contains  nothing  of  Christ, 
but  to  those  who  have  Christ  in  their  hearts  it  has  many  times  been 
made  a  blessing.  "  As  if  the  actual  use  of  the  name  of  the  Saviour 
was  to  be  regarded  as  a  proof  of  the  infallible  Christian  spirit  of  a 
hymn  !  On  such  a  basis  we  should  exclude  the  Book  of  Esther 
from  Holy  Writ  and  eminently  honor  those  who  say,  ' '  Lord, 
Lord,"  whether  they  do  what  the  Lord  commands  or  not.  Noth- 
ing better  illustrates  the  fallacy  of  this  position  than  the  universal 
approval  given,  by  all  branches  of  the  Church,  to  the  hymn  before 
us.  The  compilers  of  the  Baptist  Hymn-Book  [Eng.  ]  were  so  ill 
pleased  with  this  omission  of  the  name  of  Christ,  that  they 
secured  the  services  of  Rev.  Arthur  Tozer  Russell  to  make  the 
lyric  perfect  by  verses  of  his  own,  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  Christ  alone  beareth  me, 

Where  thou  dost  shine  ; 
Joint  heir  he  maketh  me 

Of  the  divine. 
In  Christ  my  soul  shall  be 
Nearest,  my  God,  to  thee, 

Nearest  to  thee  !" 

Others  have  with  the  same  intent  changed  ' '  a  cross  "to  ' '  the  cross. ' ' 
Sarah  Fuller  Flower  was  the  second  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Flower,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Cambridge  (England)  Intelli- 
gencer. While  she  is  reckoned  as  a  poetess  of  no  mean  repute,  in 
consequence  of  her  Vivia  Perpetua,  it  is  as  the  author  of  this  hymn 
that  she  will  be  best  remembered.  She  was  born  February  2 2d, 
1805,  and  at  an  early  age  showed  a  taste  for  literature  and  some 
considerable  facility  in  prose  and  verse.  This  continued  during 
her  whole  life,  and  her  name  was  quite  familiar  to  the  conductors 
of  most  of  the  periodicals  of  the  day.  Her  father  being  left  a 
widower,  managed  the  education  of  his  daughters,  Eliza  and  Sarah, 
himself.  Eliza,  indeed,  displayed  so  much  talent  as  to  be  con- 
fused in  many  instances  with  her  sister.  But  her  abilities  ran  in 
the  direction  of  music  rather  than  poetry,  and  her  connection  with 
hymnology  is  through  the  tunes  which  she  composed  for  her  sister's 
verses.  Mr.  Flower  being  a  politician  and  a  Liberal,  it  naturally 
followed  that  his  children  partook  of  his  opinions,  and  so  are  al- 
ways reckoned  among  LTnitarians.  Both  were  of  feeble  constitu- 
tion, and  the  eldest  died  of  consumption  in  1846. 


384  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Sarah  had  met  at  Clapton,  in  1834,  a  Mr.  William  Bridges 
Adams,  to  whom  she  was  married  the  same  year.  He  was  a  per- 
son of  scientific  and  literary  attainments,  quite  extensively  known 
as  a  civil  engineer,  and  with  some  repute  as  a  writer.  It  would 
appear  that  Mrs.  Adams  was  entirely  happy  in  her  home  and  in 
her  sister's  love,  but  the  long  illness  of  Eliza  wore  upon  her  natur- 
ally delicate  constitution,  and  she  survived  but  two  years,  dying  on 
the  14  th  of  August,  1848. 

The  fact  that  her  uncle,  Richard  Flower,  emigrated  to  America 
in  1822,  and  founded  the  town  of  Albion,  111.,  doubtless  misled 
Sir  Roundell  Palmer,  and  caused  the  belief  that  Mrs.  Adams  was 
in  some  sense  an  American.  To  the  best  of  our  knowledge,  she 
was  always  a  resident  of  England,  and  her  home  was  in  St.  John's 
Wood,  London.  We  have  followed  the  dates  given  by  that  very 
accurate  scholar,  Dr.  Charles  Rogers,  in  the  second  edition  of  his 
Lyra  Britannica.  Mrs.  Adams  was  buried  in  Foster  Street  burial- 
ground,  Harlow,  Essex,  and  one  of  her  own  hymns — said  to  be 
11  He  giveth  sun,  he  giveth  shower" — was  sung  at  her  funeral. 
The  parish  record  settles  the  dates. 

The  pastor  of  Mrs.  Adams  and  her  sister,  in  London,  was  Rev. 
William  Johnston  Fox.  He  was  born  in  1787,  and  died  in  1864, 
and  was  a  man  who,  "  though  classed  among  Unitarians,  was 
neither  a  rationalist  nor  a  sympathizer  with  Channing  or  Mar- 
tineau."  He  is  known  as  the  founder  of  the  Westminster  Review, 
and  it  was  to  his  volume  of  Hymns  and  Anthems  (in  two  parts, 
1 840-1 841)  that  Mrs.  Adams  contributed  thirteen  hymns  and  her 
sister  sixty- two  tunes.  The  present  hymn  is  one  of  those  in  the 
second  part. 

It  is  testified  by  one  of  Mrs.  Adams's  friends  that  she  always 
found  great  happiness  in  sacred  music,  and  that  with  almost  her 
latest  breath  she  "  burst  into  unconscious  song."  It  is  a  sadness 
in  this  sort  of  inquiry  for  us  to  be  compelled  to  question  many  of 
these  hymn-legends,  but  there  is  so  little  authenticity  about  a  large 
number  of  them  that  we  must  give  them  for  what  they  are  worth  — 
and  this  one  would  have  perished  with  some  others  were  it  not  that 
it  is  certified  by  Dr.  Rogers,  to  whom  it  was  related  by  this  friend, 
who  was  present  at  the  moment  of  her  death.  Mrs.  Adams  thus 
literally  fulfilled  her  own  aspiration,  and  with  her  "  waking 
thoughts  bright  with  God's  praise,"  she  entered  the  better  world. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  385 

Bishop  Marvin,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  travelling,  dur- 
ing the  late  war,  in  the  wilds  of  Arkansas.  He  was  feeling  much  de- 
pressed, for  the  Union  troops  had  driven  him  from  his  home.  But  as  he 
drew  near  a  dilapidated  old  log-cabin  he  heard  some  one  singing, 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee."  Alighting,  he  entered  the  house.  There 
he  found  a  poor  woman,  widowed  and  old,  who  was  singing  in  the  midst 
of  such  poverty  as  he  had  never  before  seen.  His  fears  and  despondency 
vanished,  and  he  went  on  his  way  happy  and  trustful  because  of  the  faith 
which  he  had  beheld  and  the  hymn  which  he  had  heard. 

We  have  the  account,  also,  of  a  Christian  minister  in  the  north 
of  England  to  whom  a  lady  applied  for  spiritual  help.  She  desired 
to  be  saved,  but  she  had  been  instructed  to  take  the  Old  Testament 
for  her  guide,  and  she  only  knew  one  hymn  in  all  the  number 
which  she  had  heard  in  the  Unitarian  service  which  seemed  to  her 
to  be  of  any  value.  It  was  this  very  hymn.  "  I  think,"  she  said, 
"  and  try  to  pray,  and  then  I  repeat  from  my  heart  a  hymn  I 
learned  : 

*  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee, 
Nearer  to  thee  ! 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  me  ! 
Still  ail  my  song  shall  be, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee, 
Nearer  to  thee  ! '  " 

She  was  advised  to  read  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  John,  and 
to  pray  that  God  would  make  her  way  clear.  At  the  minister's 
next  visit  she  had  been  led  by  John  to  Jesus,  and  was  rejoicing 
in  God  her  Father,  reconciled  to  her  through  Jesus  Christ. 

Few  more  touching  incidents  than  this  which  follows  are  con- 
nected with  any  hymn.  A  little  drummer-boy  was  found  after  the 
battle  of  Fort  Donelson  by  one  who  visited  the  field.  The  poor 
lad  had  lost  an  arm,  which  had  been  carried  away  by  a  cannon- 
ball,  but  even  as  he  died  he  was  singing  : 

u  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee, 
Nearer  to  thee."' 

But  there  is  no  incident  which  has  more  appropriateness  than 
that  given  to  us  in  the  pages  of  Rev.  James  King's  Anglican  Hym- 
nology.     He  writes  : 

"  A  few  years  ago,  while  journeying  through  the  Holy  Land,  we  visited 
the  scene  of  the  patriarch's  halting-place  for  the  night.  Two  hours  over 
the  bleak  heights  of  Benjamin  brought  us  to  the  venerable  ruins  of 


386  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Bethel.  Standing  by  the  ruined  mounds,  we  remembered  that  somewhere 
near  this  spot  Abraham  pitched  his  tent,  and  built  an  altar  on  '  the  moun- 
tain east  of  Bethel,  having  Bethel  on  the  west  and  Ai  on  the  east.'  A 
few  wretched  hovels,  the  remains  of  an  enormous  cistern,  and  the  ruins 
of  a  Greek  church,  are  all  that  remain  to  indicate  the  position  of  ancient 
Bethel.  After  singing  the  hymn,  '  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee,'  we  pursued 
our  journey  toward  Central  Palestine." 

"  Shiloh  and  Bethel,"  says  Stanley,  "  .  .  .  .  almost  escape  the  notice 
of  the  zealous  antiquarian,  in  the  maze  of  undistinguished  hills  which  en- 
compass them."  Elsewhere  he  adds  :  "  The  western  slopes  of  the 
ridge  .  .  .  are  crossed  by  the  track  which  the  thoroughfare  of  centuries 
has  worn  in  the  central  route  of  Palestine.  This  track  winds  through  an 
uneven  valley,  covered,  as  with  grave-stones,  by  large  sheets  of  bare  rock  ; 
some  few,  here  and  there,  standing  up  like  the  cromlechs  of  Druidical 
monuments.  .  .  .  Bare,  wild  rocks,  a  beaten  thoroughfare  ;  these  are  the 
only  features  of  the  primeval  sanctuary  of  that  God  of  whom  nature  itself 
there  teaches  us  that  if  He  could  in  such  a  scene  so  emphatically  reveal 
Himself  to  the  houseless  exile,  He  '  is  with  him  '  and  with  all  His  true 
servants  everywhere,  and  will  '  keep  them  in  all  places  whither  they  go.'  " 

New  every  morning  is  the  love. — Keble. 
This  is  the  "Morning  Hymn"  of  Rev.   John  Keble,   and  is 
taken  from  a  long  poem  of  sixteen  stanzas,  in  The  Christian  Year, 
1827.     Mrs.  Elizabeth  Prentiss  says  in  one  of  her  letters,  dated 
August  25th,  1840  : 

"  I  am  beginning  to  feel  that  I  have  enough  to  do  without  looking  out 
for  a  great  wide  place  in  which  to  work,  and  to  appreciate  the  simple 
lines  : 

'The  trivial  round,  the  common  task, 
Would  furnish  all  we  ought  to  ask  ; 
Room  to  deny  ourselves  ;  a  road 
To  bring  us  daily  nearer  God.'  " 

Her  life  abundantly  illustrated  her  doctrine,  and  Stepping  Heaven- 
ward came  out  of  this  spirit  of  self-devotion. 

Night's  shadows  falling,  men  to  rest  are  calling. — Russell. 

Rev.  Arthur  Tozer  Russell  was  born  at  Northampton,  England, 
March  20th,  1806.  He  is  the  author  of  this  and  of  several  more 
hymns  which  are  in  current  use,  especially  in  the  Episcopalian 
collections.  His  father,  Rev.  Thomas  Russell,  of  Murden,  in  the 
county  of  Kent,  was  a  Dissenting  minister  who  preached  in  Lon- 
don and  at  Enfield.  The  son  was  educated  at  the  Merchant 
Tailors'  School  in  London,  and  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 
In  1830  he  became  the  vicar  of  Caxton,  Cambridge  ;  of  Whaddon, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  387 

1852  ;  of  St. Thomas's,  Toxteth  Park,  near  Liverpool,  1863  ;  then 
of  Holy  Trinity,  Wrock  war  dine  Wood,  Wellington,  Shropshire, 
1867.  He  finally  removed  to  the  rectorship  of  Southwick,  Sussex, 
where  he  died,  November  18th,  1874. 

Mr.  Russell  prepared  a  volume  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  Partly 
Original,  Partly  Selected  in  185 1.  He  had  previously  issued,  in 
1848,  his  Hymns  for  Public  Worship  and  Private  Devotion,  and  was 
a  contributor  to  the  Choral  Hymn- Book  in  1861.  The  greater  part 
of  his  pieces  are  original,  though  he  has  made  a  few  translations. 
The  date  of  the  present  hymn  is  1851. 

No  gospel  like  this  feast.  — Mrs.  Charles. 
The  personality  of  Mrs.  Charles  has  been  but  little  known. 
Her  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Rundle,  and  her  father,  John 
Rundle,  was  a  member  of  Parliament  for  Tavistock,  Devonshire, 
where  she  was  born.  Her  marriage  to  Andrew  Paton  Charles, 
March  20th,  185 1,  gives  her  the  name  by  which  she  is  best  recog- 
nized. Her  writings  have  taken  the  form  of  story-biographies 
(such  as  the  Schonberg-Cotta  Family)  or  historical  novels.  She  was 
born  January  2d,  1828,  at  Tavistock,  and  is  now  living — a  widow 
since  1868 — at  Hampstead,  London. 

No  more,  my  God  !  I  boast  no  more. — Watts. 
After  a  sermon  on  Phil.  3  :  7-9  we  find  this  hymn.     It  is  the 
109th  hymn  of  the  first  book,  and  is  in  four  stanzas. 

Not  all  the  outward  forms  of  earth.  — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  95  of  Dr.  Watts' s  Book  I.     It  is  entitled  "  Re- 
generation," and  was  written  to  accompany  a  sermon  on  John 
1  :  13,  and  3  :  3.     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts.  — Watts. 

This  is  Hymn  142,  Book  II.,  "  Faith  in  Christ  our  Sacrifice." 
It  has  five  stanzas. 

"  There  are  several  instances  on  record  of  the  value  of  this  particular 
hymn.  One  of  the  Bible  Society's  colporteurs  was  one  day  offering  Bibles 
for  sale  in  the  Jews'  quarter,  at  the  east  end  of  London,  when  a  Jewess 
informed  him,  if  any  of  their  people  bought  a  Bible,  read  it,  and  became 
converts  to  Christianity,  they  would  certainly  return  to  their  former  be- 
lief, and  die  in  the  faith  of  Abraham.  The  Bible-man  replied  that  when 
he  was  a  city  missionary  he  had  been  induced  to  call  upon  a  dying  Jewess. 
'  She  had  been  brought  from  affluence  to  abject  poverty  for  the  faith  of 


388  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Christ  ;  at  one  time  she  had  kept  her  own  carriage.  One  day  her  eye 
rested  on  the  leaf  of  a  hymn-book,  which  had  come  into  the  house  cover- 
ing some  butter,  and  she  read  upon  it  these  words  : 

4  "  Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts, 
On  Jewish  altars  slain, 
Could  give  the  guilty  conscience  peace, 
Or  wash  away  the  stain." 

The  verse  haunted  her  :  she  could  not  dismiss  it  or  forget  it.  After  a 
time  she  went  to  a  box  where  she  remembered  she  had  a  copy  of  the 
Bible,  and  induced  by  that  verse,  she  began  to  read  it,  and  she  read  on 
till  she  found  Jesus  Christ,  "  the  Lamb  slain  from  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world. "  She  became  openly  a  convert  to  Christianity.  This  caused 
her  Jewish  husband  to  divorce  her.  He  went  to  India,  where  he  married 
again,  and  died.  She  lived  in  much  poverty  with  two  of  her  nation, 
Jewish  sisters,  who  had  also  become  Christians.  All  this,'  said  the 
Bible-man,  '  I  knew  ;  and  as  I  stood  by  her  bedside,  she  did  not  re- 
nounce her  faith  in  her  crucified  Lord,  but  died  triumphing  in  Him  as  her 
rock,  her  shield,  and  her  exceeding  great  reward.'  " 

Not  to  the  terrors  of  the  Lord.  — Watts. 
We  find  this  as  Hymn   152,  of  Book  II.,  "  Sinai  and  Sion. — 
Heb.  12  :  18,  etc."      It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

Not  what  I  am,  O  Lord,  but  what  thou  art  ! — Bonar. 
The  title  given  to  this  hymn  by  the  author  is,  "  The  Love  that 
Passeth  Knowledge."      It  is  in  Hynms  of  Faith  and  Hope,  second 
series,  1861,  and  has  eight  stanzas. 

Not  with  our  mortal  eyes. — Watts. 
This  hymn  is  placed  after  a  sermon  on  1  Pet.   1:8.      It  has 
three  stanzas.      It  also  appears  in  the  Psalms  and  Hymns,  Book  I., 
No.  108,  with  the  title,  "  Christ  Unseen  and  Beloved." 

Not  worthy,  Lord,  to  gather  up  the  crumbs. — E.  H.  Bickersteth. 
Rev.  Edward  Henry  Bickersteth  was  born  in  London,  January 
25th,  1825.  His  lather  was  the  eminent  Rev.  Edward  Bickersteth, 
rector  of  Wotton,  author  of  The  Christian  Student  (1829),  and 
many  similar  works  ;  and  a  hymn-writer  of  some  repute.  His 
son  has  been  the  incumbent  of  Christ  church,  Hampstead,  since 
1855,  and  dates  his  recent  volume,  From  Year  to  Year,  from  that 
vicarage,  October  16th,  1883.  To  say  nothing  of  his  poem  Yes- 
terday, To-day,  and  Forever,  his  services  to  sacred  poetry  and  to 
hymnology  have  been  of  real  worth  and  lasting  importance.  In 
Doing  and  Suffering,  we  have  the  inner  life  of  the  family,  in  the 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  389 

biography  of  his  two  sisters.  The  present  hymn,  in  six  stanzas, 
is  designated  for  the  day  of  "  St.  Simon  and  St.  Jude,  Apostles." 
The  lessons  are  :  Isa.  28  :  9-17  ;  Jer.  3  :  12-19  ;  Jude  1:1-9; 
John  15  :  17.  We  also  give  the  collect,  as  upon  these  short 
prayers  Mr.  Bickersteth  has  based  his  hymns.  His  book,  From 
Year  to  Year,  contains  his  collected  hymns  and  sacred  poetry,  as- 
signed to  the  various  portions  of  the  Christian  year.  In  1885, 
Dr.  Bickersteth  became  Bishop  of  Exeter. 

O  Almighty  God,  who  hast  built  thy  church  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  head  corner- 
stone ;  grant  us  so  to  be  joined  together  in  unity  of  spirit  by  their  doc- 
trine, that  we  may  be  made  an  holy  temple  acceptable  unto  thee,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

Nothing  but  leaves,  the  Spirit  grieves. — Mrs.  Akerman. 
The  facts  as  to  this  widely  known  hymn  are  as  follows.     It  was 
published  in  the  Christian  Inquirer,  New  York  City,  in  the  month 
of  September,  between  the  years  1858  and  1862.     The  author— 
who  was  once  supposed   to  be  one  "  Vergil  C.  Taylor"— is  Mrs. 
Lucy  Evelina  (Metcalf)  Akerman,  born  February  21st,  181 6.     She 
was  the  wife  of  Charles  Akerman,  a  bookseller  in  Providence,  R.  I., 
and  died  in  that  city,  February  21st,  1874.      In  religious  opinion 
she  is  believed  to  have  been  a  Universalist.     The  Scripture  text  as- 
sociated with  the  hymn  is  evidently  Mark  11  :  13.     The  sugges- 
tion is  said  to  have  come  from  a  sermon  by  Moncure  D.  Conway. 
Now  be  the  Gospel  banner. — Hastings. 
Dr.  Hastings  wrote  this  hymn  for  a  Sunday-school  celebration 
in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  about  the  year  1828,  and  published  it  in  Spiritual 
Songs,  1833,  in  two  double  stanzas. 

Now  from  labor  and  from  care. — Hastings. 
We  find  this  hymn  of  Dr.  Hastings  in  the  Spiritual  Songs,  1833. 
It  is  the  second  part  of  a  hymn  of  six  six-line  stanzas,  with  a 
doxology  in  the  same  metre.  The  first  three  of  these  are  intended 
for  morning,  and  commence  :  "  In  this  calm,  impressive  hour." 
The  second  three  form  our  present  hymn. 

There  is  something  singularly  beautiful  about  evening— especially 
the  Sabbath  evening.  Many  such  scenes  remain  with  him  who 
pens  these  lines -evenings  of  glory  across  the  ocean  or  the  inland 
sea  ;  evenings  marvellous,  above  the  prairie  ;  evenings  seen  ajar 


39©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

on  the  horizon  from  a  church-tower  where  the  great  bell  was  begin- 
ning to  move  in  its  cradle  like  a  giant  babe,  and  the  subdued 
noises  of  the  gathering  congregation  below  stole  up  to  the  ear. 
But  all  these  are  as  nothing  to  the  memory  of  one  unequalled 
vision  of  island,  and  cape,  and  bay — the  harbor-door  of  a  new  world 
high  above  the  distant  city-spires  in  the  west.  With  a  hymn  like 
this  one  can  go  up  the  golden  way  of  the  sunset  to  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  !  Was  there  ever  a  better  rhapsody  on  such  a  moment 
than  that  of  the  Ettrick  Shepherd  in  the  Nodes  Ambrosiance  ? — 

"  Let  nae  man  daur  to  word  it.  It's  daurin'  aneuch  even  to  look  at  it. 
For  oh  !  ma  freens  !  arena  thae  the  gates  o'  glory — wide  open  for  de- 
parted speerits — that  they  may  sail  in  on  wings  intil  the  heart  o'  eternal 
life  ?     Let  that  sicht  no  be  lost  on  us  !" 

Now,  God  be  with  us,  for  the  night  is  closing.  — Winkworth,  Ir. 

This  hymn  is  from  the  collection  of  the  Bohemian  Brethren, 
1531,  the  original  being,  "  Die  Nacht  ist  kommen,"  etc.  This  is 
an  evening  hymn,  in  six  stanzas,  and  in  No.  210  of  Laudes  Domini 
we  have  the  concluding  portion. 

The  present  piece  is  in  the  familiar  Latin  measure  called  "  Sap- 
phics and  Adonics,"  which  is  known  by  the  famous  student  song, 
the  "Integer  vifcs,"  of  Horace.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Bo- 
hemian hymnology  that  it  is  based  on  the  Latin  to  a  great  ex- 
tent. Huss  wrote  at  least  one  Latin  hymn  himself,  and  this  period 
gives  us  the  transition  between  the  dead  language  and  the  vernacu- 
lar. 

The  Brethren  were  the  remains  of  an  old  Sclavonic  Christianity, 
which  owed  its  rise  to  the  teaching  of  two  Greek  monks  in  the 
ninth  century.  As  it  antedated  the  Roman  ritual,  the  hostility  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  churches  was  perpetuated  in  Bohemia  with 
sad  consequences  of  persecution  and  war.  John  Huss  (for  whom 
see  Gillett's  admirable  Life  and  Times  of  John  Huss)  was  their  prin- 
cipal martyr.     Jerome  of  Prague  was  another. 

In  the  library  of  the  college  at  Prague  a  Hussite  hymn-book, 
written  and  illustrated  with  great  care  and  splendor,  is  still  pre- 
served. 

"  This  book,"  says  Dr.  Gillett,  "  which  must  have  cost  many  thousand 
florins,  was  the  joint  production  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  citizens. 
Each  guild  and  corporation  had  a  few  hymns  written  and  pictures  painted 
to  accompany  them,  and  in  this  work  they  were  joined  by  several  noble 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  391 

families,  each  family  or  guild  placing  its  own  pictured  arms  or  crest  be- 
fore its  own  portion  of  the  book." 

This  intense  national  and  religious  feeling  had  its  natural  results 
in  course  of  time,  and  there  were  no  readier  adherents  of  Luther 
than  the  Bohemians.  In  later  days  the  Moravians  appear  as  their 
direct  and  legitimate  successors.  It  was  from  the  remnant  of  the 
Bohemians  scattered  in  Saxony  in  1725  that  the  first  materials  for 
this  new  society,  the  Moravians,  were  taken  by  Count  Zinzendorf. 

Now  I  have  found  a  friend.  — Hope. 
Henry  Joy  McCracken  Hope,  son  of  James  Hope,  a  bookbinder 
in  Dublin,  Ireland,  wrote  this  hymn,  which  was  privately  printed 
in  1852.  Singularly  enough,  his  name  is  not  found  in  Lyra 
Hibernica  Sacra  (second  edition,  Belfast,  1879),  an^  tne  informa- 
tion as  to  his  personal  history  is  meagre.  We  only  know  that  he 
was  born  in  the  neighborhood  of  Belfast,  in  1809,  and  that,  in 
1846,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Messrs.  Chambers,  at  Dublin, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  bookbinder  and  in  other  capacities 
until  his  death.  This  occurred  at  Shanemagowston,  Dunadry, 
County  Antrim,  Ireland,  January  19th,  1872. 

Now,  let  our  cheerful  eyes  survey. — Doddridge. 
Among  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  this  is  No.  8,  "  Christ's  Inter- 
cession Typified  by  Aaron's  Breastplate."     It  is  based  on   Ex. 
28  :  29,  and  has  five  stanzas. 

Now,  let  our  souls  on  wings  sublime. — Gibbons. 
At  the  close  of  the  fourth  of  his  fifteen  Sermons  on  Various  Sub- 
jects, etc.,  1762,  appears  this  hymn,  in  five  stanzas,  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Gibbons. 

Now,  let  our  voices  join. — Doddridge. 

In  Dr.  Doddridge's  works  this  appears  as  Hymn  No.  69,  and  is 
entitled,  "  Singing  in  the  Ways  of  God."  It  has  six  stanzas,  and 
is  based  on  Ps.  138  :  5. 

An  English  gentleman  was  once  examining  a  house  in  Newcastle,  with 
a  view  of  leasing  it  for  a  residence.  The  owner  took  him  to  the  upper  win- 
dow, expatiating  meanwhile  upon  the  extensive  prospect.  "  For  one 
thing,"  he  said,  "  you  can  see  Durham  Cathedral  from  this  spot  on  Sun- 
day." And  in  some  surprise,  the  other  asked  :  "  Why  on  Sunday  above 
any  other  day  ?"  Then  the  quiet  answer  came  :  "Because  on  that  day 
there  is  no  smoke  from  those  tall  chimneys  yonder." 


392  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Now  is  the  accepted  time. — Dobell. 

The  celebrated  collection  of  hymns  which  bears  the  name  of 
Dobell  was  published  in  1806,  and  was  very  largely  amended  and 
revised  by  him.  The  first  edition  contained  seven  hundred  hymns, 
of  which  many  were  original.  Among  them  were  several  by  Dobell 
himself.  Others  he  changed  to  suit  his  own  ideas,  and  his  model 
was  the  expression  of  a  young  Cornish  lady,  who  said  to  him  that 
she  "  hoped  to  see  before  she  died  a  hymn-book  full  of  Christ  and 
his  Gospel,  and  without  any  mixture  of  free-will  or  merit/' 

John  Dobell,  who  has  left  to  us  this  collection,  which  in  the 
second  edition  ran  up  to  eight  hundred  hymns,  was  a  native  of 
Poole,  in  Dorsetshire.  His  birth  is  reputed  to  have  occurred  in 
1757,  and  he  held  a  position  as  port-gauger  under  the  Board  of 
Excise.  Personally  he  was  tall  and  spare,  and  was  a  well-known 
attendant  at  the  Dissenting  chapel  in  Skinner  Street.  He  died  at 
Poole,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  and  was  buried  there  on  the  1st 
of  June,  1840.  He  will  be  longest  remembered  as  a  hymn-writer 
by  the  present  piece.     It  is  a  favorite  in  revival  services. 

Dobell's  Collection  was  very  useful  from  the  fact  that  it  is  among  the  first 
to  give  the  names  of  authors  with  their  hymns.  American  editions  ap- 
peared in  Morristown,  N.  J.,  1810,  1815,  1822,  and  another  (also  now  be- 
fore us)  in  Philadelphia,  in  1825.  In  his  preface  he  says  that  the  work 
has  been  "  the  labor  of  years  and  the  choice  of  many  thousand  hymns." 
In  another  place  he  adds  a  sentence  which  is  like  the  streaking  of  the  first 
light  of  a  new  dawn  for  hymnology  :  "  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  make  any 
apology  for  taking  some  of  the  following  hymns  from  authors  who  differ 
in  doctrinal  sentiments  from  myself,  and  the  churches  with  which  I  am 
connected.  The  hymns  themselves,  superior  in  their  kind,  and  on  subjects 
in  which  all  real  Christians  agree,  must  and  will  be  their  own  apology." 

Now,  let  my  soul,  eternal  King. — Heginbotham. 
Rev.  Ottiwell  Heginbotham  was  the  author  of  this  hymn  ;  it 
appeared  in  A  Collection  of  Hymns  from  Various  Authors,  pub- 
lished in  1799.  It  is  perhaps  the  father  of  this  author,  bearing  the 
same  name,  who  was  the  person  mentioned  by  Tyerman  in  his 
Life  of  John  Wesley.  He  lived  at  Marple,  near  Stockport,  in 
1754.     The  younger  man  died  in  1768,  aged  twenty-four  years. 

Now,  may  he,  who  from  the  dead.  -Newton. 
We  have  these  verses  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  100. 
The  text  is  Heb.   13  :  20,  24.     There  are  three  stanzas. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  393 

Now  thank  we  all  our  God.  — Winkworth,  tr. 

This  is  a  translation  of  the  celebrated  hymn,  "  Nun  danket  alle 
Got//'  of  Martin  Rmkart.  It  is  the  German  Te  Deum,  and  was 
composed,  both  as  to  music  and  words,  somewhere  about  the  close 
of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  1648.  At  least  this  is  the  date  given  by 
Dr.  A.  J.  Rambach's  Hamburgisches  Gesangbuch,  1842,  which  is 
doubtless  accurate  ;  though  Miss  Winkworth  makes  it  1644,  giv- 
ing a  full  translation  in  her  Christian  Singers  0/  Germany,  p.  181. 

Rinkart  was  the  son  of  a  poor  coppersmith  (Kiibler  says 
"cooper"),  who  got  his  education  at  the  University  of  Leipzig, 
after  a  hard  struggle,  in  which  he  was  successful  by  reason  of  his 
musical  gifts  and  decided  industry.  He  was  precentor  at  Eisleben, 
and  at  the  age  of  thirty-one  was  offered  the  position  of  archdeacon 
at  Eilenburg  in  Saxony,  his  native  place.  Thither  he  went  as  the 
war  broke  out,  and  there  he  remained  through  all  the  thirty-one 
years  of  its  continuance.  He  shared  with  his  people  the  hardships 
of  the  period  ;  the  quartering  of  troops  in  the  houses  ;  the  distress  of 
poverty,  and  the  uncertainties  of  the  conflict.  In  1637  the  plague 
ravaged  Eilenburg,  and  in  one  year  eight  thousand  persons  died. 
But  Martin  Rinkart  stood  to  his  duty,  doing  the  work  of  three 
men,  in  ministering  to  the  sick,  waiting  on  them,  and  even  bury- 
ing them  when  they  died.  It  is  said  that  he  actually  interred  with 
his  own  hands  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty  bodies. 
The  famine  following  the  plague  was  as  terrible  as  the  disease. 
Starving  wretches  fought  in  the  open  streets  for  a  dead  cat  or  a 
crow.  And  then,  to  crown  all,  back  came  the  Swedish  army  and 
the  town  was  ordered  to  pay  thirty  thousand  thalers.  The  general 
refused  to  hear  Rinkart  when  he  ventured  to  the  camp  to  plead  for 
his  impoverished  fellow-citizens,  and  the  good  man,  turning  to 
the  others  who  were  with  him,  said  :  "  Come,  my  children,  we  can 
find  no  mercy  with  men,  let  us  take  refuge  with  God."  He  fell 
on  his  knees,  and  uttered  such  a  fervent  and  touching  petition  that 
the  general  relented  and  lowered  the  demand,  first  to  eight  thou- 
sand thalers,  and  then,  at  last,  to  two  thousand.  This  they  were 
forced  to  undertake,  and  their  unfitness  to  do  so  may  be  judged 
from  the  condition  of  Rinkart,  himself,  who  was  in  dire  need,  and 
was  compelled  to  mortgage  his  income  for  several  years  ahead  to 
obtain  bread  for  his  family.  It  was  when  times  at  last  grew  brighter 
that  he  sang  this  song  of  praise. 


394  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Rinkart  was  born  in  1586,  and  died  in  1649.  And  as  the 
twelfth  century  was  the  culmination  of  Latin  hymn-writing  in 
France,  so  this  period  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  can  be  looked 
upon  as  the  most  prolific  era  of  German  hymnology.  There  were 
over  a  hundred  poets,  and  their  verses  have  expressed  the  deepest 
of  Christian  praises.  It  is  a  period  to  be  compared  with  the  times 
of  Watts  and  Doddridge,  and  their  successors,  in  England. 

The  hymn  is  based  on  the  apocrypnal  book  of  Ecclesiasticus, 
written  by  Jesus,  the  Son  of  Sirach,  and  to  be  found  in  any  copy 
of  the  Apocrypha.  The  first  two  stanzas  translate  Ecclus.  50  : 
22-24,  which  was  the  text  of  the  Swedish  chaplain  on  New  Year's 
Day,  1649,  when  thanksgiving  services  were  held  upon  the  re- 
establishment  of  peace. 

The  history  of  the  hymn  has  been  like  that  of  our  own  "  Praise 
God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  or  like  Luther's  "  Eiri  feste 
Burg.  "  It  has  been  sung  at  all  great  national  events  in  Germany. 
It  was  used  on  the  occasion,  May  31st,  1850,  of  the  unveiling  of 
the  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great,  at  Berlin.  Again  it  was  em- 
ployed after  a  great  famine  in  1817,  when  the  first  cartful  of 
sheaves  of  the  new  wheat  entered  Stuttgart.  It  was  translated  by 
Chevalier  Bunsen,  in  1845,  and  sung  in  England  at  the  opening 
of  the  German  hospital.  Still  later,  in  America  and  elsewhere,  in 
1884,  it  has  had  a  place  in  various  celebrations  of  the  three  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Luther. 

Now  that  the  sun  is  gleaming  bright. — Newman,  tr. 
Cardinal  Newman  has  here  furnished  us  with  a  good  translation, 
from  the  Paris  Breviary,  of  the  ' '  Ja?n  lucis  orto  sidere. ' '  It  was 
obtained  from  the  author  by  Sir  Francis  Palgrave,  and  was  written 
at  Littlemore  in  February,  1842.  The  original  is  by  Gregory  the 
Great,  for  whom  see  ' 4  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns. ' ' 

Now  the  day  is  over.  — Baring-Gould. 
This  is  "An  Evening  Hymn  for  Missions"   (revival  services) 
and  came  into  use  at  St.  John's,  Horbury  Bridge,  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land.     It  appeared  first  in  the  Hynms,  Ancient  and  Modern,  1861. 

Now  to  the  Lord  a  noble  song  ! — Watts. 
This  is  from  Dr.   Watts's  Hymns,   Book  II.,  No.  47,  "Glory 
and  Grace  in  the  Person  of  Christ."     It  has  six  stanzas.     Such 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  395 

desire  to  praise  the  Lord  may  well  receive  its  commentary  from  the 
words  in  which  St.  Patrick,  the  apostle  of  Ireland,  has  recorded  an 
experience  of  his  own  : 

"  Again  on  another  night,  I  know  not,  God  knoweth,  whether  it  was 
within  me  or  near  me,  I  heard  distinctly  words  which  I  could  not  under- 
stand, except  that  at  the  end  of  what  was  said  there  was  uttered,  '  He  who 
gave  his  life  for  thee,  it  is  he  who  speaketh  in  thee.'  And  so  I  awoke  re- 
joicing. And  again  I  saw  in  myself  one  praying,  and  I  was  as  it  were 
within  my  body,  and  I  heard  him,  that  is  to  say  upon  my  inner  man,  and 
he  prayed  mightily  with  groanings.  And  meanwhile  I  was  in  a  trance, 
and  marvelled,  and  thought  who  it  could  be  who  thus  prayed  within 
me.  .  .  .  And  so  I  awoke  and  recollected  the  apostle's  words,  '  The 
Spirit  helpeth  the  infirmity  of  our  prayer.'  .  .  .  And  again,  '  The  Lord, 
our  Advocate,  intercedeth  for  us.'  " 

Now  to  the  Lord,  who  makes  us  know. — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  61,  of  Book  I.,  and  is  also  found  after  a  sermon 
on    Rev.     1  :  5-7,    "  Christ,  our    High  Priest   and    King,"    and 
1 '  Christ  Coming  to  Judgment. ' '      It  has  five  stanzas. 

Now  to  the  power  of  God  supreme. — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymns  this  is  Hymn  137,  of  Book  I.,  "  Salvation 
by  Grace  in  Christ. — 11  Tim.  1:9."   It  is  comprised  in  five  stanzas. 

Now  when  the  dusky  shades  of  night  retreating. — Anon. 
The  Westminster  Abbey  Hymn-Book  regards  this  piece  as  the 
translation  of  a  Latin  hymn  of  Gregory  the  Great.  It  is  first  found 
in  America  in  Hymns  for  the  Church  of  Christ,  1853,  compiled  by 
Dr.  Hedge  and  Dr.  Huntington.  From  this  Unitarian  collection 
it  was  copied  into  the  Plymouth  Collection,  1855,  and  appears  in 
the  English  Hymnary  in  1872,  with  an  added  stanza.  A  fancied 
resemblance  to  the  hymn  of  Gregory,  commencing,  "  Ecce  jam 
noctis  tenuatur  umbra,"  has  probably  caused  the  Westminster  editor 
to  go  astray.  The  piece  is  similar  also  to  the  hymn  of  Prudentius, 
commencing,  "  Nox  et  tenebrce  et  nubila."  In  fact,  it  is  precisely 
such  a  paraphrase  as  any  one  might  write  when  he  was  familiar 
with  the  Latin  morning  hymns  in  the  same  measure. 

Now  to  thy  sacred  house. — Dwight. 
Dr.  Timothy  Dwight  was  a  man  of  majestic  presence,  and  his 
stately  progress  to  the  house  of  God  might  well  serve  as  a  com- 
mentary upon  his  own  hymn.      "  His  features,"  says  Dr.  William 


396  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

B.  Sprague,  who  was  one  of  his  pupils,  "  were  regular,  his  eye 
black  and  piercing,  but  benignant,  and  his  countenance  altogether 
indicative  of  a  high  order  of  mind.  His  voice  was  rich  and  melo- 
dious, adapted  alike  to  music  and  oratory."  Honorable  S.  G. 
Goodrich  ("Peter  Parley")  also  speaks  of  the  "imposing 
grandeur  of  his  personal  appearance  in  the  pulpit."  And  he 
adds,  "  his  smile  was  irresistible  :  even  the  pupils  of  the  college 
almost  adored  him."  This  word  "  even  "  strikes  us  as  high  com- 
mendation. In  D wight's  Collection,  1800,  this  is  part  of  the  ver- 
sion of  Ps.  43,  commencing,  "  My  God,  defend  my  cause." 
Our  first  line  begins  the  third  stanza. 

O  bless  the  Lord,  my  soul. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of   Ps.  103,  first  part,  S.  M.,  vv. 
1-7,  "  Praise  for  Spiritual  and  Temporal  Mercies."     It  is  in  six 
stanzas. 

O  blessed  Saviour  !  is  thy  love. — J.  Stennett. 

The  present  hymn,  sometimes  written  "  My  blessed  Saviour," 
etc.,  is  from  Hymns  in  Commemoration  0/  the  Sufferings  of  our 
Blessed  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,   1697  (third  edition,   1709). 

O  blest  memorial  of  our  dying  Lord. — Woodford,  tr. 
This  is  the  hymn,  "  Thee  we  adore,  O  hidden  Saviour — thee," 
commencing  with  the  second  stanza.  It  is  a  translation  of  the 
famous  sacramental  hymn  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  "Adoro  te  devote, 
latens  Deltas, ' '  and  was  first  published  in  the  Parish  Hymn-Book, 
1863,  compiled  by  Rev.  Hyde  W.  Beadon  and  the  late  Bishop 
J.  Russell  Woodford. 

O  bread,  to  pilgrims  given. — R.  Palmer,  tr. 
We  have  here  a  version  made  from  the  Latin  hymn,  ' '  0  esca 
viaiorum,"  which  Moll  calls  a  "Jesuit  hymn."      This  rendering 
b}'  Dr.  Ray  Palmer  was  prepared  in  1858. 

O  cease,  my  wandering  soul. — Muhlenberg. 
The  hymn,  "  I  would  not  live  alway, "  has  made  the  name  of 
Rev.  William  Augustus  Muhlenberg,  D.  D. ,  known  to  all  lovers 
of  sacred  song.  Yet  it  is  far  from  being  his  best  piece  either  in 
sentiment  or  expression.  Its  precise  text  appears  in  Prof.  Cleve- 
land's Lyra  Sacra  Americana,  and  its  history  deserves  a  word  in 
this  connection.      It  was  written  in  1824,  and  first  appeared  in  the 


ENGLISH  HYMATs,  397 

Episcopal  Recorder,  Philadelphia,  June  3d,  1826,  in  six  stanzas  of 

eight  lines  each. 

In  1826  a  committee  was  appointed  to  enlarge  the  Episcopalian  Hymnal. 
One  of  the  number,  Dr.  (afterward  Bishop)  H.  U.  Onderdonk,  himself  a 
poet  of  no  mean  capacity,  had  been  pleased  with  the  hymn,  and  having 
abridged  it,  submitted  it— in  all  ignorance— to  Dr.  Muhlenberg  himself, 
who  was  also  upon  the  committee.  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  com- 
mittee in  1829  the  report  of  the  sub-cornmittee  came  up,  and  the  hymns 
were  separately  considered.  One  of  the  members  said  that  "  I  would  not 
live  alvvay  "  was  very  good,  but  somewhat  sentimental.  It  was  rejected 
forthwith,  and  Dr.  Muhlenberg  himself  voted  against  it.  Dr.  Onderdonk 
was  not  present,  and  the  action  seemed  final.  The  next  morning  brought 
the  absentee  to  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  house  to  hear  what  had  been  done. 
Learning  that  the  hymn  had  met  with  disapproval  he  instantly  remarked, 
"  This  will  not  do,"  and  personally  interceded  with  the  rest  of  the  com- 
mittee until  they  restored  it.     To  him,  therefore,  the  credit  belongs. 

Dr.  Muhlenberg  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  September  16th, 
1796  ;  graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  18 14  ;  entered 
the  ministry,  1817,  and  was  ordained  as  priest  in  1820;  became 
associate  rector  of  St.  James'  church,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1823  ; 
and  then  principal  of  St.  Paul's  College,  which  he  established  at 
Flushing,  L.  I.,  and  which  prospered  under  his  management.  He 
next  became  (1843)  rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion, 
New  York  City,  and  having  founded  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  in 
1855,  took  both  the  temporal  and  spiritual  care  of  it  from  that  date 
until  his  death,  in  New  York  City,  April  6th,  1877.  The  Church 
of  the  Holy  Communion  was  a  memorial  edifice  built  by  his 
sister.  The  fund  for  St.  Luke's  Hospital  grew  from  $$0  in  1846 
to  over  $200,000  in  1857,  and  has  largely  increased  since  that 
period.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  was  the  great-grandson  of  Rev.  Henry 
Melchior  Muhlenberg,  the  founder  of  the  German  Lutheran 
Church  in  America. 

The  last  hours  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg  were  full  of  thanksgiving. 
He  used  to  say  of  the  care  taken  of  him  in  the  hospital  which  he 
founded  :  "No  royal  person  could  be  better  provided.  Such 
rooms,  such  comforts,  such  doctors  and  nurses."  Then  he  would 
clap  his  hands  and  repeat  : 

"  Ten  thousand,  thousand  precious  gifts 
My  daily  thanks  employ  ; 
Nor  is  the  least  a  thankful  heart 
That  takes  those  gifts  with  joy." 


398  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

And  once  he  said  :  "  If  I  have  many  sorrows  I  have  innumerable 
mercies."  He  enjoyed  also  the  hymn,  "  Jesus,  my  Lord,  I  know 
his  name."  He  wished  to  have  placed  on  his  tombstone,  "  I 
know  whom  I  have  believed."  And  this  has  been  done  as  he  de- 
sired. 

Among  the  anecdotes  of  this  excellent  man  there  are  two  which 
we  are  unwilling  to  omit.     Here  is  the  first  :  Being  once  disturbed 
by  the  self-righteousness  of  one  of  his  pupils,  he  handed  him  a  slip 
of  paper  bearing  these  words  : 
"  18th  hymn  corrected — 3d  verse — 

'  /  did  seek  thee  when  a  stranger 

Looking  for  the  fold  of  God  ; 
/,  to  save  my  soul  from  danger, 

Earned  redemption  in  Thy  blood.'  " 

And  the  second  is  like  unto  it.  For  it  was  with  this  same  keen 
and  quiet  irony  that  he  answered  another  rather  censorious  person  : 

"  Ah,  my  dear  ,  the  Lord  has  a  good  many  different  sorts 

of  sinners." 

O  Christ  !  our  hope,  our  hearts'  desire. — Chandler,  tr. 
We  have  here  Rev.  John  Chandler's  translation  of  the  "  Jesu 
nostra  redemption  an  Ascension  hymn  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  cen- 
tury ;  sometimes,  though  incorrectly,  called  Ambrosian.  This 
hymn  sometimes  appears  as  "Jesu,  our  Hope,  our  hearts'  desire." 
The  present  version  dates  from  1837. 

O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator,  Lord.  — R.  Palmer,  tr. 
This  is  a  translation  of  the  "Rex  Chr isle,  factor  omnium'''  of 
Gregory  the  Great,  for  whom  see  ' '  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and 
their  Hymns."     The  rendering  was  made  in   1858. 

O  Christ,  the  eternal  Light.— S.  W.  Duffield,  tr. 
This  is  a  rendering— made  in  1883  for  Laudes  Domini— -of  the 
liC/irisle,  lumen perpetuum"  of  Magnus  Felix  Ennodius,  bishop  of 
Pavia.  The  famous  hymn  by  Charles  Wesley,  ' '  Christ,  whose 
glory  fills  the  skies,"  is — probably  without  deliberate  intention — a 
free  version  of  this  same  Latin  piece.  Ennodius  has  never  before 
been  translated  for  Christian  use.  Rambach  knew  of  nothing  from 
him  in  German,  and  (with  the  exception  of  Nos.  940  and  785  in 
Laudes  Domini)  we  do  not,  in  English.  He  was  a  strange  charac- 
ter, the  originator  of  the  title  "  Pope"  as  applied  to  the  Roman 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  399 

bishop.     His  history  is  given  in  "  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and 
their  Hymns/' 

O  Christ,  the  Lord  of  heaven  !  to  thee.  — Palmer. 
This  hymn  was  written  in  New  York  City,  1867,  and  is  based 
on  Rev.  19  :  16.     It  is  not — as  sometimes  considered — a  trans- 
lation.    Dr.  Palmer  says  of  this  piece  that  it   "satisfies"   him 
better  than  almost  any  hymn  which  he  has  written. 

O  Christ,  thou  hast  ascended. — E.  H.  Bickersteth. 
Dr.  Bickersteth  intended  this  for  the  Sunday  after  Ascension 
Day,  and  has  so  placed  it  in  From  Year  to  Year.  The  "  Lessons  " 
are  Deut.  30  and  34  ;  Josh.  1  ;  1  Pet.  4  :  7-12  ;  John  15  :  26, 
and  16  :  1-5.  The  hymn  is  based  on  John  15  :  26,  and  has  four 
double  stanzas.     This  is  the  collect : 

O  God,  the  King  of  glory,  who  hast  exalted  thine  only  Son  Jesus  Christ 
with  great  triumph  unto  thy  kingdom  in  heaven  ;  we  beseech  thee  leave 
us  not  comfortless  ;  but  send  to  us  thine  Holy  Ghost  to  comfort  us,  and 
exalt  us  unto  the  same  place  whither  our  Saviour  Christ  is  gone  before  ; 
who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  one  God,  world 
without  end.     Amen. 

O  Christ,  who  hast  prepared  a  place. — Chandler,  tr. 
This  is  the  "Nobis  Olympo  redditus"  of  Santolius  Victorinus 
(Jean  Baptiste  de  Santeul,  born  May  12th,  1630;  died  August 
5th,  1697)  from  the  Paris  [Harlay]  Breviary,  for  which  "  The  Latin 
Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns  "  can  be  consulted  under  "  Paris 
Breviary."  The  rendering  is  from  Rev.  John  Chandler's  Hymns 
of  the  Primitive  Church,  1837.  There  are  five  stanzas,  including 
the  doxology. 

O  Christ,  with  each  returning  morn. — Chandler,  tr. 
This  author  has  given  us  some  of  the  best  versions  of  the  Latin 
hymns  which  we  possess.  His  volume  of  translations,  entitled 
Hymns  of  the  Primitive  Church,  appeared  in  1837,  and  from  this  all 
the  hymns  bearing  his  name  in  the  popular  collections  have  been 
taken.  The  one  introduced  here  is  a  rendering  of  the  "  Splendor 
patentee  g/orice,"  by  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  for  whose  poetry 
see  "  The  Latin  Hymn- Writers  and  their  Hymns."  It  consists 
of  seven  stanzas,  which  different  compilers  have  arranged  according 
to  their  needs  and  tastes.      Sometimes  the  hymn  is  made  to  begin 


4QO  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

with  the  line,  "  All- hallowed  be  our  walk  this  day,"  and  some- 
times, "  O  Jesus,  Lord  of  heavenly  grace." 

Rev.  John  Chandler  was  born  in  Witley,  Surrey,  England 
(where  his  father,  Rev.  John  F.  Chandler,  was  patron  and  incum- 
bent of  the  vicarage),  June  16th,  1806.  After  receiving  his  educa- 
tion at  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford  (B.A.,  1827,  and  M.A., 
1830),  he  was  ordained  deacon  in  1831,  and  presbyter  in  1832. 
In  1839  ne  succeeded  his  father  in  the  vicarage  of  Witley,  and 
was  also  appointed  rural  dean.  He  died  at  Putney,  July  1st, 
1876.  A  singular  fact  in  connection  with  the  vicarage  of  Witley 
is,  that  its  incumbent  is  likewise  the  patron  of  the  living,  and  ap- 
points his  successor.  Hence,  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Chandler,  he 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Brownlow  Chandler,  a  graduate  of 
Corpus  Christi  College,  in  1873,  who  is  the  present  vicar. 

Oh,  come,  and  let  us  all,  with  one  accord.  — Anon. 
This  is  one  of  those  traditional  versions  of  the  95th  Psalm  which 
are  found  in  the  ancient  psalters,  and  are  preserved  in  the  Church 
collections  for  the  sake  of  association,  and  because  of  a  certain 
flavor  of  age  and  quaintness  that  renders  them  attractive.  Evi- 
dently it  has  figured  as  a  Long  Metre  before  it  received  its  present 
elongation  of  lines  by  two  syllables  of  expletive.  It  was  taken  by 
the  editor  of  Laudes  Domini  from  the  Temple  Choral  Service  Book, 
edited  and  prepared  by  Edward  J.  Hopkins,  organist  of  the  Inner 
and  Middle  Temple  in  London.  Although  it  bears  no  date,  and 
is  not  easily  to  be  assigned  to  any  certain  period,  the  internal  evi- 
dence shows  two  curious  facts.  To  one  accustomed  to  "  the 
higher  criticism"  in  hymnology,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is 
a  production  of  the  seventeenth  century  or  thereabouts.  And 
then  the  lines  have  been  artificially  lengthened,  like  a  steamship 
cut  in  two  and  pieced  out,  so  that  traces  of  a  second  hand  are  visi- 
ble in  the  structure,  thus  : 

"  Let  universal  nature  [ever]  raise 

A  cheerful  voice  to  give  him  [thanks  and]  praise  : 

Let  [us  and]  all  his  saints  his  glory  sing, 

Who  is  our  blessed  [Saviour,]  Lord  and  King." 

Oh,  come,  all  ye  faithful. — Oakeley,  Mercer  and  others,  Irs. 
This  hymn,  Adesle  fideles,  is  attributed   to  the  seventeenth  or 
eighteenth  century,  and  is  said  to  have  been  taken  from  a  Graduate 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  401 

of  the  Cistercians.  There  is  but  little  doubt  that  in  this,  as  in  his 
other  hymn  included  in  Laudes  Domini,  Mercer  amended  a  version 
by  another  author  to  suit  himself.  Hutchins  and  Prescott  both 
assign  this  piece  to  Rev.  Frederick  Oakeley.  Its  modified  form 
is,  however,  due  to  the  compilers  of  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern, 
as  well  as  to  Mercer.  It  was  translated  in  1841,  and  published  in 
1848,  in  the  Lyra  Catholica.  Mercer's  book  appeared  in  1854, 
and  this  version  was  included  among  its  hymns.  The  original 
form,  "  Ye  faithful,  approach  ye,"  can  be  found,  anonymously,  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  hymn-book  (ed.  of  1884,  N.  Y.).  The  Latin 
original  is  sometimes  ascribed  to  Bonaventura. 

The  principal  author,  Rev.  Frederick  Oakeley,  was  a  high 
Ritualist,  the  youngest  son  of  Sir  Charles  Oakeley,  born  at  Shrews- 
bury, September  5th,  1802.  He  was  graduated  at  Oxford,  in 
1824,  and  was  a  Fellow  of  Balliol  College,  1827.  He  then  took 
orders  in  the  English  Church,  and  was  a  prebendary  of  Lichfield 
Cathedral,  1832.  In  1839  he  was  minister  of  Margaret  Chapel, 
Margaret  Street,  London,  but  in  1845  he  joined  the  Church  of 
Rome.  He  became  a  priest,  and  was  finally  a  canon  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  district  of  Westminster  in  1852.  His  death  took  place  in 
1880.  His  Lyra  Liturgica  is  a  Roman  Catholic  imitation  of 
Keble's  Christian  Year. 

The  "  Portuguese  Hymn,"  to  which  the  "  Adesie  fideles  "  has  usually 
been  sung,  was  the  composition  of  Marcas  Portugal.  He  was  the  chapel- 
master  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  and  died  at  Rio  Janeiro  over  fifty  years 
ago.  The  tune  was  originally  employed  as  an  offertory  piece,  and  Dom 
Joao  VI.,  in  whose  service  the  composer  had  a  position,  came  to  Brazil 
in  1808.  Marcas  Portugal  accompanied  him  thither,  and  remained  when 
his  royal  master  returned  to  Europe.  When  Dom  Pedro  II.,  who  is  the 
grandson  of  Dom  Joao,  was  a  little  boy,  the  old  composer  still  led  the 
chapel  services,  and  Dr.  Fletcher,  in  his  Brazil  and  the  Brazilians,  fixes 
the  date  of  his  death  in  1834.  In  the  preface  to  the  ninth  edition  of  Dr. 
Fletcher's  work  this  fact  is  authoritatively  stated,  and  it  is  added  that 
Marcas  (or  Marcos)  Portugal  wrote  several  operas  as  well  as  much  sacred 
music.  These  were  popular  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century, 
both  in  Portugal  and  Italy.  The  claim,  therefore,  that  Reading  (other- 
wise Redding)  was  the  composer  of  this  celebrated  tune,  falls  to  the 
ground.  It  is  worthy  of  passing  note  that  the  earliest  musical  composer 
on  the  Western  continent  was  Antonio  Carlos  Gomez,  who  came  from 
the  very  land  where  the  body  of  Marcas  Portugal  rests. 

Further  information  on  this  subject  can  be  found  in  Notes  and 
Queries,  sixth  series,  III.,  May  21st,  188 1,  p.  410. 


402  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Oh,  could  I  find,  from  day  to  day.  — Cleveland. 
This  hymn  is  commonly  assigned  to  Benjamin  Cleveland,  pre- 
sumably an  American  Baptist,  who  published  his  pieces  in  1790. 
The  fourth  edition  appeared  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  1792.  The  dis- 
covery of  the  authorship  is  due,  apparently,  to  Rev.  Sylvanus 
Phelps,  D.  D. ,  of  Hartford,  Conn. ,  who  published  in  the  Watch- 
man and  Reflector  an  account  of  this  small  book  of  hymns,  which 
had  somehow  come  into  his  possession.  Dr.  Phelps  says  :  ' '  There 
was  not  another  piece  in  the  collection  fit  for  use  as  a  hymn,  nor 
was  this  as  the  author  left  it."  Precisely  how  he  could  know  the 
latter  fact  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  The  critical  history  of  the  text  is 
that  there  were  originally  six  stanzas,  which  were  altered  in  the 
Hartford  Selection,  1799.  The  present  text  is  substantially  that 
of  Nettleton's  Village  Hymns,  1826. 

Oh,  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth. — Medley. 
This  hymn  is  fully  reprinted  in  Lyra  Brilannica,  and  com- 
mences, ' '  Not  of  terrestrial  mortal  themes. ' '  It  has  eight  six-line 
stanzas,  was  written  in  1789,  and,  like  some  other  sacred  lyrics 
of  English  birth,  is  more  popular  in  America  than  in  England.  It 
was  probably  brought  here  in  Dobelt  s  Collection  (Morristown,  N.  J., 
1 8 15).  It  was  subsequently  in  Hickok's  Sacred  Harp,  Lewis- 
town,  Pa.,  1832,  and  Dr.  Hastings's  Spiritual  Songs,  1831.  In 
Hickok's  book  the  tune  is  "  Ganges"  C.  P.  M.  ;  in  Hastings's 
book  it  is  "  Courlville."  Neither  of  these  tunes  suited  the  piece, 
but  when,  in  1836,  Dr.  Mason  adapted  "Ariel,'"  he  permanently 
wedded  words  and  music,  and  ever  since  that  time  this  hymn, 
"  Christ  our  King,"  has  been  a  part  of  the  treasures  of  the  Ameri- 
can Church.  Like  "  Aaron's  rod  that  budded,"  the  splendid  old 
song  took  new  life,  and  is  now  laid  up  in  the  ark  of  our  Christian 
hymnody. 

O  day  of  rest  and  gladness.  — C.  Wordsworth. 

Rev.  Christopher  Wordsworth,  D.D.,  the  nephew  of  William 
Wordsworth,  the  poet,  was  born  in  the  year  of  grace  1807  ; 
educated  at  Winchester  School,  and  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
England  ;  and  in  1836  became  head-master  of  Harrow.  In  1844 
he  was  promoted  to  be  a  canon  in  Westminster  Abbey.  As  a 
scholar,  he  has  made  himself  conspicuous  by  his  Commentary  upon 
the  Old  Testament  in  the  Authorized  Version,  and  upon  the  New 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  403 

Testament  in  the  Greek  ;  as  a  traveller,  his  volumes  upon  Greece, 
Italy  and  France  are  well  known  ;  and  as  a  hymn- writer  he  has 
given  us  some  of  our  sweetest  and  best  lyrics.  He  became,  in 
1869,  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  died 
in  1885.  His  name  must  not  be  confounded  with  that  of  Charles 
Wordsworth,  the  bishop  of  St.  Andrews,  born  in  1806  ;  nor  with 
that  of  Christopher  Wordsworth,  D.D.,  born  in  1774. 

The  present  hymn  is  found  in  a  collection  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven,  by  the  same  author,  entitled,  The  Holy  Year ;  or, 
Hymns  for  Sundays,  Holy  Days  and  Other  Occasions  Throughout 
the  Year,  1862. 

Oh,  do  not  let  the  word  depart. — Mrs.  Reed. 

This  hymn  is  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Reed,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Andrew 
Reed.  The  date  is  1825.  Dr.  Reed  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Holmes,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  in  18 16.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  a  London  merchant,  and  their  family  consisted  of 
seven  children,  five  of  whom  survived  their  mother,  who  died  July 

4th,  1867. 

O  eyes  that  are  weary. — Darby.   (?) 

John  Nelson  Darby,  the  founder  of  the  sect  called  "  Plymouth, 
Brethren,"  contributed  five  hymns  (says  Miller)  to  a  collection 
published  by  Messrs.  Groombridge  &  Sons.  The  inference  is  that 
Mr.  Darby  authenticated  these  for  Mr.  Miller,  but  the  hymn  now 
before  us  is  not  given  in  Miller's  index,  nor  is  it  in  the  book  of 
1881. 

The  views  of  these  Darbyites,  or  Plymouth  Brethren,  have  been  propa- 
gated in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  France,  Switzerland,  Italy  and  else- 
where on  the  Continent.  They  are  represented  in  India,  and  a  few  con- 
gregations' can  be  discovered  in  Canada  and  the  United  States.  They 
publish  no  statistics  ;  emphasize  the  doctrines  of  depravity,  atonement 
and  regeneration  ;  baptize  only  adults  ;  partake  of  the  communion  every 
Sunday,  and  cultivate  a  fervent  spiritual  life.  The  great  difference  be- 
tween them  and  other  Christians  is  seen  in  their  denial  of  ecclesiastical 
forms,  and,  especially,  in  their  resistance  to  the  idea  that  clergymen  have 
any  exclusive  right  to  administer  the  sacraments  and  to  preach.  Some 
prominent  American  evangelists  have  been  considered  to  hold  these 
opinions  also,  and  have  therefore  been  frequently  counted  with  the  Plym- 
outh Brethren. 

The  Schaff-Herzog  Cyclopaedia  (Supplement)  has  an  article  on 
Darby  which  is  probably  the  most  authoritative  of  any  that  we  can 
touch.     It  is  by  Edward  E.  Whitefield,  a  member  of  the  Brethren, 


404  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

at  Oxford,  England.  What  follows  is  condensed  from  that  ac- 
count. 

Mr.  Darby  was  born  in  London,  November  18th,  1800,  gradu- 
ated at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  1819,  took  orders  and  became  a 
curate  in  Wicklow  until  1827.  At  that  time  he  doubted  as  to 
Church  establishments,  left  the  Church  altogether,  and  gathered  a 
band  of  like-minded  persons  in  Dublin.  In  1830  he  carried  on 
this  movement  at  Plymouth.  The  Christian  Witness  (their  paper) 
was  started  in  1834  by  James  L.  Harris,  who  had  resigned  the 
perpetual  curacy  of  Plymstock.  To  this  periodical  Mr.  Darby 
was  a  frequent  contributor.      He  has  written  some  thirteen  hymns. 

From  1838  to  1840  Mr.  Darby  worked  in  Switzerland,  and  in 
1845  (the  Methodists  and  other  Dissenters  having  joined  them)  the 
Darbyites  suffered  there  some  persecution.  This  was  charged  to 
the  account  of  the  Jesuits  of  Canton  Vaud.  But  there  was  also 
trouble  at  home  the  same  year,  and  a  disruption  occurred  at  Plym- 
outh, which  is  fully  detailed  in  the  Schaff-Herzog  Cyclopaedia 
(art.  Plymouth  Brethren)  and  need  not  here  be  repeated.  In  1866, 
and  again  in  1878-81,  there  were  further  disintegrations,  so  that 
the  Brethren  are  now,  like  the  French  Assembly,  very  much 
differentiated  into  :  1.  Exclusives  (i.  e.,  Darbyites,  with  three 
subdivisions  or  splits,  beneath  this  general  head) ;  2.  Bethesda, 
or  open,  Brethren  (affiliated  with  George  Miiller,  of  the  Faith  Work 
and  Orphanages  at  Bristol)  ;  and  3.  Newtonians  (followers  of 
B.  W.  Newton,  who  had  been  the  first  to  invite  Darby  to  Plymouth 
in  1830).  All  this  concerns  us  but  little,  except,  indeed,  as  it 
shows  the  minute  and  controversial  distinctions  which  have  pre- 
vailed in  a  body  of  people  who  were  revolutionists  against  too 
many  forms.  On  some  of  the  most  sacred  subjects — for  instance, 
the  sufferings  of  Christ — Mr.  Darby  unhesitatingly  propounded  his 
views  and  defended  them  with  determination.  He  was  an  indus- 
trious scholar,  a  profound  Bible  student — and,  it  is  needless  to 
add,  an  earnest  man.  He  turned  some  of  his  batteries  against 
Romanism  between  the  years  1870  and  1880.  He  had  visited  the 
United  States  and  Canada  in  1859-60,  again  in  1864-5,  a  third 
time  in  1866,  a  fourth  in  1870,  and  finally  made  a  "vigorous 
campaign  in  the  United  States/'  in  1872-3.  In  the  midst  of  these 
labors  he  took  occasion  to  render  the  New  Testament  into  French, 
to  visit  Italy,  and  to  make  an  expedition  to  New  Zealand.      Even 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  405 

in  advanced  age  he  was  incessantly  active,  translating  the  Old 
Testament  into  French,  discussing  the  Greek  aorist,  elucidating 
the  Greek  article,  reviewing  Robertson  Smith  and  John  Stuart 
Mill,  and  preparing  abstruse  philosophical  treatises.  He  com- 
posed his  Meditations  on  the  Acts  (1871)  in  the  Italian  language. 

But  it  is  recorded  of  him  that  he  delighted  to  turn  from  this 
doctrinal  and  controversial  labor  to  anything  devotional  and  prac- 
tical. He  rejoiced  to  write  hymns.  The  Brethren  s  Hymnal  was 
edited  by  him.  His  various  works  have  been  collected  by  W. 
Kelly.      He  died  in  Bournemouth,  April  29th,  1882. 

The  hymn,  therefore,  upon  which  we  are  commenting  may  not 
positively  be  his  work,  but  it  is  certainly  in  his  spirit. 

Oh,  fair  the  gleams  of  glory.  — C.  I.  Cameron. 

This  hymn  appears  in  the  Canadian  (Presbyterian)  Hymnal, 
1 88 1,  and  is  the  composition  of  Rev.  Charles  Innes  Cameron.  He 
was  born  at  Kilmallie,  near  Fort  William,  Scotland,  in  1837, 
came  to  Canada  in  1858,  entered  Queen's  College,  Kingston, 
where  he  was  graduated,  and  afterward  spent  two  years  in  the 
Theological  Hall,  and  took  his  third  year  in  Glasgow.  In  1865  he 
was  ordained,  and  became  a  missionary  in  India  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  His  health  being  much  impaired,  he 
was  compelled  to  leave  India.  Thence  he  went  to  Australia,  but 
returned  to  Canada  in  1875,  and  assumed  the  care  of  a  congrega- 
tion at  New  Edinburgh,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Ottawa.  Here  again 
his  health  broke  down  and  he  resigned— the  Presbytery  with  great 
reluctance  yielding  to  the  necessity  in  the  case.  Not  long  after- 
ward he  died  in  faith  and  hope. 

A  small  volume  of  his  poems  was  issued  posthumously,  and 
from  this  is  taken  the  present  piece,  which  bears  the  title,  "  The 
Glory  that  Excelleth."  We  are  indebted  for  this  hitherto -unpub- 
lished information  to  the  personal  kindness  of  Rev.  W.  Greig, 
D.D.,  of  Toronto,  one  of  the  compilers  of  the  Hymnal. 
Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God.  — Cowper. 

After  his  first  season  of  real  and  ecstatic  joy  in  the  Lord,  the 
mind  of  Cowper  was  darkened  by  his  old  constitutional  melancholy. 
This  is  one  of  the  hymns  which,  before  that  gloomy  time  had  set 
in,  he  contributed  to  the  Olney  Collection.  Newton  himself  con- 
veyed  to  his  friend  Cecil  the  idea— which    Cecil    records— that 


406  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Cowper  was  free  from  this  melancholy  mood  until  he  again  took 
up  literary  labor.  In  his  life  of  Newton,  Cecil  spends  both  care 
and  space  upon  the  matter.  ' '  There  has  gone  forth, ' '  he  says, 
11  an  unfounded  report  that  the  deplorable  melancholy  of  Cowper 
was,  in  part,  derived  from  his  residence  and  connections  in  that 
place."  [Olney.]  This  he  labors  to  neutralize.  And  we  would 
be  slow  to  ascribe  to  Mr.  Newton  any  share  in  causing  the  poet's 
malady.  But  one  cannot  read  Newton's  own  table-talk  or  his  ser- 
mons without  a  conviction  that  what  Cowper  needed  was  a  hand 
not  less  true  but  more  gentle.  Here,  for  example,  is  Newton's 
philosophy  of  life  :  ' '  When  a  Christian  goes  into  the  world,  be- 
cause he  sees  it  is  his  call,  yet,  while  he  feels  it  also  his  cross,  it 
will  not  hurt  him." 

Under  the  pressure  of  such  feelings  Cowper  once  more  took  up 
his  pen.  He  felt  as  if  it  was  a  sin  against  conscience  for  him  to 
write  anything  secular.  The  fret  of  this  produced  its  natural  effect. 
He  grew  morbid  and  moody.  He  was  frittering  away  his  poetical 
talent  upon  merely  worldly  matters,  as  he  thought,  while  religion 
was  neglected.  Mrs.  Oliphant  has  expressed  this  admirably  when 
she  writes  :  "  The  faith,  not  even  of  Calvin,  but  of  John  Newton, 
represented  Christianity  to  Cowper's  eyes.  He  knew  no  kind  of 
piety  but  that  which  was  dictated  by  this  form  of  doctrine,  and  he 
tutored  himself  to  be  its  interpreter  to  the  world,  which  loved  verse 
better  than  sermons." 

Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  this  is  the  hymn  which  comes  from 
such  a  struggle,  and  that  it  represents  much  more  than  the  elements 
which  gave  it  birth  ?  It  is  the  echo  of  old  David's  "  Restore  unto 
me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation" — but  Cowper  has  exaggerated  his 
own  morbidness  until  he  is  positively  the  antitype  of  the  royal 
criminal.  Nevertheless,  this  intensity  is  a  part  of  the  power  of  the 
hymn — and  a  great  part,  too.  Cowper  has  uttered  what  others — 
far  darker  in  spirit — could  not  phrase.  It  is  just  like  reputable, 
home  loving  Tom  Hood  putting  into  words  a  murderer's  dream, 
or — to  take  a  higher  illustration — Shakespeare  revealing  the  horrors 
of  conscience  in  Lady  Macbeth. 

This  is  what  we  call  genius.  This,  consecrated  by  God's  grace, 
constitutes  a  Christian  poet  and  produces  the  tone  into  which  all 
struggling  spirits  strike — makes  a  spiritual  path  through  a  wilder- 
ness— teaches  words  to  the  inarticulate  and  agonized  soul. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  4°  7 

"  How  well  Cowper  knew  the  heart,"  writes  Josiah  Conder  (July  4th, 
1810),  "  when  he  closes  one  of  his  beautiful  poems  thus  : 

1  But  ah  !  my  inmost  spirit  cries, 
"  Still  bend  me  to  thy  sway  ; 
Else  the  next  cloud  that  veils  the  skies 
Drives  all  these  thoughts  away."  '  " 

This  is  from  the  hymn,  "  O  Lord,  my  best  desires  fulfil,"  whose  tone  is 
very  similar  to  the  one  before  us,  but  which  is  inferior  to  it  as  an  expres- 
sion of  profound  longing  after  God.  But  Conder's  further  words  are  very 
helpful,  "  Oh  this  chilling,  distracting,  harassing  world  !  When  in  league 
with  such  traitorous  hearts  no  effort  of  ours,  unassisted  by  divine  influ- 
ences, can  withstand  its  power." 

Oh,  Father,  who  didst  all  things  make.  — Heathcote. 
After  passing  for  a  long  time  as  "  Anonymous/'  this  hymn  is 
now  positively  accredited,  in  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,  to  Rev. 
H.  B.  Heathcote,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.      It  was 
first  published  in  an  English  hymnal  of  the  date  1852. 

Oh,  for  a  faith  that  will  not  shrink. — Bathurst. 
There  are  some  alterations  in  this  hymn,  but  it  is  not  seriously 
changed.      Its  title  is,  "  The  Power  of  Faith,"  with  a  reference  to 
Luke    17  :  5,  and   it  is  from  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Public  and 
Private  Use,  1831,  and  has  six  stanzas. 

Oh,  for  a  heart  to  praise  my  God. — C.  Wesley. 
This  is  from  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems  (1742),  and  founded 
on  Ps.  51  :  10.     There  are  eight  stanzas. 

The  "  holy  Fletcher  of  Madeley  "  says  of  this  hymn  :  "  Here 
is  undoubtedly  an  evangelical  prayer  for  the  love  which  restores 
the  soul  to  a  state  of  sinless  rest  and  scriptural  perfection." 

Mr.  Christophers  tells  of  an  old  Congregational  minister  and  his 
wife  who  had  debated  the  question  of  "Christian  perfection," 
and  who  finally  made  up  their  minds  that,  if  it  consisted  in  the 
ability  to  sing  this  hymn  with  the  whole  heart,  they  and  the  Meth- 
odists were  not  far  asunder  ! 

Oh,  for  a  strong,  a  lasting  faith. — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  60,  L.  M.,  of  Dr.  Watts' s  Book  II.  It  has 
eight  stanzas,  and  our  present  hymn  commences  with  the  sixth. 
The  first  line,  as  given  by  Dr.  Watts,  is,  "Praise,  everlasting 
praise,  be  paid."  The  title  is,  "  The  Truth  of  God  the  Promiser  : 
or,  the  Promises  are  our  Security.  '* 


4°8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Oh,  for  a  shout  of  joy.  — J.  Young. 
This  hymn  and  another  by  the  same  author  appeared  in  the 
Baptist  Church  Psalmist  (American)  in  1843.      Nothing  further  is 
known. 

Oh,  for  a  shout  of  sacred  joy. — Watts. 

This  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  47,  CM.,  "  Christ,  Ascend- 
ing and  Reigning. ' '     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Oh,  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing.  — C.  Wesley. 

The  history  of  this  hymn  is  memorable  indeed.  It  is  the  first 
in  the  Methodist  hymnal,  and  it  well  deserves  its  prominence. 
Charles  Wesley  wrote  it  to  commemorate  his  own  conversion,  and 
it  has  been  traced  to  its  origin,  and  all  the  surrounding  circum- 
stances have  been  verified. 

On  Whit-Sunday,  May  21st,  1738,  Wesley  was  confined  to  his 
room  in  the  house  of  Thomas  Bray,  a  brazier  of  Little  Britain,  by 
an  attack  of  pleurisy.  In  1881  the  exact  location  of  Mr.  Bray's 
house  was  ascertained.  The  account  in  Mr.  Wesley's  journal  is 
as  follows  : 

"  The  Day  of  Pentecost. — Sunday,  21st  of  May,  1738.  I  waked  in 
hope  and  expectation  of  His  coming.  At  nine  my  brother  and  some 
friends  came  and  sang  a  hymn  to  the  Holy  Ghost  [probably  written  by 
his  brother  Samuel].  My  hope  and  comfort  were  thereby  increased.  In 
about  half  an  hour  they  went.  I  betook  myself  to  prayer  ;  the  substance 
as  follows  :  '  O  Jesus,  Thou  hast  said,  "  1  will  come  unto  you  ;"  Thou 
hast  said,  "  I  will  send  the  Comforter  unto  you  ;"  Thou  hast  said,  "  My 
Father  and  I  will  come  unto  you,  and  make  our  abode  with  you."  Thou 
art  God  who  canst  not  lie  ;  I  wholly  rely  upon  Thy  most  true  promise  : 
accomplish  it  in  Thy  time  and  manner.'  Having  said  this,  I  was 
composing  myself  to  sleep  in  quietness  and  peace,  when  I  heard  one  come 
in  and  say  :  '  In  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  arise,  and  believe,  and 
thou  shalt  be  healed  of  all  thine  infirmities.'  The  words  struck  me  to  the 
heart.  I  lay  musing  and  trembling.  With  a  strange  palpitation  of  heart. 
I  said,  yet  feared  to  say,  '  I  believe,  I  believe  !'  " 

Mr.  Bray  told  Mr.  Wesley  that  his  sister,  Mrs.  Turner,  had  been 
ordered  by  Christ  to  say  those  words  to  him.  Other  accounts  re- 
late that  the  reading  of  the  Life  of  Haliburton  had  been  the  first 
incentive  to  this  great  change.  The  original  hymn  contained 
eighteen  stanzas,  and  was  composed  on  the  anniversary  of  Wesley's 
conversion,  namely,  May  21st,  1739.  ^n  tne  same  year  it  was 
published  in  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  409 

Possibly  the  idea  expressed  in  the  first  line  came  to  the  poet 
from  his  conversation  with  Peter  Bohler,  the  pious  Moravian. 
Speaking  of  praising  Christ,  the  good  man  said  :  "  Had  I  a  thou- 
sand tongues,  I  would  praise  Him  with  them  all  !"  Nor  is  this 
the  only  instance  where  this  thought  has  been  employed.  It 
occurs  in  some  of  the  German  hymns,  and  in  one  by  the  Rev.  H.  F. 
Lyte. 

The  eccentric  "  Billy  Dawson"— the  Barnbow  lay  preacher — occasion- 
ally used  hymns  with  startling  effect.  Once,  when  preaching  upon 
"  Death  on  the  White  Horse,"  he  gave  out  these  verses.  When  the 
eighth  stanza  was  reached  he  cried  out :  "  '  See  '  —  what  ?— '  come  and  see  ' 
— what  ?  I  do  not  ask  you  to  come  and  see  the  preacher,  or  to  hear  the 
voice  of  thunder,  but  to  come  and  see  yourselves — your  sins — and  your 
Saviour  :  '  See  all  your  sins  on  Jesus  laid.'  "  The  effect  was  instantane- 
ous. 

Oh,  for  that  tenderness  of  heart. — C.  Wesley. 

This  is  taken  from  the  Short  Scripture  Hymns,  1762,  and  is 
based  on  11  Kings  22  :  19-30.  There  are  but  two  double 
stanzas. 

Oh,  for  the  happy  hour. — Bethune. 

This  hymn  was  composed  by  Dr.  Bethune  upon  a  scrap  of 
loose  paper,  and  while  he  was  waiting  for  the  audience  to  assemble 
for  a  devotional  meeting.  The  date  is  in  the  neighborhood  of 
1843.  The  stanzas  express  the  devout  longing  of  the  author's 
heart  for  a  revival  of  religion. 

George  Washington  Bethune  was  born  in  New  York  City,  March 
1 8th,  1805.  His  grandmother  was  the  sainted  Isabella  Graham, 
and  his  father  was  Divie  Bethune,  a  pious  merchant  of  New 
York,  who  was  born  at  Dingwall,  Scotland.  It  is  possible  for  me 
in  these  pages  to  print  certain  family  documents  for  the  first  time  ; 
and  thus  to  show — -what  might  be  reasonably  inferred —that  so 
eminent  a  clergyman  as  Dr.  Bethune  never  came  to  his  high  posi- 
tion without  much  antecedent  prayer  and  consecration.  In  times 
like  the  present,  when  so  much  is  made  of  heredity  and  environ- 
ment, it  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  some  facts  from  the  Christian 
side,  which  will  go  far  to  establish  that  ' '  a  good  man  leaveth  an 
inheritance  to  children  and  to  children's  children." 

In  the  diary  of  Divie  Bethune,  under  the  date,  ' '  Mount  Ebenezer, 
March  18th,  1805,"  he  has  written  : 

"  This  day  at  noon  my  beloved  wife  "  [Joanna  Graham]  "  was  safely 


41  o  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

delivered  of  a  son.  The  midwife  had  not  come  out  in  time.  Her  cove- 
nant God  was  with  her  ;  her  Deliverer  and  Saviour  in  the  hour  of  trouble. 

Dear  mother  Graham  was  with  Joanna O   Lord,  my  God,  how 

shall  I  praise  thee  for  the  mercies  of  this  day.  .  .  .  Thou  hast  heard  my 
Joanna  and  me,  and  hast  been  her  Saviour  in  the  hour  of  trouble.  In 
tender  mercy  thou  didst  take  to  thyself  the  office  of  delivering  her  in 
safety.  Thou  art  our  trust.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  for  a  living  mother  and 
a  living  child.  O  remember  my  request  this  morning  !  Receive  my  dedi- 
cation of  my  son.  Thou  knowest  what  I  have  all  along  asked  of  God, 
that  if  he  gave  us  a  son  that  he  might  be  sanctified  from  the  womb  and  be 
made  a  faithful,  honored  and  zealous  minister  of  the  everlasting  Gospel. 

0  let  this  son  be  chosen  of  thee  to  declare  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ.  Give  to  his  dear  mother  and  myself  great  wisdom  for  bringing 
him  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  I  Sam.  i  :  27,  28 
(this  I  took    14th    of    March)  ;  1  Sam.    1  :  23  ;    Isa.    65  :  23,   24  ;    Jer. 

1  :  5-"  •  •  • 

These  and  the  following  entries  were  copied  by  my  father,  Rev. 
George  Duffield  (Jr.),  D.D.,  from  the  original  manuscript  now  in 
Detroit,  Mich.  He  adds  :  "  Then,  as  usual,  follow  a  number  of 
verses,  cwrente  calamo,  among  which  I  find  these  lines  : 

'  O  may  thy  grace  this  blessing  crown, 
And  we,  great  God,  this  infant  see 
A  gospel-herald,  blessed  of  thee.  .  .  . 

*  The  Holy  Ghost  his  heart  inflame 
To  preach  with  power  in  Jesus'  name.'  " 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1805,  Mr.Bethune  writes  again  : 

"  O  let  this  son  be  thy  chosen  vessel  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  salva- 
tion.  .   .  .     May  he  be  pious,  zealous,  humble,  meek,  powerful  and  blest." 

Again  :  "  Greenwich,  13th  April,  1805  :  Bless  our  dear  infant  son.  I 
trust  thou  hast  sanctified  him  from  the  womb.  To-morrow  we  intend  to 
devote  him  to  thee  in  baptism.  As  truly  as  the  water  is  sprinkled  on  him, 
so  truly  may  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanse  him  from  sin.  As  truly  as  he  is 
baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  one  God,  so 
truly  may  he  receive  the  spirit  of  adoption  and  become  at  once  an  heir  of 
eternal  life.  Prepare  him  for  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry.  Hear  me, 
and  answer  me,  and  glory  be  to  thy  holy  name.     Amen  and  amen.   .   .  ." 

"  14th  April.  This  p.m.  my  dear  George  was  baptized  by  Mr.  For- 
rest. I  hope  I  can  say  that,  with  full  heart,  he  was  devoted  to  the  Lord, 
by  both  his  dear  mother  and  myself. 

"  After  sermon  Mr.  F.  came  home  with  us,  and  before  he  left  us  sang 
Ps.  45  :  3,  4,  5  and  16  ;  read  the  first  chapter  of  Jeremiah,  and  prayed 
fervently  for  our  infant  son  and  other  children." 

Then  we  reach  a  petition  which  is  well  worthy  of  preservation  in 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  411 

this  volume,  if  only  for  an  encouragement  to  the  somewhat  demor- 
alized opinions  of  Christian  parents  at  the  present  day  : 

"  O  my  God,  thou  hast  seen  my  exercises  this  day,  the  strong  simple 
faith  ...  in  thy  promises  which  thou  hast  made  me  to  fasten  upon  for 
my  dear  infant  George,  this  day  devoted  to  thee.  Lord,  honor  this  faith 
of  thine  own  operation.  .  .  .  Instruct  his  mother  and  myself  to  instruct 
him.  Direct  to  proper  teachers.  Teach  the  teachers  to  teach  him,  and 
bless  their  labors  to  him.  Fortify  his  young  heart  against  the  tempta- 
tions, the  false  pleasures,  the  alluring  vanities,  the  contaminating  examples, 
of  an  evil  world.  Endue  him  richly  with  spiritual  gifts.  Give  him  the 
learning  of  this  world,  and  the  divine  wisdom  to  use  his  learning  and  his 
abilities  for  the  noblest  purposes  ;  the  illustration  of  thy  love,  thy  will,  thy 
grace  to  sinners  of  mankind.  .  .  .  Make  him  a  faithful  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Give  him  a  contented  mind,  a  thankful  heart.  May  he  declare 
the  whole  counsel  of  God.  And  while  he  is  faithful  and  sound  in  his 
doctrine,  do  thou  grant  him  to  be  eloquent,  animated,  impressive,  and 
acceptable.  I  ask  all  this,  for  thou  art  able  to  grant  all  I  can  ask.  I  ask 
it  now,  young  as  he  is,  knowing  that  thou  art  God.  Life  is  thy  gift. 
Life,  spiritual  and  divine,  is  thy  work  in  the  soul  of  man.  All  the  gifts 
and  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  thine  to  bestow.  Power  to  make  the 
preacher's  word  successful  is  of  God.  Thou  canst  guide  through  life, 
conduct  through  death,  and  minister  an  abundant  entrance  into  glory. 
To  whom  then  should  I  go  ?  To  whom  then  would  I  go  ?  My  God,  unto 
thee,  and  to  thee  alone.  Hear  my  supplications  this  day  ;  behold  the 
promises  I  have  taken  : 

"  Isa.  44  :  3,  4,  5  ;  45  :  11  ;  65  :  23,  24  ;  59  :  21  ;  Jer.  1  :  4,  5,  6.  7.  8,  9 
and  12  ;  1  Sam.  1  :  27,  28  ;  3  :  4  ;  Luke  5  :  10,  ir  ;  John  14  :  12,  13,  14, 
16,  17  and  23  ;  Ezek.  36  :  27  ;  and  1  Sam.  1  :  23.  Only  the  Lord  estab- 
lish his  word  !  Amen. 

Him  as  thy  herald,  Lord,  prepare 

To  teach  redeeming  love  ; 
That  full  of  faith  and  zeal  and  prayer 

He  may  thy  servant  prove.,, 

Any  one  who  reads  this  pathetic  utterance  is  led  to  ask  on 
what  line  of  religious  teaching  Mr.  Bethune  had  himself  come  up. 
It  was  that  of  Erskine  and  the  "Marrow  doctrine/'  that  "God 
gave  his  son,  Jesus,  to  mankind- sinners  as  such,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  on  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life. "  The 
thought  of  this  divine  gift  and  calling  runs  through  the  entire 
prayer.  A  portion  of  this  prayer  is  in  Dr.  Van  Nest's  life  of  Dr. 
Bethune,  but  neither  that  book  nor  any  other  except  the  manu- 
script pages  will  be  found  to  contain  the  record  of  the  strong  cry- 
ing and  tears  with  which,  when  the  boy  became  wayward  and  dis- 
obedient, his  father  entreated  for  him  and  with  him. 


412  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  What  a  holy  man  Divie  Bethune  was,"  comments  Dr.  Duffield, 
"  called,  like  Abraham,  from  Tobago,  the  '  worst  island  in  the  West 
Indies,'  where  he  was  destined  for  a  planter  ;  going  out,  not  knowing 
whither  he  went  ;  flying  for  his  life  as  it  were  to  New  York  ;  never  forget- 
ting the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  he  was  digged  ;  and  afterward  sitting 
down  between  Lord  Teignmouth  (President  of  the  British  Bible  Society) 
and  William  Wilberforce,  in  London,  at  the  great  anniversary  of  the  par- 
ent society.  He  accounted  it  the  happiest  day  of  his  life.  At  one 
time  he  offered  his  business  for  sale  and  determined  to  become  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  himself.  But,  instead  of  that,  God  made  him  one  of  the 
noblest  Christian  laymen  on  the  continent,  to  write  Isabella  Graham's  life, 
establish  Orphan  Asylums,  Tract  Societies,  Bible  Societies,  Bethels, 
Sunday-schools.  In  his  last  illness  I  remember  the  children  bringing  a 
banner  for  him  to  see." 

There  is  much  from  the  diary  of  the  same  sort,  but  we  dare  not 
take  space  for  it.  On  the  2 2d  of  December,  1822,  he  makes  men- 
tion of  the  fact — and  one  can  imagine  how  thankfully  he  does  it — 
that  on  the  last  Wednesday,  George  had  arrived  from  Carlisle  and 
had  shown  such  a  genuine  religious  character  as  to  have  "  delighted 
the  hearts  of  his  mother  and  myself." 

We  need  not  pursue  the  story  more  particularly.  The  revival 
had  occurred  in  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Duffield' s  church  at  Carlisle. 
It  had  been  long  desired  in  Mr.  Bethune's  diary,  and  was  a  special 
object  of  prayer  with  him.  One  of  the  most  touching  incidents 
connected  with  it  was  the  fact  that,  when  he  gave  his  heart  to 
Christ,  George  Bethune  did  so  unreservedly,  and  at  once  opened 
his  lips  in  prayer  for  himself.  Years  afterward,  in  Florence,  was 
found  a  prayer  entered  in  the  Greek  Testament,  which  had  been 
his  life-long  companion,  and  which  is  substantially  the  same  as 
that  which  we  find  in  the  opening  pages  of  each  diary  of  his  father. 
It  runs  thus  :  "  Lord,  pardon  what  I  have  been,  sanctify  what  I 
am,  and  order  what  I  shall  be,  that  thine  may  be  the  glory,  and 
mine  the  eternal  salvation,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

Dr.  Bethune,  as  we  said,  spent  his  early  years  in  Carlisle,  Pa., 
and  was  graduated  at  Dickinson  College  in  1823.  He  then 
studied  at  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  ;  was  married  in 
1825,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  July  nth,  1826.  For  a  year  he  was  a  missionary  to  the 
colored  people  and  sailors  in  Savannah,  Ga.,  and  then  entered  the 
ministry  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  He  was  settled  at 
Rhinebeck,    N.  Y.,    1827-30;  Utica,    1830-34;  First    Church, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  413 

Philadelphia,  1834-37  ;  then  in  the  Third  Church,  which  he 
organized,  and  which  is  now  extinct,  1837-49  ;  Central  Church, 
Brooklyn,  1849-50  ;  Church  on  the  Heights,  which  was  organized 
for  him,  1850-59  ;  associate  minister  of  Twenty-first  Street  Church, 
New  York  City,  1859-62.  He  then  went  abroad,  and  died  in 
Florence,  Italy,  Sunday,  April  27th,  1862. 

Dr.  Bethune's  family  name  became  extinct  with  himself  ;  but 
his  two  sisters,  Isabella  and  Jessie,  married  respectively,  Rev. 
George  Duffield,  D.D.,  of  Carlisle  and  Detroit,  and  Rev.  Robert 
McCartee,  D.  D. ,  of  New  York  City.  The  dying  charge  of  Mr. 
Bethune  to  his  son  and  sons-in-law  was  :  "  My  sons,  preach  the 
Gospel.  Tell  dying  sinners  of  a  Saviour.  All  the  rest  is  but 
folly." 

Oh,  for  the  peace  which  floweth  as  a  river. — Crewdson. 
Mrs.  Jane  (Fox)  Crewdson  (born  at  Perran,  Cornwall,  October, 
1809)  was  the  wife  of  Thomas  D.  Crewdson,  Esq.,  Manchester, 
England.  Long  an  invalid,  she  died  at  Summerlands,  near  Man- 
chester, September  14th,  1863,  leaving  behind  her  the  memory  of 
a  beautiful  life  and  many  admirable  verses.  The  present  hymn 
gives  the  title  to  a  book  of  her  poems  published  posthumously 
(1864)  in  London  and  Manchester.  On  the  title-page  she  is  iden- 
tified as  the  author  of  Aunt  Jane  s  Verses  for  Children,  The  Singer 
of  Eisenach,  Lays  of  the  Reformation,  etc.  Her  little  volume  has 
passed  through  at  least  four  editions. 

"  A  little  while  "  to  wear  the  weeds  of  sadness, 
To  pace,  with  weary  step,  through  miry  ways  ; 
Then— to  pour  forth  the  fragrant  oil  of  gladness, 
And  clasp  the  girdle  round  the  robe  of  praise. 

"A  little  while,"  midst  shadow  and  illusion, 

To  strive,  by  faith,  love's  mysteries  to  spell  ; 
Then — read  each  dark  enigma's  bright  solution  ; 

Then — hail  sight's  verdict,  "  He  doth  all  things  well." 

"  A  little  while,"  the  earthen  pitcher  taking 

To  wayside  brooks,  from  far-off  fountains  fed  ; 
Then  the  cool  lip  its  thirst  forever  slaking 
Beside  the  fulness  of  the  Fountain-head. 

The  preface  to  the  little  book  appears  to  be  the  composition  of 
her  husband  or  of  some  intimate  friend.     It  says  : 

"  The  author's  mind  was  singularly  varied  ;  she  was  thus  qualified  to 


414  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

meet  the  needs  of  others,  and  to  lead  them  to  the  Source  and  Centre 
whence  she  derived  her  brightness  in  shadowy  places,  her  cheerfulness 
in  pain,  and  her  unfailing  'joy  and  peace  in  believing.'  It  was  her 
delight  to  minister  to  their  spirit-wants  out  of  her  rich  sympathies,  when 
here.  Perhaps  she  may  still  be  admitted,  through  the  medium  of  these 
pages,  into  fellowship  with  many  a  troubled  heart  ;  and  may  such,  like 
her,  find 

'  Rest  in  Jesus.'  " 

The  hymn  is  based  on  John  16  :  8,  and  is  familiar  to  many  per- 
sons in  consequence  of  Mr.  Sankey's  appropriate  tune. 

0  gift  of  gifts,  0  grace  of  faith. — Faber. 

Mrs.  Prentiss  writes  in  1870  : 

"  I  was  greatly  struck  with  these  words  yesterday  :  '  As  for  God,  His 
way  is  perfect  ; '  think  of  reading  the  Bible  through  four  times  in  one  year, 
and  nobody  knows  how  many  times  since,  and  never  resting  on  those 
words  !  Somehow  they  charmed  me.  And  these  words  have  been  ring- 
ing in  my  ears,  '  Earth  looks  so  little  and  so  low.'"  "  Perhaps,"  she 
adds  in  another  place,  "  I  have  already  said  to  you,  for  I  am  fond  of 
saying  it, 

'  The  love  of  Jesus,  what  it  is 
Only  his  sufferers  know.'  " 

Faber' s  hymn  commences,  "  O  faith,  thou  workest  miracles/' 
and  has  eleven  stanzas.  He  entitled  it  "  Conversion. "  The  date 
is  1840. 

O  God,  beneath  thy  guiding  hand. — Bacon. 

The  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Detroit,  Mich. — 
then  a  mere  fort  and  trading-post — February  19th,  1802.  From 
the  time  of  his  graduation  at  Yale  College  in  1820,  and  atAndover 
Theological  Seminary,  he  was  identified  with  New  Haven  and 
the  interests  of  the  college  and  of  the  Congregational  churches. 
His  pastorate  of  the  First  Church,  New  Haven,  began  in  1825. 
In  1866  he  became  pastor  emeritus,  and  from  that  date  was  more 
or  less  actively  engaged  in  duties  connected  with  the  Theological 
Department  of  Yale  College,  instructing  in  Revealed  Religion  and 
lecturing  on  Church  Polity  and  American  Church  History  up  to 
the  date  of  his  death,  December  24th,  1881. 

As  one  of  the  founders  of  The  Independent  and  of  the  New  Eng- 
lander;  as  a  great  warrior  in  the  days  of  the  slavery  discussion  ;  as 
an  industrious,  aggressive  and  energetic  champion  of  liberty  of 
every  sort  included  under  the  doctrines  of  grace,  he  has  been  a 
unique  figure  in  the  United  States.     He  is  remembered  as  a  con- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  4*5 

troversialist,  essayist  and  historian.  As  a  public  speaker  his  forte 
lay  in  the  line  of  debate  rather  than  of  homiletics.  And  so  un- 
ceasing were  his  vigorous  challenges  to  public  attention  that  he  is 
in  danger  of  oblivion  with  respect  to  less  prominent  themes,  like 
his  hymn- writing  and  his  culture  of  hymnology  and  of  the  quieter 
duties  of  the  pastorate.  Two  articles  on  his  hymns  appeared  in 
The  Independent,  May,  1881,  and  an  admirable  biographical 
sketch  by  his  son,  Rev.  Leonard  Woolsey  Bacon,  D.D.,  in  the 
Century  Magazine,  renders  further  notice  superfluous. 

The  present  piece  was  originally  written  for  the  Second  Centen- 
nial of  New  Haven,  April  25th,  1838,  and  was  sung  on  that  occa- 
sion "  with  little  thought  of  its  being  used  again  before  1938. "  It 
is  a  great  favorite  in  New  England. 

O  God  of  Bethel,  by  whose  hand.— Doddridge. 
This  hymn  was  written  to  follow  a  sermon  on  "  Jacob's  Vow," 
Gen.  28  :  20-22,  preached  January  16th,  1737.  It  is  found  in 
an  altered  form  among  Logan's  Poems,  1781,  and  was  also  num- 
bered among  the  Scotch  Paraphrases.  Perhaps,  therefore,  it  was 
altered  by  Michael  Bruce,  who  died  in  1767.  There  are  five 
stanzas,  and  the  first  begins  : 

"  O  God  of  Bethel,  by  whose  hand 
Thine  Israel  still  is  fed." 
The  ascription  of  this  piece  to  Darracott,  one  of  Dr.  Doddridge's 
pupils,  lacks  evidence      As  for  Logan's  claim,  the  least  said  the 
better.     A  more  utterly  extirpated  liar  has  never  perished  under 
the  ban  of  judicious  criticism. 

A  pathetic  interest  attaches  to  these  verses  from  their  association  with 
the  story  of  the  heroic  missionary,  Dr.  David  Livingstone.  His  familiar- 
ity with  the  Scotch  Paraphrases  fixed  this  one  in  his  memory,  and  it 
became  the  favorite  hymn  of  his  wanderings.  To  the  words  and  music  of 
it  he  was  at  length  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey,  April  18th,  1874. 

O  God,  the  Rock  of  Ages.— E.  H.  Bickersteth. 

This  hymn  was  composed  in  1862.  It  appears  in  From  Year 
to  Year,  for  the  First  Sunday  after  Christmas.  Lessons  :  Isa.  35, 
38  and  40  ;  Gal.  4:1-8;  Matt.  1  :  18.  Based  on  Isa.  40  :  8. 
It  has  four  double  stanzas. 

This  is  the  Collect  for  the  day  : 

Almighty  God,  who  hast  given  us  thy  only  begotten  Son  to  take  our 
nature  upon  him,  and  as  at  this  time  to  be  born  of  a  pure  virgin  ;  grant 


4i 6  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

that  we,  being  regenerate  and  made  thy  children  by  adoption  and  grace, 
may  daily  be  renewed  by  thy  Holy  Spirit,  through  the  same  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  thee  and  the  same  Spirit,  ever 
one  God,  world  without  end.     Amen. 

O  God,  thy  power  is  wonderful. — Faber. 
The  present  hymn  is  taken  from  the  longer  poem,  entitled,  "  My 
Father,"  which  is  in  twelve  stanzas. 

O  God,  we  praise  thee  and  confess.  — N.  Tate,  tr.  (?) 
This  hymn  is  a  partial  version  of  the  Te  Deum,  for  whose  fuller 
history  see  the  "  Latin  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns."  It  is 
found  in  Tate  and  Brady's  Supplement,  1703,  and  has  been  fre- 
quently assigned  to  Bishop  John  Patrick,  author,  in  1679,  °f  tne 
Century  of  Select  Psalms.  The  difficulty  with  this  designation  is 
that  the  present  does  not  closely  enough  resemble  his  version.  It 
is  now  conjectured  to  be  the  work  of  Nahum  Tate. 

O  happy  band  of  pilgrims. — Neale,  tr. 
Dr.  Neale  has  translated  this  hymn  from  the  Greek  of  St.  Joseph 
of  the  Studium  in  the  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church.     The  Greek 
original  is  not  given,  and  the  version  is  probably  from  a  cento. 

O  Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter. — Browne. 
Mrs.  Jane  Euphemia  (Browne)  Saxby  is  the  wife  of  Rev. 
Stephen  Henry  Saxby,  vicar  of  East  Clevedon,  Somerset.  He  has 
written  upon  two  as  diverse  subjects  as  the  Pew  System  of  England 
and  the  Birds  of  Shetland,  and  was  a  graduate  of  Caius  College, 
Cambridge,  in  1855.  The  lady  who  became  his  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  William  Browne,  of  Tallantire  Hall,  Cumberland,  and 
sister  of  Lady  Teignmouth.  She  has  printed  her  hymns  in  The 
Dove  on'  the  Cross,  18 19  (sixth  edition,  1857),  and  in  Hymns  and 
Thoughts  for  the  Sick  and  Lonely,  181 8  (second  edition,  1850). 
The  present  hymn  dates  from  1819. 

O  Holy  Ghost,  thou  Fount  of  light. — Caswall,  tr. 
This  is  a  portion  of  Mr.  Caswall' s  translation  of  the  "  Qui 
procedis  ab  uiroque'  of  Adam  of  St.  Victor,  for  whom  see  "  The 
Latin  Hymn- Writers  and  their  Hymns."  The  hymn  is  formed  by 
taking  the  third,  eighth,  tenth  and  thirteenth  stanzas  of  the  "  Praises 
of  the  Paraclete,"  in  Caswall's  Hymns  and  Poems,  1873.  The 
first  line  in  the  original  is,  "  O  inexhaustive  Fount  of  light." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  417 

O  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  !— Eastburn. 

Rev.  James  Wallis  Eastburn,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was  a 
young  Episcopalian,  who  was  born  in  New  York  City  about  the 
year  1797.  He  gave  great  promise  of  literary  ability,  and  it  was 
with  his  assistance  that  Robert  G.  Sands  began  the  composition 
of  Yamoyden.  This  was  a  "  Tale  of  the  Wars  of  King  Philip," 
and  Mr.  Sands  states  that  the  earlier  cantos  were  the  joint  produc- 
tion of  himself  and  Mr.  Eastburn.  On  his  associate's  death,  he 
finished  it,  and  it  was  issued  in  1820. 

Mr.  Eastburn  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  October,  1818, 
and  removed  to  Onancock,  Accomack  County,  Va.,  where  tradition 
asserts  that  he  wrote  verses  and  discharged  the  duties  of  a  mis- 
sionary. In  18 1 9  he  began  a  version  of  the  Psalms,  but  his 
health  being  feeble,  he  determined  upon  a  voyage  to  Vera  Cruz. 
Packing  up  the  manuscript  of  this  and  other  literary  work,  he 
sailed.  But  on  the  fourth  day  out  he  died,  December  2d,  18 19, 
leaving  behind  him  his  "unfulfilled  renown."  His  body  was 
buried  in  the  sea.  In  the  notes  to  Yamoyden  Mr.  Sands  pays  a 
handsome  tribute  to  his  talents  ;  and,  on  the  strength  of  this  evi- 
dence of  his  poetical  powers,  Griswold  has  included  him  among 
the  American  poets.  This  hymn  is  first  found  in  the  collection 
prepared  for  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  1825. 

O  Holy  Spirit  !  now  descend  on  me. — Forsyth. 
Miss  Christina  Forsyth,  sixth  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane 
Hamilton  Forsyth,  was  born  at  Liverpool,  1825.  From  child- 
hood she  was  of  delicate  constitution,  and  for  years  was  confined 
to  her  room.  Her  piety  was  deep  and  fervent,  and  she  bore 
acute  suffering  not  only  without  complaint  but  "  with  unvarying 
cheerfulness."  "She  seemed  to  think  always  of  others,  and 
never  of  herself,  and  by  the  singular  sweetness  of  her  disposition 
she  won  the  love  of  all  who  knew  her."  Her  Hymns  by  C.  F.t 
London,  1861,  furnish  the  pieces  which  have  been  used.  Miss 
Forsyth  died  at  Hastings,  March  18th,  1859.  Her  brothers,  Rev. 
John  Hamilton  Forsyth,  William  Forsyth,  Esq.,  Q.  C,  and 
Douglas  Forsyth,  Esq.,  C.  B.,  have  occupied  posts  of  honor. 

O  how  I  love  thy  holy  law  ! — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  rendering  of  Ps.  119,  Fifth  Part,  C.  M., 
"  Delight  in  Scripture  ;  or,  the  Word  of  God  Dwelling  in  us*" 


41 8  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Hillel  Hinnasi,  the  greatest  of  the  Jewish  rabbis,  was  a  proverb  for 
his  diligence  in  pursuit  of  knowledge.  As  he  lacked  the  necessary  funds 
to  pay  the  fees  of  the  college  he  once  climbed  up  on  the  outer  ledge  of 
the  window  and  there  heard  the  lecture.  It  was  snowing,  but  he  did  not 
heed  the  cold,  and  the  students  were  made  aware  of  his  presence  only 
when  he  had  become  insensible  from  chilliness  and  had  fallen  against  the 
window  in  a  way  to  darken  it. 

O  how  shall  I  receive  thee. — Russell,  tr. 
This  is  a  paraphrase  by  Rev.  A.  T.  Russell,  from  the  "  Wie 
soil  ich  dich  empfangen,"  of  Paul  Gerhard t,  1653.  The  German 
is  in  ten  eight-line  stanzas.  The  translation,  though  free  as  to  lan- 
guage, is  close  to  the  spirit  of  the  original,  which  has  also  been 
rendered  by  several  other  hands,  notably  by  Dr.  James  W. 
Alexander,  "  Lord,  how  shall  I  be  meeting,"  1850. 

O  if  my  soul  were  formed  for  woe. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  has  this  as  Hymn  106,  Book  II.,  "  Repentance  at 
the  Cross/'      It  is  in  five  stanzas.     This  must  be  carefully  distin- 
guished from  the  hymn  by  President  Davies,  included  in  Gibbons  s 
Collection,  1769,  and  commencing  :  "  O  was  my  heart  but  formed 
for  woe."     That  has  eight  stanzas,  and  its  first  stanza  is 
"  O  was  my  heart  but  formed  for  woe, 
What  streams  of  pitying  tears  should  flow, 
To  see  the  thoughtless  sons  of  men 
Labor  and  toil  and  live  in  vain  !" 

O  Jesus  Christ,  if  sin  there  be.  — Caswall. 
This  is  one  of  Mr.  Caswall' s  original  hymns,  with  the  title, 
"Ingratitude."  It  is  found  in  Original  Hymns  and  Meditative 
Pieces,  among  the  Hymns  and  Poems,  1873.  It  begins,  "  If  there 
be  any  special  thing, ' '  etc.  There  are  six  stanzas  of  four  lines 
each. 

O  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous. — Stone,  altered. 

Rev.  Samuel  John  Stone,  born  at  Whitmore  rectory,  Stafford- 
shire, April  25th,  1839,  graduated  from  Pembroke  College,  Ox- 
ford, in  1862,  was  licensed  as  deacon  in  1862,  and  ordained  as 
priest  in  1863,  and  took  his  M.A.  degree  in  1872.  He  has  been 
curate  of  Windsor,  1862-70,  and  curate  of  St.  Paul,  Haggerston, 
1870-74.  In  the  latter  year  he  became  vicar  of  St.  Paul,  Hag- 
gerston (diocese  of  London).  He  is  the  author  of  the  Lyra 
Fidelium,  of   The  Knight  0/  Intercession,  and  Other  Poems  (fifth 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  419 

edition,  1881),  and  of  the  Thanksgiving  Hymn,  1872  ;  and  Son- 
nets of  the  Sacred  Year,  1875.  This  "  Thanksgiving  Hymn"  was 
sung  at  St.  Paul's,  on  the  occasion  of  the  recovery  of  the  present 
Prince  of  Wales  from  a  dangerous  illness.  The  present  piece  is 
altered  from  the  original  form. 

O  Jesus  !  King*most  wonderful. — Caswall,  tr. 

This  is  a  part  of  the  same  hymn  as  "  Jesus,  the  very  thought  of 
thee,"  1849. 

O  Jesus,  our  salvation. — Hamilton. 

Rev.  James  Hamilton,  M.A.  {not  the  distinguished  Presbyte- 
rian clergyman)  was  born  at  Ellendollar,  Scotland,  April  18th, 
18 1 9  ;  educated  at  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge,  and 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  1845.  He  was 
vicar  of  Doulting,  Somersetshire,  1867.  He  wrote  "  O  Jesu  ! 
Lord  most  merciful,"  1862  (the  present  piece),  to  Hanler's 
Chorale — printed  in  the  People  s  Hymnal,  1867. 

O  Jesus,  sweet  the  tears. — R.  Palmer. 

This  hymn  is  based  on  Gal.  2  :  20,  and  was  written  in  New  York 
City,  1867.      It  was  the  expression  of  Dr.  Palmer's  feeling  at  the 
time.      He  states  that  he  has  never  been  in  the  habit  of   writing 
such  verses  "  to  order,"  or  in  any  routine  or  conventional  way. 
O  Jesus,  thou  art  standing. — How. 

This  hymn  may  be  profitably  compared  with  Joseph  Grigg's 
1 '  Behold  a  Stranger  at  the  door. ' '  Rev.  James  King  predicts  that 
this  hymn,  by  Bishop  W.  W.  How,  will  become  classic. 

There  is  a  wonderful  picture  by  Holman  Hunt,  called  "  The  Light  of 
the  World,"  which  represents  the  Saviour  knocking  at  the  door,  in  illustra- 
tion of  the  passage  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  (Chap.  5  :  2).  He  stands  with 
bowed  head,  listening.  Across  the  door  vines  have  grown  :  it  has  been 
long  since  it  was  unclosed.  He  holds  in  his  hand  a  lantern  from  which 
the  rays  fall  on  some  fruit  which  has  dropped  ungathered.  His  back  is 
toward  the  light  of  the  rising  moon. 

O  Jesus,  we  adore  thee. — Russell. 

In  Hymns  and  Songs  of  Praise  this  piece  is  ascribed  to  Rev. 
Arthur  Tozer  Russell,  1851. 

O  King  of  mercy,  from  thy  throne  on  high. — T.  R.  Birks. 

Rev.  Thomas  Rawson  Birks  was  born  September,  18 10,  and  was 
graduated  from  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  of  which  he  became 


d20  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

i  Fellow  in  1834,  taking  his  M.A.  degree  in  1837.  He  secured 
the  Seatonian  Prize  in  1843  and  ^44  ;  and  was  rector  of  Kel- 
shall,  Hertfordshire,  1844-66.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  promoted 
to  be  vicar  of  Holy  Trinity,  Cambridge,  where  he  continued  until 
1877.  He  is  also  recorded  as  an  honorary  canon  of  Ely  cathedral 
(1871),  and  as  Knightsbridge  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  (1872). 
He  has  been  a  voluminous  author,  especially  on  prophecy.  On 
Friday,  July  20th,  1883,  he  died  at  his  home  in  Cambridge. 

O  Lamb  of  God,  that  tak'st  away. — Faussett. 
Mrs.  H.  ("  Alessie  Bond  ")  Faussett  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  Henry 
Faussett,  perpetual  curate  of  Edenderry,  Omagh,  Ireland,  in  the 
diocese  of  Deny,  1872,  and  rural  dean  of  Newtownstewart.  She 
contributed  several  pieces  to  Lyra  Hibernica  (second  edition, 
1879),  and  to  the  Church  Hymnal  (Dublin,  1881). 

O  Land  relieved  from  sorrow. — S.  W.  Duffield. 

This  is  an  original  hymn,  composed  in  1875  under  circum- 
stances peculiarly  calculated  to  draw  the  thought  to  things  above. 
It  has  existed  in  manuscript,  unpublished,  until  the  preparation  of 
Laudes  Domini  called  it  out.  The  first  draft  of  the  hymn  is  on 
two  crumpled  pieces  of  paper  which  have  been  several  times  cast 
aside  and  nearly  destroyed  ;  but  they  have  mysteriously  reap- 
peared, even  from  the  depths  of  waste-paper  baskets  and  the  wild  con- 
fusion of  disintegrated  material  !  The  refrain  really  produced  the 
hymn.  Perhaps  it  grew  up,  primarily,  from  the  rhythm  of  Bernard 
of  Cluny,  which  Mr.  Duffield  has  always  loved,  and  the  canto  from 
which  he  rendered,  in  its  original  metre,  in  1868.  The  "  Heim- 
weh" — the  heavenly  longing — has  many  hymns  beside  this,  which 
express  it. 

Samuel  [Augustus]  Willoughby  Duffield — he  usually  omits  the 
second  name — was  born  in  Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  Sep- 
tember 24th,  1843.  His  education  was  received  in  Philadelphia, 
and  at  Yale  College,  whence  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1863.  In  1866  he  entered  the  ministry,  and  is  at  present  the  pas- 
tor of  the  Westminster  Presbyterian  church,  Bloomfield,  N.  J. 

O  Lord,  how  full  of  sweet  content. — Cowper,  tr. 
This  is  Cowper' s  translation   of  a  hymn  by   Madame  Jeanne 
Marie  Bouvieres  (de  la  Mothe)  Guyon.     The  original  was  com- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


421 


posed — as  Upham,  her  biographer,  thinks — in  1681,  when  she 
was  about  thirty-four  years  of  age.  She  was  born  at  Montargis, 
April  13th,  1648,  and  educated  in  a  convent.  At  sixteen  she  mar- 
ried Monsieur  Guyon,  who  was  more  than  twenty  years  her  senior. 
Her  married  life  was  a  constant  series  of  trials.  She  was  annoyed 
by  her  mother-in-law  ;  one  of  her  children  died  at  four  years  of 
age  ;  she  lost  her  own  beauty  by  an  attack  of  smallpox  when  she 
was  but  twenty- two,  and  her  husband  died  when  they  had  been 
twelve  years  married.  From  these  calamities  came  a  deep  spiritual 
experience  worthy  to  cause  her  to  be  ranked  with  the  greatest  mys- 
tics of  whom  we  have  any  record.  Dr.  Vaughan  and  Upham  have 
done  her  character  and  abilities — as  well  as  her  piety — full  justice. 
Her  friendship  with  Fenelon  was  a  tragic  portion  of  her  sad  history. 
At  the  date  when  this  hymn  is  supposed  to  have  been  written 
she  had  quitted  Paris  for  Gex,  near  Geneva.  Her  sons  were  left 
behind  her  to  be  educated.  Her  daughter  and  a  servant  accom- 
panied her.  The  concluding  stanza  of  the  hymn — though  it  may 
be  regarded  as  rather  an  anti-climax  and  unworthy  to  be  placed 
with  the  others — is  a  good  illustration  of  her  feelings  : 

"  My  country,  Lord,  art  thou  alone, — 
No  other  can  I  claim  or  own  ! 
The  point  where  all  my  wishes  meet, 
My  law,  my  love, — life's  only  sweet !" 

At  Gex  her  works  of  benevolence  and  her  pure  piety  prepared  the 
way  for  that  strangely  spiritual  career  which  finally  conducted  her 
to  the  Bastile,  owing  to  the  persecutions  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.     She  was  a  Quietist,  and  her  verses  show  it. 

The  story  of  the  translation  is  quite  as  pathetic  as  that  of  the 
hymn  itself.  Rev.  William  Bull,  of  Newport  Pagnel,  not  far  from 
Olney,  had  desired  for  some  time  to  engage  Cowper's  mind  in 
some  congenial  occupation.  It  seemed  to  him — most  fortunately  ! 
— that  the  verses  of  Madame  Guyon  would  furnish  employment 
to  this  phosphorescent  and  flickering  brain.  The  proof  of  his  cor- 
rectness is  to  be  found  in  this  hymn  and  in  others  which  Cowper 
selected  and  rendered  into  his  elegant  stanzas. 

The  volume  (a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  library  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary)  is  but  a  small  one,  and  its  dedication  tells 
how  it  came  to  be.  This  reads  :  "  To  the  Rev.  William  Bull, 
these  translations  of  a  few  of  the  Spiritual  Songs  of  the  excellent 


422  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Madame  Guyon,  made  at  his  express  desire,  are  dedicated  by  his 
affectionate  friend  and  servant,  William  Cowper.  —July,  1782." 

The  present  hymn  commences,  "  O  thou  by  long  experience 
tried/'     It   has  nine   stanzas,   and  is    Vol.  II. ,   Cantique   108,  of 
Madame  Guyon' s  Works.     The  original  is  expressed  in  the  singu 
lar  number  :   "  To  me  remains,"  etc. 

The  accomplished  and  pious  lady  died  at  last  in  peace  at  Diziers, 
June  9th,  1 717. 

William  Cowper — not  "  Rev.,"  for  he  had  no  right  to  the  title  as 
a  mere  lay- preacher — was  born  at  Great  Berkhampstead,  Novem- 
ber 15th,  1 73 1.  His  father,  Rev.  John  Cowper,  D.D.,  was  the 
rector  of  that  parish,  and  chaplain  to  George  II.  The  poet  came 
of  good  lineage,  being  descended  on  his  mother's  side,  by  four 
different  lines,  from  Henry  III.  This  lady's  name  was  Anne 
Donne,  and  she  died  in  1737,  when  her  son  was  but  six  years  old. 
The  particulars  of  Cowper' s  life  are  so  essentially  a  part  of  English 
literature  that,  we  do  not  attempt  more  than  the  meagerest  outline 
of  them,  grouping  such  incidents  as  seem  appropriate  under  their 
separate  hymns. 

Lady  Hesketh  was  Cowper's  own  cousin,  being  the  daughter  of 
Ashley  Cowper,  the  poet's  uncle.  His  aunt  Judith  married 
Colonel  Martin  Madan,  whose  son,  Rev.  Martin  Madan,  was  thus 
another  cousin. 

We  need  not  follow  him  through  his  irregular  studies  at  the  law 
and  his  ' '  giggling  and  making  giggle, ' '  during  this  unpleasant 
confinement.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  June  14th,  1754,  and 
his  father  died  two  years  later.  He  then  began  to  drift,  being 
Commissioner  of  Bankrupts,  1759,  an<^  reading  clerk  to  the  House 
of  Lords  in  1763.  About  this  period  his  melancholy  asserted 
itself,  and  he  made  some  attempts  at  suicide.  December  7th, 
1763,  he  was  placed  in  an  asylum  at  St.  Albans,  where  he  stayed 
for  nearly  two  years. 

Thence  he  came  to  Huntingdon  to  be  near  his  brother  John, 
and  there  met  his  especial  friend,  Rev.  Morley  Unwin.  Mr. 
Unwin  died  suddenly  in  1767,  and  at  Rev.  John  Newton's  advice 
the  widow,  with  her  son  and  daughter,  removed  to  Olney.  Cow- 
per went  with  them.  Their  house  was  next  door  to  Mr.  Newton's, 
and  the  eventful  poetic  years,  from  1767  to  1786,  were  passed  in 
this  quiet  retreat. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  423 

Rev.  John  Cowper  died  in  1 770,  and  Cowper  wrote  an  account 
of  his  last  illness,  which  Newton  transcribed  from  his  original 
manuscript,  and  a  copy  of  which  now  lies  before  us.  It  is  pathetic 
enough  ;  showing  the  love  the  poet  bore  his  brother,  and  the 
simple  and  earnest  efforts  he  put  forth  for  his  conversion.  John 
was  plainly  renewed  in  heart,  and  said,  in  reference  to  his  old  con- 
ventional ideas  and  his  new  sense  of  spiritual  religion  :  "  I  wish 
myself  at  Olney  ;  you  have  a  good  river  there,  better  than  all  the 
rivers  of  Damascus." 

The  dying  man,  in  his  turn,  faithfully  dealt  with  Cowper' s  de- 
spondent nature,  and  lamented  that  when  he  had  seen  him  in  his 
morbid  state  of  gloom  he  had  not  been  able  to  help  him.  ' '  When 
Mr.  Madan  came,"  he  added,  "he  succeeded  in  a  moment." 
And  then  he  spoke,  and  with  the  fervor  of  the  dying,  about  the 
futility  of  moralizing  over  people  as  he  had  done  in  his  own  parish. 
It  was  the  Gospel  which  they  wanted,  and  not  warning  or  re- 
proof alone.  In  his  last  hours  he  told  Cowper  he  was  "  as  happy 
as  a  king  "—a  contrast,  indeed,  to  the  darkness  which  later  fell  on 
the  very  man  who  had  led  him  to  Christ. 

The  marked  events  of  the  poet's  life  henceforward  are  Newton's 
removal  to  London  in  1779  ;  Rev.  William  Bull's  suggestion,  in 
1782,  that  he  should  translate  some  of  Madame  Guyon's  hymns 
from  the  French  ;  the  presence  of  Lady  Austen  at  Olney  in  1781, 
and  her  suggestion  of  The  Task  in  1783,  and  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Unwin  in  1796.  During  these  years  he  was  in  great  darkness, 
from  1772  to  1779,  in  which  year  the  Olney  Hymns,  with  his  pre- 
vious contributions  to  their  pages,  were  at  last  sent  to  the  printer 
by  Mr.  Newton.  It  was,  perhaps,  at  or  about  this  date  that  the 
affecting  "  Fragment  of  a  Hymn,"  "  To  Jesus  the  Crown  of  my 
hope,"  was  written. 

In  1792  the  old  indications  of  insanity  had  begun  to  reappear. 
By  1794  they  were  sadly  and  strongly  re-established.  When  Mrs. 
Unwin  removed,  in  1795,  to  Norfolk,  Eng.,  he  again  went  with  her 
at  the  urgency  of  friends.  She  seems  to  have  combined  sister  and 
mother  in  her  relations  to  him,  and  had  utterly  declined  the 
thought  of  marriage. 

The  latest  known  composition  from  his  pen  is  "  The  Castaway  " 
(March,  1799),  which  was  founded  on  an  incident  in  Lord  Anson's 
Voyages.     Dropsy  supervened  upon  the  diseased  condition  of  his 


424  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

system,  and  he  died,  April  25th,  1800.  To  all  comforting  expres- 
sions uttered  to  him  in  his  last  sickness  he  invariably  replied  : 
*'  You  know  it  is  false.  Spare  me,  spare  me!"  He  finally  fell 
into  a  stupor,  and  passed  peacefully  away. 

There  is  much  of  resemblance  between  Cowper  and  Charles 
Lamb.  Under  different  conditions  Cowper's  humor  would  have 
been  of  that  same  "  pawky,"  suddenly- original  kind.  Witness 
"  John  Gilpin  "  and  these  words  (in  "  Elia's"  very  vein)  about 
Mr.  Bull,  whom  he  describes  as  : 

"  A  dissenter,  but  a  liberal  one  ;  a  man  of  letters  and  of  genius  ;  master 
of  a  fine  imagination,  or  rather  not  master  of  it  ;  an  imagination  which, 
when  he  finds  himself  in  the  company  he  loves  and  can  confide  in,  runs 
away  with  him  into  such  fields  of  speculation  as  amuse  and  enliven  every 
other  imagination  that  has  the  happiness  to  be  of  the  party.  .  .  .  Such 
a  man  is  Mr.  Bull  ;  but — he  smokes  tobacco — nothing  is  perfect." 

O  Lord,  thy  work  revive. — P.  H.  Brown,  altered. 
The  text  of  this  hymn  is  said  to  have  been  altered  with  Mrs. 
Brown's  consent  and  approval.     She  desired  that  the  altered  form, 
as  found  in  Dr.  Nason's  Congregational  Hymn- Book,  1857,  should 
be  retained  henceforward. 

O  Lord  most  high,  eternal  King.  — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  the  JEterne  Rex  altissime  of  Ambrose  of  Milan.     The 
rendering  is  really  by  the  compilers  of  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern, 
1 861,  but  is  based  on  Dr.  Neale' s  version. 

O  Lord  of  heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea. — C.  Wordsworth. 
Bishop  Wordsworth's  hymns  are  all  dated  from  his  Holy  Year 
(first  edition,  1862  ;  second  edition,    1863  ;  and  another,  1865). 
This  is  an  offertory  hymn,  and  there  is  an  incident  in  the  Talmud 
which  very  happily  acts  as  a  commentary  to  it  : 

The  Rabbi  Tarphon  was  rich,  but  he  was  also  very  penurious.  One 
day  the  Rabbi  Akiba  asked  him  :  "  Shall  I  invest  some  money  for  thee  in 
a  most  profitable  manner  ?"  Now  the  Rabbi  Akiba  was  reputed  to  be  an 
extremely  sagacious  person,  and  it  was  an  honor  to  have  him  make 
such  an  offer.  Therefore  the  Rabbi  Tarphon  placed  in  his  hands  the  sum 
of  four  thousand  gold  dinars.  This  money  Rabbi  Akiba  quietly  gave 
away  to  the  poor,  soon  after  he  received  it.  Presently  Rabbi  Tarphon 
bethought  him  to  inquire  where  the  property  was  situated  in  which  his 
gold  dinars  were  invested.     So  he  asked  Rabbi  Akiba.    The  wise  man  took 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  425 

him  to  the  school,  and  there  called  up  one  of  the  p'\jiils,  who  recited  for 
them  the  112th  Psalm.  When  the  lad  reached  the  verse  which  reads  : 
"  He  hath  dispersed,  he  hath  given  to  the  poor,  his  righteousness  endureth 
forever" — "  There  !"  said  Akiba,  "  thy  treasure  is  with  David,  the  King  of 
Israel,  who  hath  spoken  this  truth."  And  when  Rabbi  Tarphon,  in 
anger,  cried  out :"  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  this  ?  I  could  have  dis- 
tributed my  property  quite  as  well  as  you  ;"  then  Rabbi  Akiba  made 
reply  :  "  Because  it  is  a  greater  virtue  to  induce  others  to  give  than  to 
give  one's  self." 

O  Lord,  turn  not  thy  face  away. — Marckant.  (?) 
This  is  possibly  by  John  Marckant,  author  of  Verses  to  Divers 
Good  Purposes,  1580.  The  reputed  authorship  of  John  Mardley 
is  measurably  given  up.  The  hymn  was  appended  to  the  first 
edition  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins's  Psalms,  1562,  and  a  copy  in 
the  British  Museum,  dated  1565,  has  "  Markant "  instead  of  the 
usual  "  M."  The  alterations  are  by  Bishop  Heber.  Their  char- 
acter and  extent  can  only  be  estimated  by  a  comparison  with  the 
original.  Marckant  is  probably  the  c<  M. "  who  translated  Ps.  131 
and  132  for  the  Old  Version.  It  is  not  absolutely  certain,  of  course, 
that  the  authorship  is  given  correctly,  for  Sir  Egerton  Brydges  and 
Mr.  E.  Farr  have  favored  John  Mardley,  and  as  specialists  they 
bold  a  high  rank. 

O  Lord,  we  now  the  path  retrace.— Deck. 

This  is  James  George  Deck's  hymn,  "  O  Lord,  when  we  the  path 
retrace. ' '     It  has  six  stanzas. 

The  author  was  the  eldest  son  of  John  Deck,  Esq. ,  of  Bury  St. 
Edmunds,  and  was  born  in  1802.  In  1829  he  was  in  the  army 
and  stationed  at  Bangalore,  India.  By  1835  his  health  had  failed, 
and  he  returned  to  England.  He  then  became  regularly  identified 
with  the  Plymouth  Brethren  (founded  by  J.  N.  Darby),  and  minis- 
tered to  their  congregation  at  Wellington,  Somersetshire.  Next 
he  resided  at  Weymouth,  and  about  1852  he  emigrated  to  New 
Zealand.  It  was  Mr.  Deck  who,  in  1845,  called  public  attention 
to  the  Agapemenon  of  Prince— a  unique  heresy  which  is  fully  dis- 
played in  Hepworth  Dixon's  Spiritual  Wives. 

O  Lord,  who  by  thy  presence  hast  made  light. — Massie,  tr. 
Mr.    Richard   Massie  is  the  son   of  Mr.  Richard  Massie,  and 
comes  of  an   old   family  in   Cheshire,    England.     Our  author's 


426  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

mother  was  a  Miss  Townsend,  and  he  is  the  eldest  of  a  family  of 
twenty-two  children.  He  was  born  June  18th,  1800,  and  spent 
his  childhood  at  Chester,  where  his  father  was  settled  from  1803  to 
1832  over  St.  Brides'  parish. 

Mr.  Massie  is  a  gentleman  of  wealth  and  leisure,  having  a  resi- 
dence at  Pulford  Hall,  Coddington,  Cheshire,  and  another  at 
Wrexham,  Denbighshire,  Wales.  He  has  given  considerable  atten- 
tion to  literature,  and  published  in  1854  a  translation  of  Martin 
Luther  s  Spiritual  Songs,  and  in  i860  the  Lyra  Domestica : 
Translated  from  the  Psaltery  and  Harp  of  C.  J.  P.  Spitta.  This 
last  collection  contains  several  hymns,  beside  the  present  piece? 
which  have  come  into  general  use. 

O  Love  Divine,  that  stooped  to  share. — Holmes. 
It  is  a  real  surprise  to  find  the  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table 
in  the  list  of  hymn-writers.  But  the  two  hymns  which  he  has 
given  us  are  among  our  most  acceptable  and  admirable  Christian 
lyrics.  What  they  may  lack  in  fervor  they  make  up  in  poetry — a 
feature  in  hymns  which  cannot  safely  be  despised,  however  much 
some  of  the  earlier  hymnists  did  despise  it.  The  date  of  the 
present  piece,  by  the  way,  is  1848,  and  it  was  published  in  the 
Professor  at   the  Breakfast  Table   [Atlantic  Monthly,    November, 

.859]. 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Mass., 
August  29th,  1809 — his  father,  Rev.  Abiel  Holmes,  D.  D.,  LL.D., 
being  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  church.  He 
was  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1829,  and  having  studied 
medicine  at  home  and  abroad,  took  his  medical  degree  at  Harvard 
in  1836.  In  1838  he  was  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology 
at  Dartmouth,  and  in  1847  was  invited  to  the  same  chair  at  Harvard 
— a  position  which  he  held  (and  filled)  until  1882,  when  he  be- 
came emeritus  and  took  a  new  and  remarkable  lease  of  literary 
life,  which  has  not  yet  expired. 

O  Love,  how  deep  !  how  broad,  how  high. — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  a  translation  of  the  hymn,  "  O  Amor  qui  exstaticus  " — 
whose  Latin  text  is  dated  between  the  fifteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  and  is  found  in  L.  C.  Biggs' s  Annotations  to  Hymns, 
Ancient  and  Modern,  No.  143.  It  was  first  contributed  to  the 
Hymnal  Noted,  1856. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  427 

O  Master,  let  me  walk  with  thee. — W.  Gladden. 
The  Rev.  Washington  Gladden  is  better  known  as  a  pastor  and 
journalist  than  as  a  poet  or  hymn-writer.  He  was  born  February 
nth,  1836,  at  Pittsgrove,  Pa.,  and  received  his  education  at 
Williams  College,  whence  he  was  graduated  in  1859.  He  then 
took  a  theological  course,  and  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church. 

He  has  been  a  pastor  in  Springfield,  Mass. ,  an  editor  of  the 
New  York  Independent ;  the  editor  of  Sunday  Afte?-noon,  a  maga- 
zine which  was  merged  into  another  publication  after  his  departure 
from  it  ;  and  is  now  (1886)  the  pastor  of  a  Congregational  church 
in  Columbus,  O. 

The  present  piece  was  written  for  ' '  The  Still  Hour  ' '  in  Sun- 
day Afle?-noon — a  corner  which  was  filled  with  devotional  reading. 
It  appeared  in  March,  1879,  m  three  eight-line  stanzas.  The 
first  and  last  of  these  constitute  the  hymn.  The  omitted  stanza  is 
too  fine  to  be  forgotten.  We  give  it  from  the  author's  manu- 
script : 

"  O  Master,  let  me  walk  with  Thee 
Before  the  taunting  Pharisee  ; 
Help  me  to  bear  the  sting  of  spite, 
The  hate  of  men  who  hide  thy  light, 
The  sore  distrust  of  souls  sincere 
Who  cannot  read  thy  judgments  clear, 
The  dulness  of  the  multitude, 
Who  dimly  guess  that  thou  art  good." 

Mr.  Gladden  himself  says  :  ' '  These  lines  were,  of  course,  not 
adapted  to  the  purposes  of  worship.  I  had  no  thought  of  making 
a  hymn  when  I  wrote  the  verses."  The  Rev.  C.  H.  Richards  is 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  first  seen  their  fitness  for  the  pages 
of  a  hymnal. 

O  mother  dear,  Jerusalem. 

According  to  the  latest  and  best  researches  this  hymn  js  the  more 

modern  form  of 

"  Jerusalem,  my  happy  home, 
When  shall  I  come  to  thee." 

Oh,  not  my  own  these  verdant  hills. — S.  F.  Smith. 
The  date  given  by  Dr.  Smith  is  i860.     There  is  no  particular 
incident  attached  to  its  composition. 


428  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Oh,  not  to  fill  the  mouth  of  fame. — Gill. 
This  is  taken  from  The  Golden  Chain  of  Praise,  with  the  motto, 
' '  O   Lord,   truly  I  am  thy  servant, ' '  and  the  title  is,  ' '  The  True 
Servant. ' '     There  are  six  stanzas.      It  was  contributed  to  Daw- 
son s  Collection,  1853— which  is  the  nidus  of  Mr.  Gill's  hymns. 

When  it  is  said  in  the  Scriptures  that  the  Hebrew  slave  who  loves  his 
bondage  shall  have  his  ear  bored  through  and  fastened  to  the  door-post, 
the  Rabbis  expounded  this  to  mean  that  he  had  heard  from  Sinai  that  he 
was  to  be  God's  servant  and  not  the  servant  of  man.  If,  therefore,  he  pre- 
ferred to  serve  man  rather  than  God,  he  should  take  the  consequences 
and  be  liable  to  sale  as  a  bondsman,  who  would  not  allow  himself  to  be 
made  free. 

O  Paradise  !  O  Paradise. — Faber. 

This  exquisite  lyric  is  from  a  poem  of  seven  stanzas,  entitled 
11  Paradise."  It  is  one  of  the  very  loveliest  things  that  Faber 
wrote,  and  is  inseparably  connected  with  Barnby's  equally  beauti- 
ful tune.      The  date  is  about  1854. 

There  is  in  this  and  in  almost  all  the  hymns  of  heaven,  what  the 
Germans  know  as  Heimweh — longing  for  home.  One  catches  this  in  the 
strain  of  Bernard  of  Morlaix,  and  in  the  verses  of  Peter  Damiani.  It  fills 
the  sad  song  of  the  captive  "  F.  B.  P."  as  he  composes  his  "  Mother 
dear,  Jerusalem."  It  is  felt  in  the  hymns  of  Kosegarten,  and  of  Richard 
Rolle,  the  "  hermit  of  Hampole."  Whoever  sings  this  song,  whether  he 
be  Hildebert  or  Neale,  is  uttering  in  his  soul  the  cry,  "  O  God,  if  I 
were  there  !"  One  of  the  finest  of  these  strains  we  catch  from  James 
Craig  (1682-1744)  '• 

"  O'er  to  the  new  Jerusalem,  "  Where  in  his  presence  I  shall  find, 

Where  I  with  Christ  may  dwell,  The  beauty  I  desire, 

And  ever  hear  his  own  dear  lips  And  the  sweet  glories  of  his  face 

His  own  dear  story  tell.  Eternally  admire." 

Oh,  render  thanks  to  God  above. — Tate  and  Brady. 
This  is  Tate  and  Brady's  version  of  Psalm  106.  The-  forty 
eight  verses  of  the  Psalm  are  brought  into  four  parts — the  first  hav- 
ing forty-four  lines,  the  second,  thirty-six,  the  third,  thirty-six, 
and  the  fourth,  thirty-six.  The  hymn  is  usually  formed  from  the 
earlier  portion  of  the  first  part,  though  another  stanza  is  sometimes 
taken  from  the  close  of  the  Psalm. 

For  some  reason,  which  it  is  hard  to  imagine,  Charles  Wesley,  in  his 
Poetical  Version  of  the  Psalms  (1743  ?),  has  included  this  as  the  rendering 
of  Ps.  136.  It  is  certainly  not  of  his  own  composition,  for  it  is  in  Tate 
and  Brady's  New  Version,  1696,  as  we  have  just  said.  But  its  presence 
amid  other  paraphrases,  which  are  presumably  by  Wesley,  casts  a  curious 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  429 

doubt  on  Mr.  Fish's  "  discovery,"  and  on  one  or  two  hymns  assigned  to 
Wesley  in  consequence  of  it. 

The  history  of  Wesley's  version  of  the  Psalms  is  thus  made  uncertain 
and  peculiar.  The  work  was  discovered  in  the  well-known  handwriting 
of  Charles  Wesley  among  the  archives  of  a  certain  English  college,  and 
published  in  1854  by  Henry  Fish,  its  finder.  He  may  tell  his  own  story 
from  the  page  now  open  before  us. 

"To  those  who  ask,  as  some  have  done,  'Where  has  this  manuscript  been  sleeping  so 
long,  and  what  was  its  pillow  ?  '  we  answer,  The  shelves  of  a  college  ;  but  what  college  shall 
be  nameless,  although  the  binding  of  the  manuscript  clearly  indicates  from  whence  it  came. 
From  the  archives  of  that  college,  along  with  duplicates  of  books,  this  manuscript  found  its 
way  into  the  London  market  ;  and  it  is  believed  that  neither  the  vendors  nor  the  buyer 
knew  what  it  was.  It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  the  editor  met  with  it,  and  he  at 
once  recognized  the  handwriting,  and  was  happy  to  gain  possession  of  so  valuable  a  trea- 
sure. He  has  always  viewed  this  event  as  providential,  as  it  might  have  fallen  into  other 
hands  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  it  was  the  work  of  Charles  Wesley ;  and  thus  it  might  have 
been  lost  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world  and  to  all  generations." 

The  volume  contains  Wesley's  translations,  lacking  about  twenty-four, 
of  the  entire  number  of  Psalms.  The  manuscript  from  which  it  is  printed 
bears  the  book-plate  of  "  Selina,  Countess  Dowager  of  Huntingdon" — 
which,  of  course,  makes  the  date  of  her  ownership  later  than  1746,  and 
between  that  and  1790. 

The  date  1743  has  been  assigned  to  other  pieces  which  are  included  in 
this  manuscript.     One  is  the  version  of  Ps.  150, 

"  Praise  the  Lord  who  reigns  above, 
And  keeps  his  court  below." 


Another  is  Ps.  131, 


"  Lord,  if  thou  thy  grace  impart, 
Poor  in  spirit,  meek  in  heart, 


O  Rock  of  Ages,  one  foundation. — Martin. 
Rev.  Henry  Arthur  Martin  appears  as  the  author  of  four  hymns 
in   Sir  Arthur  Sullivan's   Church  Hymns   (S.   P.   C.    K.— 1881). 

They  are  : 

"  Sound  aloud  Jehovah's  praises," 
"  The  Heavenly  King  must  come," 
"  O  Rock  of  ages,  one  foundation," 
"  Lord  of  the  frost-bound  Winter." 

Our  present  hymn  is  based  on  Matt.  16  :  18,  and  is  dedicated 
to  St.  Peter.      It  has  five  stanzas. 

The  author  is  vicar  of  Laxton,  and  resides  at  Newark-on-Trent. 
He  was  graduated  at  Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  in  1855,  and 
received  his  M.A.  degree  in  1857,  being  made  deacon  in  1856 
and  priest  in  1857.  His  parish  is  "  Laxton  with  Moorhouse,"  in 
the  diocese  of  Lincoln,  to  which  he  came  in  1858,  having  previ- 
ously been  curate  of  Hallow,  Worcestershire,  from   1856  to   1858. 


43©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Among  the  odd  and  singular  things  which  are  unearthed  in  these 
hymnological  inquiries  of  ours  is  the  fact  that  this  minister's 
stipend  is  about  $1300  (^261),  and  that  he  has  "  four  acres  of 
glebe  and  a  house. ' '  This  is  spread  broadcast  to  the  world  in  an 
official  publication. 

O  sacred  head,  now  wounded.  — J.  W.  Alexander. 

Paul  Gerhardt,  1656,  took  this  hymn  from  the  Latin  of  St. 
Bernard  of  Clairvaulx,  and  made  it  immensely  popular  by  his  trans- 
lation :  "  0  Haupt  voll  Blut  und  Wunden."  Dr.  Alexander's  ver- 
sion (dated  1 8  2  9)  is  the  translation  of  a  translation.  The  present  por- 
tion commences,  in  the  Latin,  "Salve  caput  cruentatum.,,  Like 
some  other  renderings  from  the  German,  this  piece  was  con- 
tributed by  its  author  to  the  Deutsche  Kirchenfreund  of  Dr.  Philip 
Schaff,  1849.  From  this  it  passed  into  general  use.  The  Latin 
hymn  is  fully  treated  in  the  "  Latin  Hymn- Writers  and  their 
Hymns." 

James  Waddell  Alexander  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Archi- 
bald Alexander,  D.  D.,  born  at  Hopewell,  Louisa  County,  Va., 
March  13th,  1804  ;  graduated  at  Princeton  College,  1820,  and 
settled  first  in  Charlotte  County,  Va. ,  over  a  Presbyterian  church. 
Thence  he  went  to  Trenton,  and  to  the  Professorship  of  Rhetoric 
and  Belles-Lettres  at  Princeton.  In  1844  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Duane  Street  Presbyterian  church,  New  York  City,  returning  to 
Princeton  Seminary  in  1849  as  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History 
and  Church  Government.  In  185 1  he  was  called  to  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Presbyterian  church,  and  died  at  Sweet  Springs,  Va., 
July  31st,  1859. 

He  wrote  and  published  several  books,  of  which  his  Thoughts 
on  Preaching  has  had  the  greatest  success.  His  Forty  Fears' 
Familiar  Letters  were  published  in  i860,  New  York,  in  two  vol- 
umes. 

O  Saviour,  precious  Saviour. — F.  R.  Havergal. 

This  is  in  Miss  Havergal' s  Poems,  p.  49,  with  the  title,  "  Our 
King. — Ps.  45  :  11."  It  has  four  stanzas.  Miss  Havergal's 
poetical  compositions  were  singularly  dependent  upon  her  moods. 
In  1868  she  writes  :  "  I  have  not  had  a  single  poem  come  to  me 
for  some  time,  till  last  night,  when  one  shot  into  my  mind.  All 
my  best  have  come  in  that  way. "     The  date  is  1870. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  43 \ 

O  Saviour,  where  shall  guilty  man.— C  E.  May. 

There  is  no  record  of  this  writer  on  which  we  are  able  to  rely. 

It  is  probable  that  the  name  is  that  of  a  lady,  as  it  does  not  appear 

in  the  university  catalogues  nor  in  the  clerical  lists.     The  hymn 

itself  was  contributed  to  the  Choral  Hymn- Book  of  Dr.  P.  Maurice, 

London,  1861. 

The  author,  however,  is  not  Miss  Caroline  May,  whose  Hymns 
on  the  Collects  (New  York,  1872)  does  not  contain  it,  and  who  has 
personally  assured  us  that  it  is  not  her  composition,  nor  does  she 
know  who  "  C.  E.  May  "  is.  Miss  May  was  born  at  Croyden, 
England,  about  1820.  She  has  been  an  esteemed  teacher  at 
Pelham  Manor,  Westchester  County,  N.Y.,  for  many  years,  and 
still  resides  there.  Her  hymns,  contributed  to  ihz  Observer  and 
other  periodicals,  are  meditative  rather  than  lyrical.  Miss  May 
published  her  Poems  in  1865,  and  has  compiled  a  volume  of 
Treasured  Thoughts  from  Favorite  Authors  and  one  upon  the 
American  Female  Poets.  Her  verses  are  characterized  by  correct- 
ness and  piety,  and  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  they  have  not 
been  utilized  in  collections.      But  they  are  not  really  "  hymns." 

O  Saviour,  who  didst  come. — Osler. 

Edward  Osier,  M.D.,  was  born  at  Falmouth,  January,  1798, 
and  died  at  Truro,  March  7th,  1863. 

Dr  Osier  contributed  fifty  hymns  to  the  collection  prepared  by 
Rev  William  John  Hall  (1836),  and  on  his  return  to  his  native 
country  he  edited  the  Truro  Royal  Cornwall  Gazette  up  to  the  date 

of  his  death. 

Of  the  man  himself  we  are  told  that  he  was  "  educated  under 
the  roof  of  a  Dissenting  minister,"  and  studied  medicine  with  Dr. 
Carvosso,  of  Falmouth,  completing  his  course  at  Guy's  Hospital, 
London.  In  18 19  he  became  house  surgeon  of  Swansea  Infir- 
mary and  practised  medicine  in  the  town  for  six  years.  He  wrote 
a  treatise  also  for  the  Linn^an  Society  on  Burroiving  and  Bor- 
ing Marine  Animals.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  he  left  Swansea 
for  London,  took  a  voyage  to  the  West  Indies  (1830),  and  pub- 
lished, a  little  later,  several  other  works.  He  returned  to  Corn- 
wall in  1 84 1.  Some  of  his  hymns  accompany  his  writings  on 
Dissent,  and  The  Church  and  King;  and  others  are  in  the  Mitre 
Hymn- Book  (Mr.  Hall's  collection). 


43 2  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Oh,  see  how  Jesus  trusts  himself.  — Faber. 
This  hymn   is  taken  from  "  True   Love,"  a  poem   in  twenty- 
three  stanzas,  commencing,  "  Think  well   how  Jesus  trusts  him- 
self."    The  remainder  of  the  poem  runs  into  sentimentality  and 
mawkishness,  and  is  very  far  below  these  noble  verses. 

Oh,  still  in  accents  sweet  and  strong.  — S.  Longfellow. 
This  appears  in  the  Hymns  of  the  Spirit,  1864,  where  it  has  four 
stanzas. 

Oh,  sweetly  breathe  the  lyres  above.  — R.  Palmer. 

Dr.  Palmer,  by  a  strange  mischance,  did  not  include  this  piece 
among  his  collected  poems.  It  was  written  in  the  winter  of 
1842-3,  at  a  time  of  revival.  At  the  previous  communion  several 
had  been  received  under  circumstances  that  made  Doddridge's 
hymn,  "  O  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice,"  a  most  appropriate 
selection.  Not  caring  to  repeat  it,  and  needing  something  similar, 
Dr.  Palmer  composed  the  present  hymn.  It  was  first  published 
in  Parish  Hymns  (Rev.  S.  C.  Brace's  collection),  1843. 

Oh,  that  the  Lord's  salvation. — Lyte. 
This  is   Mr.  Lyte's   version  of  Ps.  14,  in  four  stanzas.      It  ap- 
peared in  the  Spirit  of  the  Psalms,  1834. 

Oh,  that  the  Lord  would  guide  my  ways. — Watts. 
This   is   Dr.    Isaac  Watts' s  version  of  the   119th   Psalm,    the 
Eleventh   Part,  C.  M.      It  consists  of  six  stanzas,  and  is  entitled, 
11  Breathing  after  Holiness." 

Oh,  the  sweet  wonders  of  that  cross. — Watts. 
This  is  from  the  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  10  ["  Nature  with 
open  volume  stands,"  etc.]  "  Christ  Crucified,  the  Wisdom  and 
Power  of  God."  There  are  six  stanzas.  The  final  stanza  in 
Laudes  Domini  is  a  doxology  which  is  taken  from  the  Baptist  Hymn 
and  Tune  Book,  Philadelphia. 

O  thou  essential  Word. — Winkworth,  tr. 

This  hymn  is  found  in  Lyra  Germanica,  first  series,  1855,  m  s^x 

stanzas,  from  the  German  of  Laurentius  Laurenti,  1700.      It  is  a 

hymn  for  Christmas  Day,  and  begins,  "  Du   wesentliches    Wort" 

being  based  on  John  1  :  1-14.     It  is  really  intended  for  the  day 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  433 

of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  Miss  Wink  worth  in  her  translation 
omits  verses  3  and  5,  the  original  having  eight  stanzas  in  all. 

Laurenti  was  precentor  of  the  cathedral  at  Bremen.  He  was 
born  June  8th,  1660,  at  Husum,  in  the  duchy  of  Holstein,  where 
his  father  was  a  citizen  of  repute.  As  he  showed  musical  talent, 
his  father,  also  a  lover  of  music,  planned  for  him  a  musical  educa- 
tion. He  therefore  studied  at  Kiel,  and  in  1684  became  precentor 
and  choirmaster  at  Bremen.  His  hymns  are  generally  adapted  to 
the  festivals  of  the  Church.  One  of  the  best  is,  "  Rejoice,  rejoice, 
believers." 

Laurenti  died  at  Bremen,  May  29th,  1722,  and  had  published 
in  1 700  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  hymns  under  the  title,  Evan- 
gelica  Melodica. 

O  thou  from  whom  all  goodness  flows. — T.  Haweis. 

This  hymn  first  appeared  in  Mr.  Haweis' s  Carmina  Christo, 
1792,  in  six  stanzas,  with  the  text  Neh.  13  :  31. 

Henry  Martyn  twice  refers  to  this  sacred  song  in  connection 
with  some  of  his  deepest  experiences  in  the  missionary  work. 
August  23d,  181 1,  he  speaks  of  the  Moollah  Aga  Mohammed 
Hassan,  a  "very  sensible,  candid  man,"  who  "has  nothing  to 
find  fault  with  in  Christianity  except  the  Divinity  of  Christ. ' ' 

"It  is  this  doctrine,"  adds  Martyn,  "which  exposes  me  to  the  con- 
tempt of  the  learned  Mohammedans,  in  whom  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether 
pride  or  ignorance  predominates.  Their  sneers  are  more  difficult  to  bear 
than  the  brickbats  which  the  boys  sometimes  throw  at  me  ;  however, 
both  are  an  honor  of  which  I  am  not  worthy.  How  many  times  in  the 
day  have  I  occasion  to  repeat  the  words, 

4  If  on  my  face,  for  thy  dear  name, 
Shame  and  reproaches  be  ; 
All  hail,  reproach,  and  welcome,  shame, 
If  thou  remember  me.'  " 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1812,  the  scene  is  repeated.  One  of  the  Viziers  (it 
is  in  Persia)  says  to  him  :  "  You  had  better  say,  '  God  is  God,  and  Mo- 
hammed is  the  prophet  of  God  ! '  "  Martyn  replied  :  "  God  is  God,  and 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God."  They  were  fiercely  enraged,  and  cried  out  in 
wrath  and  contempt,  and  one  said  :  "  What  will  you  say  when  your 
tongue  is  burnt  out  for  this  blasphemy?"  "Thus,"  continues  Martyn, 
"  I  walked  away  alone  to  my  tent,  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  day  in  heat  and 
dirt.  '  What  have  I  done,'  thought  I,  '  to  merit  all  this  scorn  ?  Nothing, 
I  trust,  but  bearing  testimony  to  Jesus.'  I  thought  over  these  things  in 
prayer,  and  found  that  peace  which  Christ  hath  promised  to  his  disciples  : 
'  If  on  my  face,  for  thy  dear  name,'  etc. 


434  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  To  complete  the  trials  of  the  day,  a  message  came  from  the  Vizier  in 
the  evening,  to  say  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  king  not  to  see  any 
Englishman,  unless  presented  by  the  ambassador,  or  accredited  by  a 
letter  from  him  ;  and  that  I  must  therefore  wait  till  the  king  reached 
Sultania,  where  the  ambassador  would  be." 

October  16th  of  the  same  year  (1812),  Mr.  Martyn  died  at  Tocat  of  a 
malignant  fever.  His  final  entry  in  his  diary  is  of  October  6th.  "  No 
horses  being  to  be  had  I  had  an  unexpected  repose.  I  sat  in  the  orchard 
and  thought,  with  sweet  comfort  and  peace,  of  my  God  ;  in  solitude,  my 
company,  my  friend  and  comforter.  Oh,  when  shall  time  give  place  to 
eternity  !" 

The  story  of  the  "  Maiden  Martyr  of  Scotland/'  drowned  in 
the  Solway,  and  singing  this  hymn  to  the  last,  is  a  gross  anachro- 
nism. 

Mr.  John  B.  Gough  writes  as  follows  about  his  father  : 

"  During  a  retreat  of  the  English  army,  when  closely  pursued  by 
Marshal  Soult,  about  the  year  1809,  my  father,  then  about  thirty  years  of 
age,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Fifty-second  Light  Infantry.  He  had  been 
slightly  wounded  in  the  chest,  and  though  his  wound  was  not  considered 
fatal,  it  was  painfirl  and  irritating.  The  army  had  suffered  fearfully  from 
exposure,  famine,  and  the  heavy  fatigues  of  an  active  campaign.  I  well 
remember  my  father  saying  to  me:  '  John,  you  will  never  know  what 
hunger  is  till  you  feel  the  two  sides  of  your  stomach  grinding  together.* 
In  that  campaign  men,  mad  with  hunger,  fought  like  wolves  over  the 
half-decayed  hoof  of  a  bullock  ;  and  often,  when  one  of  these  poor 
animals,  overcome  with  weakness  and  starvation,  was  staggering  as  if 
about  to  fall,  the  ready  knife  was  applied  to  the  throat,  and  the  fainting 
soldiers,  eagerly  catching  the  blood  in  their  hands,  and  hardly  waiting 
for  it  to  congeal,  made  it  take  the  place  of  food.  In  this  retreat  the 
Fifty-second  Regiment  became— to  use  the  American  term — demoralized  ; 
and,  while  they  staggered  on,  my  father  threw  himself  out  of  the  ranks, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  large  rock,  to  die  ;  he  could  go  no  farther.  Lying 
there  he  took  from  his  inner  pocket  a  hymn-book  (which  I  have  to-day 
with  all  the  marks  of  its  seventy  years  upon  it),  and  began  to  read  the 
hymn  in  which  is  the  verse, 

*  When  in  the  solemn  hour  of  death 
I  own  thy  just  decree, 
Be  this  the  prayer  of  my  last  breath  : 
O  Lord,  remember  me.' 

"'He  must  die— it  seemed  inevitable — though  far  from  home,  in  a 
strange  land.  He  was  a  Christian,  and  endeavored  to  prepare  himself 
for  the  change.  Suddenly  a  large  bird  of  prey,  with  a  red  neck  growing 
out  of  a  ruffle  of  feathers,  came  swooping  along*  almost  brushing  my 
father's  body  with  its  wings  ;  and  then  circling  up,  it  alighted  on  the  poin: 
of  rock,  and  turned  its  blood-red  eye  on  its  intended  victim. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  435 

"  As  my  father  saw  that  horrible  thing  watching  and  waiting  to  tear 
him  in  pieces  even  before  life  was  extinct,  it  so  filled  him  with  horror  and 
disgust  that  he  cried  :  '  I  cannot  endure  this  ;  it  is  too  terrible.  When  I 
am  unable  to  drive  that  fearful  thing  away  it  will  be  tearing  my  flesh.  I 
cannot  endure  it  ! '  He  rose  to  his  feet  and  fell,  then  crawled  and  strug- 
gled away,  till  at  length  he  crept  into  a  poor  hut,  found  safety,  and  soon 
after  joined  his  regiment.  Though  he  was  very,  very  ill  after  that  fright- 
ful episode,  he  recovered,  and  died  in  1871,  at  the  remarkable  age  of 
ninety-four  years." 

It  is  very  plain  that  God  did  remember  him,  and  sent  this  sharp 
horror  to  arouse  and  hasten  his  effort  to  escape  from  death. 

0  thou  God,  who  hearest  prayer. — Conder. 
This  hymn  was  caused  by  a  serious  accident  which  befell  Mr. 
Conder,  owing  to  a  fall  from  his  horse  in  1836.  Left  to  lie  on  his 
bed  in  pain  and  anxiety  over  his  affairs,  he  wrote  these  verses. 
And  yet  Conder  once  said  concerning  certain  subjective  hymns  : 
"  On  reading  a  hymn  nobody  inquires  why  it  was  written  or 
attributes  the  feelings  it  depicts  to  the  poet's  actual,  or,  at  any  rate, 
present,  experience."     Times  have  surely  changed  since  then  ! 

O  thou  great  Friend  to  all  the  sons  of  men. — Parker. 

There  is  no  more  noticeable  name,  either  for  ability  or  for  in- 
dependence, among  American  Unitarians  than  that  of  Theodore 
Parker.  He  was  born  in  Lexington,  Mass.,  August  24th,  1810, 
the  youngest  child  of  eleven.  His  ancestors  fought  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  where  his  grandfather  commanded  a  company  at  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  April  19th,  1775.  The  young  Theodore 
was  brought  up  in  the  workshop  and  in  the  field,  and  what  educa- 
tion he  obtained  was  at  the  district  school.  At  seventeen  he  had 
advanced  to  the  position  of  a  teacher,  and  having  entered  Harvard 
College,  in  1830,  he  remained  at  home,  carrying  on  his  studies  in 
regular  course  ;  adding  other  branches  that  were  not  taught ;  sup- 
porting himself  by  giving  private  lessons,  and  going  to  Cambridge 
now  and  then  to  pass  his  examinations.  This  prevented  him  from 
taking  his  degree  of  B.A.  with  the  class,  but  he  received  his  M.A. 
in  1840.  He  was  graduated  from  the  Divinity  School  after  two 
years  of  study,  and  then  preached  in  various  parts  of  Massachusetts. 
His  ordination  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  West 
Roxbury  occurred  June  21st,  1837. 

Here  he  experienced  a  great  change  in  his  theological  views,  and 


436  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

his  published  discourses,  1841-43,  mark  the  trend  of  his  thought. 
In  1843  he  went  to  Germany,  and  on  his  return  in  1844  he  was 
urged  to  become  the  minister  of  a  New  Society  formed  in  Boston. 
To  this  he  consented,  and  was  installed  as  pastor,  January  4  th, 
1859.  His  congregation  had  no  house  of  worship,  but  met  first 
in  the  Melodeon  and  then  in  the  Music  Hall.  The  audiences 
were  always  large,  and  Mr.  Parker  not  merely  held  them  together, 
but  lectured  before  lyceums  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and 
took  an  active  share  in  the  Abolition  movement,  and  whatever 
partook  of  the  nature  of  reform.  An  attack  of  hemorrhage  from 
the  lungs  finally  compelled  him  to  seek  Vera  Cruz,  in  January, 
1859,  and  thence  to  visit  Europe,  where  he  spent  some  time  in 
Switzerland.  He  then  stayed  the  winter  of  i860  in  Rome,  and 
repairing  to  Florence,  in  April,  found  himself  much  enfeebled  and 
died  there,  May  10th,  i860.  He  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  out- 
side the  walls. 

Biographies  of  Theodore  Parker  have  been  written  by  Rev. 
John  Weiss  and  Rev.  O.  B.  Frothingham.  His  vigorous  and  in- 
cisive style  left  a  deep  impression  upon  the  generation  which  grew 
up  under  his  ministry — an  impression  which  it  is  not  easy  to  efface. 
It  is  related  of  him  that  while  he  denied  anything  like  Godhead 
to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  he  was  fond  of  keeping  a  bust  of  the 
Savi<?ur  upon  his  desk.  And  certainly  the  language  of  this  hymn 
has  a  pathetic  power  when  we  remember  who  wrote  it  and  how 
much  he  ' '  hoped  ever  for  the  perfect  day. ' ' 

The  hymn  is  really  a  sonnet.  No  date  can  be  assigned  to  it 
with  certainty.  It  is  taken  from  Dr.  Frothingham's  Life  of  Theo- 
dore Parker. 

O  thou,  my  soul,  forget  no  more.  — Marshman,  tr. 

The  first  Hindoo  convert  to  Christianity  was  Krishna  Pal.  Dr. 
John  Thomas  had  labored  from  1783  to  1800  with  no  success, 
when  at  last  this  man's  heart  was  gained.  Dr.  Thomas  had  been 
reinforced  by  the  more  famous  Baptist  missionaries,  William  Carey 
and  Joshua  Marshman,  and  it  is  this  Dr.  Marshman  who  trans- 
lated Krishna  Pal's  hymn  from  its  original  Bengalee.  This  first 
convert  became  a  successful  evangelist  among  his  countrymen, 
and  wrote  several  hymns  which  were  very  popular.  He  was  a  car- 
penter, of  about  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  while  at  his  work  he 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  437 

broke  his  arm.  Dr.  Thomas  was  called  upon  to  set  it,  which  he 
did,  and  then  took  occasion  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  crowd. 
Krishna's  gratitude  led  him  to  listen  to  an  invitation  to  return  and 
visit  the  Mission.  He  not  only  did  this,  but  brought  his  wife  and 
daughter,  and  on  the  2 2d  of  December,  1800,  he  and  his  brother, 
Goluk,  renounced  their  caste  and  sat  down  at  table  with  the  mis- 
sionaries. This  created  a  wild  storm  of  rage,  under  which  Goluk 
and  the  two  women  became  intimidated,  but  Krishna  persisted, 
and  was  baptized  in  the  Ganges  by  Dr.  Carey,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Governor  of  India  and  many  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans. 
Carey  then  addressed  the  multitude,  pointing  out  that  this  was 
only  a  ceremony,  and  that  none  but  Christ  could  save  from  sin. 
That  evening,  December  28th,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated 
for  the  first  time  in  Bengalee. 

This  hymn  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  communion,  and  for 
more  than  twenty  years  its  author  continued  steadfast  in  the  faith. 
He  died  of  cholera  in  1822.  Mr.  Butterworth,  in  his  Story  of 
the  Hymns,  has  taken  pains  to  secure  these  particulars  from  Bap- 
tist papers  and  magazines,  and  merits  the  honor  due  to  his 
work. 

Dr.  Marshman  was  one  of  the  translators  of  the  Bible,  and  he 
prepared  dictionaries  of  the  Mahratta  and  Bengalee  languages,  and 
afterward  rendered  the  New  Testament  into  Chinese.  He  was 
born  in  Wiltshire,  England,  April  20th,  1768,  and  landed  at 
Serampore  in  1799,  wnere  ne  died  December  5th,  1837.  During 
the  last  years  of  his  life — indeed,  from  1826 — he  was  at  variance 
with  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  upon  matters  of  polity.  The 
Serampore  Mission  had  been  secured  by  the  personal  devotion  and 
gifts  of  the  missionaries,  and  they  naturally  objected  to  transferring 
the  title  of  it  to  the  society.  When  it  is  remembered  that  they  had 
given  fifty  thousand  pounds  to  the  work,  as  well  as  sacrificed  their 
own  lives  in  it,  there  is  at  least  room  for  question  whether  they 
were  not  justified  in  some  of  their  views.  But  when  Carey  died, 
in  1834,  and  Marshman  was  left  alone,  the  shock  was  ultimately 
fatal.  The  survivor  of  this  deep  friendship  was  a  broken  man  from 
that  moment,  and  died  three  years  later.  At  the  last  his  mind 
perceptibly  failed.  In  his  final  hours  he  forgot  his  English,  and 
used  the  language  of  his  adopted  land,  talking  and  praying  in  Ben- 
galee.     One  of  his  daughters  married  General  Havelock. 


438  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

O  thou  that  nearest  prayer. — John  Burton,  Jr. 

We  must  distinguish  this  John  Burton  (known  as  ' '  John  Burton, 
Jr.")  from  "  John  Burton  of  Nottingham,"  who  wrote  "  Holy 
Bible,  book  divine,"  and  "  Time  is  winging  us  away. " 

The  present  hymn  is  the  production  of  John  Burton,  of  Strat- 
ford, Essex,  where  he  was  born  July  23d,  1803.  The  particulars 
of  his  life  have  been  collected  by  Dr.  Rogers  in  Lyra  Britannica, 
to  which  he  contributed  "  Jesus,  our  Lord  !  to  thee  we  raise," 
etc.  The  father  was  a  cooper  and  basket-maker,  and  the  son  fol- 
lowed his  father's  calling.  When  his  father  died  in  1840  he  be- 
came successor  to  his  business. 

Mr.  Burton  was  brought  up  in  a  Christian  home,  his  parents 
being  members  of  the  Congregational  Church.  From  his  child- 
hood he  himself  appears  to  have  displayed  a  devout  piety  which 
was  greatly  deepened  by  a  painful  illness.  From  his  fifteenth  to 
his  twenty-fifth  year  he  was  in  constant  suffering,  and  nearly  al- 
ways in  a  helpless  condition.  His  education  was  what  he  gained 
before  he  was  thirteen,  and  such  as  he  had  increased  by  subsequent 
study.  His  facility  in  verse-writing  enabled  him  to  publish  many 
pieces  in  the  magazines. 

The  first  of  these  appeared  in  1822.  The  present  hymn  dates 
from  1824,  when  it  saw  the  light  in  the  Baptist  Magazine,  London. 
One  of  his  works  [Christian  Devotedness)  was  written  in  the  course 
of  three  winters,  "  mostly  before  day/'  and  is  a  curious  proof  of 
its  own  title. 

We  have  no  record  of  his  death.  His  days  have  been  spent  in 
quietness.  English  hymnody  has  songs  which  come  from  the  tuft 
of  grass  as  well  as  from  the  tall  forest. 

O  thou  whom  we  adore.  — C.  Wesley. 

In  the  year  1782  Mr.  Wesley  published  a  tract  of  forty-seven 
pages,  in  two  parts,  entitled  Hymns  for  the  Nation,  in  which  this 
piece  appears. 

"  This  work,"  says  Mr.  Creamer,  "  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Life  of 
Charles  Wesley,  but  its  contents  were  doubtless  the  production  of  his 
pen,  having  particular  reference  to  the  condition  of  the  country  at  the 
time,  England  then  being  at  war  with  her  4  rebellious '  transatlantic 
colonies.  One  hymn  only  from  this  tract,  entitled  '  On  the  American 
War,'  has  been  inserted  in  the  English  and  American  hymn-books  : 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  439 

'  Saviour,  whom  our  hearts  adore, 

To  bless  our  earth  again, 
Now  assume  thy  royal  power, 

And  o'er  the  nations  reign.'  " 

O  thou,  the  contrite  sinner's  friend. — C.  Elliott. 
In  the  Collection  of  Rev.  Henry  Venn  Elliott  (first  edition,  1833) 
this  hymn  first  appeared  publicly — and  there  by  a  printer's  error 
it  was  attributed  to  Wesley.  This  mistake  relentlessly  pursued  the 
piece  into  other  collections,  and  lasted  for  some  time,  as  such 
things  usually  do.  Error  is  gyroscopic,  and  has  great  ' '  persistency 
in  the  plane  of  rotation."  The  date  has  hitherto  been  variable, 
ranging  in  the  different  collections  from  1834  to  1845. 

O  thou  whose  bounty  fills  my  cup.  — Crewdson. 

This  hymn  is  in  Lyra  Britatinica,  1868,  but  not  in  the  collec- 
tion of  Mrs.  Crewdson' s  poems  which  is  entitled  The  Little 
While.     It  bears  the  inscription,  "  Bless  the  Lord  at  all  times." 

O  thou,  whose  own  vast  temple  stands. — Bryant. 
This  hymn  was  written  for  the  dedication  of  a  church  in  Prince 
Street,  New  York  City,  which  was  afterward  destroyed  by  fire.  It 
begins,  in  Singers  and  Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith,  "  Thou,  whose 
unmeasured  temple  stands."  The  changed  form  appears  in 
Sewall's  (Unitarian)  Collection  (revised  edition,  1845).  There  are 
four  stanzas. 

O  thou  whose  tender  mercy  hears. — Steele. 
The  title  given  in  the  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1760,  is  "  Absence 
from  God."     There  are  six  stanzas. 

Oh,  turn  ye,  oh,  turn  ye. — Hopkins. 
Josiah  Hopkins,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Pittsford,  Vt.,  April  18th, 
1786,  and  united  with  the  Congregational  church  in  that  place 
January  13th,  1803.  His  degree  of  M.A.,  in  1S13  (presumably), 
and  of  D.D.  in  1843  (certainly),  came  from  Middlebury  College. 
He  was  twice  married  ;  first  to  Miss  Orril  Dike,  of  Pittsford,  in 
1808  ;  and  afterward  to  Lavinia  Fenton,  of  Rutland,  Vt.  He  had 
one  daughter,  and  his  wife  survived  him.  His  ministerial  life 
began  in  New  England,  after  his  graduation  at  Auburn  Theolog'ical 
Seminary,  and  he  was  ordained  pastor  at  New  Haven,  Vt. ,  June 
14th,  1809.     From  this  New  Haven  he  appears  to  have  gone  to 


44°  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  New  Haven  in  Connecticut,  where  he  labored  from  1809  to 
1830.  Next  we  find  him  in  the  First  church  (Presbyterian)  of 
Auburn,  N.  Y.,  from  1830  to  1846.  Subsequently  he  preached 
in  different  places  in  the  vicinity  and  at  Seneca  Falls,  from  1851 
to  1855.  In  1847  he  published  the  Christian  Instructor.  He  was 
a  trustee  of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary  from  1831  to  1846, 
and  his  death  occurred  June  21st,  1862,  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  was  a  patient  in  the  Water  Cure,  under  treatment  for  asthma. 

The  hymn  is  in  Dr.  Leavitt's  Christian  Lyre,  Vol.  I.,  1830,  in 
six  stanzas. 

Oh,  what,  if  we  are  Christ's — Baker. 

The  date  of  this  hymn,  by  Rev.  Sir  H.  W.  Baker,  is  1852,  and 
»*    is    based    on   Rom.  8  :  18,   and    n    Cor.    4  :  17,  with    1    Pet. 

6,7. 

"  Oh,  what  shall  be,  oh,  when  shall  be." 

["  Oh,  glorious  King,  oh,  happy  state,"  etc.] — S.  W.  Duf- 
field,  tr. 

Together  these  pieces  form  the  translation  of  the  "  0  quanta 
yualia  sunt  ilia  Sabbata  ' '  of  Peter  Abelard,  which  was  composed 
about  the  year  11 34.  Abelard  was  at  that  time  abbot  of  St.  Gildas, 
where  the  monks  did  their  worst  to  poison  him.  He  sent  this, 
with  other  hymns,  to  Heloise,  who  was  then  abbess  of  the  Paraclete. 
For  the  complete  history  of  its  recovery  and  identification  the 
reader  is  referred  to  "  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

This  translation  was  made  in  the  alcoves  of  the  Astor  Library, 
New  York,  in  1883.  In  examining  the  hymns  prepared  by  Abelard 
for  Heloise  and  her  nuns,  this  struck  the  translator's  eye,  and  he 
at  once  rendered  it  into  English.  Some  months  later  an  inquiry 
was  made  for  this  particular  Latin  hymn  through  the  columns  of 
the  New  York  Tribune.  Mr.  Duffield  responded  by  giving  its  his- 
tory and  publishing  this  version,  which  was  then  taken  entire  by 
Dr.  Robinson  for  Laudes  Domini. 

O  what  stupendous  mercy  shines.  — Gibbons. 

To  Dr.  Thomas  Gibbons  we  owe  the  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Watts 
(1780),  and  the  accounts  of  his  life  show  him  to  have  been  a  man 
of  fine  spirit  and  godly  character,  who  numbered  among  his 
friends  Lady  Pluntingdon  and  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson.  He  died 
quite  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  February  22d,  1785. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  441 

Oh,  what  the  joy  and  the  glory  must  be. — Neale,  tr. 
The  original  of  this  translation  is  now  identified,  by  the  present 
writer,  as  the  work  of  the  brilliant  and  unfortunate  Abelard.  It 
begins,  "  0  quanta  qualia  sunt  ilia  Sabbata"  and  another  rendering 
is,  "  Oh,  what  shall  be,  oh,  when  shall  be,"  etc.  Dr.  Neale  made 
his  translation  from  the  imperfect  Latin  text  found  in  Mone,  while 
Mr.  Duffield  used  that  in  Migne's  Pairologia. 

Oh,  where  are  kings  and  empires  now. — Coxe. 
This  hymn,  which  is  found  in  Bishop  Coxe's  Christian  Ballads, 
and  was  first  printed  in  The  Churchman  in  1839,  is  one  of  his  best 
compositions.  It  has  ten  double  stanzas,  and  in  its  abridged  form 
it  has  certainly,  on  one  occasion  at  least,  vindicated  its  genuine 
power  as  a  sacred  lyric.  It  was  when  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Evangelical  Alliance  was  convened  in  New  York  City,  1873. 
An  eye-witness  has  described  the  scene  and  placed  his  account  at 
our  disposal  : 

"  It  was  at  the  time,"  he  writes,  "  when  so  much  had  been  said  about 
the  '  prayer  test,'  and  when  we  scarcely  knew  whether  the  faith  of  the 
Church  might  not  have  been  shaken  for  the  moment  by  the  universal 
storm  of  scepticism.  President  Woolsey  was  giving  the  opening  address. 
After  referring  to  the  prevalent  scepticism,  he  looked  up  with  that  peculiar 
twinkle  of  the  eye  which  we  all  recollect — at  once  expressive  of  denial 
and  satisfaction— and  repeated  the  first  stanza  of  Bishop  Coxe's  hymn  : 

'  Oh,  where  are  kings  and  empires  now, 
Of  old  that  went  and  came  ? — 
But,  Lord  !  thy  Church  is  praying  yet, 
A  thousand  years  the  same  !' 

"  For  a  moment  there  was  silence.  In  another  moment  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  the  reference  had  flashed  on  every  mind,  and  the  response  was 
instantaneous  and  universal.  Shouts,  waving  of  handkerchiefs  from  the 
ladies,  clapping  of  hands,  stamping  of  feet—  I  never  knew  anything  like 
it.  Round  after  round  continued,  until  the  storm  of  applause  ended  in  a 
burst  of  grateful  tears.  No  one  doubted  that  the  Church  still  believed  in 
prayer,  and  that  the  tempest  had  passed  without  the  loss  of  a  sail  !" 

Oh,  where  shall  rest  be  found  ?— Montgomery. 
This  is  a  hymn  of  true  experience,  in  writing  which  Montgomery 
established  his  claim  to  a  high  rank  among  hymnists.  It  first  ap- 
peared in  1819,  and  is  revised  and  corrected  in  the  Original  Hymns, 
1853,  where  it  has  the  title,  "  The  Issues  of  Life  and  Death. "  The 
text  of  Scripture  is  Heb.  4  :  9-1 1. 


442  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

O  word  of  God  incarnate. — How. 

Rev.  William  Walsham  How,  D.  D. ,  the  present  bishop  of  Bed- 
ford, is  the  son  of  William  Wybergh  How,  Esq.,  of  Shrewsbury, 
and  was  born  in  that  town,  December  13th,  1823.  He  was 
educated  at  Wadham  College,  Oxford,  and  was  graduated  in  1845, 
and  received  his  M.A.  degree  in  1847.  Then  he  entered  the 
ministry,  being  curate  of  St.  George's,  Kidderminster,  in  1846, 
and  of  Holy  Cross,  Shrewsbury,  in  1848.  Next  he  became  rector 
of  Whittington,  Shropshire,  in  1851,  and  in  1853  was  appointed 
rural  dean  of  Oswestry.  He  was  honorary  canon  of  St.  Asaph's 
cathedral  in  i860,  and  proctor  of  the  diocese  in  1869,  becoming 
at  about  the  same  date  one  of  the  select  preachers  to  the  University 
of  Oxford.  In  1878  we  find  him  as  examining  chaplain  to  the 
Bishop  of  Lichfield,  and  in  1879  tne  rector  of  St.  Andrew  Under- 
shaft,  with  St.  Mary  Axe,  in  London  ;  and  also  a  prebend  of  St 
Paul's. 

Having  been  allotted  successively  to  these  very  diversified  eccle- 
siastical duties,  he  deserved  the  attention  of  the  Crown  as  a  man 
worthy  of  preferment;  and  in  July,  1879,  the  queen  appointed 
him  to  his  present  dignity. 

Oh,  worship  the  King,  all  glorious  above. — Grant. 
This  is  the  eleventh  of  the  twelve  hymns  of  Sir  R.  Grant,  post- 
humously published.     The  date  is  1839,  and  it  has  six  stanzas. 

O  Zion  !  tune  thy  voice. — Doddridge. 
Dr.  Doddridge  has  numbered  this  as   118  in  his  volume,  and 
given  it  the  title,  "  The  Glory  of  the  Church  in  the  Latter  Day." 
A  quaint  foot-note  to  the  word  "  spheres  "  in  the  closing  line  reads 
thus  :   "  Spheres — orbs  or  paths,  in  which  the  stars  move." 

O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness. — W.  Williams. 

William  Williams  was  called  the  "Watts  of  Wales."  His 
Hosannah  was  published  in  1759,  anc^  m  '*  we  nn(^  tn*s  hymn« 
The  notable  fact  respecting  the  verses  before  us  is  that  they  are 
long  antecedent  to  the  great  missionary  societies,  and  hence  are 
the  real  parent  and  source  of  those  excellent  missionary  hymns 
which  afterward  crowded  the  pages  of  religious  periodicals,  and 
to  which  we  have  been  able  to  add  so  few  of  any  worth. 

It  may  assist  some  other  searcher  if  the  hymns  by  Williams  in 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  443 

the  Countess  of  Huntingdon's  Collection,  1788,  are  recorded  here. 
They  are,  beside  the  present  hymn, 

"  Jcgus  is  all  my  hope." 

"  Jesus,  whose  almighty  sceptre." 

"  Lord,  let  my  spirit  dwell." 

Of  the  Father's  love  begotten. — Neale,  tr. 

This  is  Dr.  John  Mason  Neale' s  translation  of  the  ancient 
hymn,  "  Corde  natus  e parentis,"  by  Aurelius  Prudentius  Clemens, 
the  first  Christian  poet,  for  whom  see  ' '  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers 
and  their  Hymns. ' '  That  Christ  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  requires 
the  exercise  of  our  supreme  faith.  And  yet  in  one  sense  the  de- 
mand is  not  so  great  as  we  are  sometimes  given  to  suppose. 

A  student  once  asked  the  celebrated  teacher  Hillel  why  he  should  be 
expected  to  believe  the  oral  as  well  as  the  written  law.  For  answer  Hillel 
wrote  the  first  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  on  a  tablet  and  said  : 
"  What  is  that  ?"  The  youth  replied,  "  Aleph,"  and  the  sage  continued  : 
"And  this  one  next?"  Then  as  the  student  answered:  "  Beth,"  the 
teacher  turned  upon  him  suddenly  with  the  demand  :  ' '  How  do  you  know 
that  this  is  Aleph  and  that  is  Beih?"  Of  course  the  only  reply  was  : 
"Because  our  instructors  taught  us  so."  And  then  said  Hillel:  "As 
thou  hast  accepted  these  in  good  faith,  so  accept  the  law." 

Ox  Jordan's  banks  the  Baptist's  cry. — Chandler,  tr. 
This  translation  by  John  Chandler  dates  from  1837,  and  repre- 
sents a  Latin  hymn  by  Charles  Coffin,  of  Rheims,  one  of  the  main 
contributors    to    the    Paris    Breviary.      It    is   the    "  Jordanis  or  as 
prcevia. 

On  Jordan's  rugged  banks  I  stand. — S.  Stennett. 
This  is  the  famous  hymn  of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Stennett.  He 
was  born  in  Exeter,  in  1727,  and  his  father,  ten  years  later,  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Little  Wild  Street,  London. 
With  this  church  young  Stennett  united.  Subsequently  he  was 
his  father's  assistant,  and  at  length  (1758)  his  successor.  In  this 
pastorate  he  continued  until  his  death,  August  24th,  1795.  He 
was  an  eminent  scholar,  received  his  D.D.  from  King's  College, 
Aberdeen  in  1763  ;  and  has  been  somewhat  noted  as  the  friend  of 
the  reigning  king,  George  III.  Like  his  grandfather,  he  resisted 
all  efforts  to  advance  him  to  a  higher  place,  and  bravely  endeavored 
to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corporation  Acts — which  only 
occurred  after  his  time,  in  1828. 


444  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

John  Howard,  the  philanthropist,  admired  his  writings — his  style 
being  clear  and  forcible  as  well  as  elegant.  Altogether  he  com- 
posed about  thirty-nine  hymns,  five  of  which  (including  this)  were 
contributed  to  Rippon  s  Selection,  1787.  The  present  hymn  is  no 
doubt  an  unintentional  copy  of  Dr.  Watts's  "  There  is  a  land  of 
pure  delight."  It  has  seven  stanzas.  "Rugged"  is  put  for 
11  stormy"  in  the  first  line,  according  to  that  dictate  of  modern 
taste,  which  calls  for  truth  as  well  as  poetry  in  such  sacred  verses. 

On  mountains  and  in  valleys. — Tr.  Dutch. 
This  hymn,  with  this  assignment,  is  in  the  English  Presbyterian 
Collection,  1867.      Cetera  desunt. 

On  our  way  rejoicing. — Monsell. 
We  find  this  in  Mr.  Monsell' s  Hymns  of  Love  and  Praise,  in 
four  double  stanzas.     The  title  is,  "A  Song  of  Joy,"  and  the  text 
is  Acts  8  :  39. 

On  the  fount  of  life  eternal. — Caswall,  tr. 
The  "  Ad perennis  vitce  fonte?ri "  of  Cardinal  Peter  Damiani.    The 
Latin  hymn,  based  on  Augustine,  is  the  most  melodious  of  all  the 
mediaeval  Church  songs.      Mrs.  Charles  has  admirably  rendered  it. 
Mr.  Caswall's  version  is  in  twenty  stanzas. 

On  the  mountain's  top  appearing. — Kelly. 

This  hymn  is  in  Mr.  Kelly's  first  edition,  1804,  and  is  in  four 
stanzas,  being  based  on  Isa.  52  :  7. 

On  the  20th  of  September,  1839,  Dr.  Grant  reached  Mosul,  in 
his  missionary  expedition  to  the  Nestorians.  The  pasha  of  Mosul 
promised  to  protect  him  to  the  border  of  their  country,  but  called 
them  "  mountain  infidels,"  and  said  that  they  acknowledged  no 
authority  but  their  own.  Accordingly  Dr.  Grant  slowly  climbed 
the  mountain,  and  when  he  attained  the  summit  he  found  the  view 
"  indescribably  grand."  Literally  he  stood  on  the  mountain  top 
as  the  herald  of  salvation  to  those  people  who  dwelt  below.  Never 
were  the  words  of  a  hymn  more  applicable  than  at  that  time.  He 
writes  : 

"  The  country  of  the  independent  Nestorians  opened  before  my  enrapt- 
ured vision  like  a  vast  amphitheatre  of  wild,  precipitous  mountains, 
broken  with  deep,  dark-looking  defiles  and  narrow  glens,  into  few  of 
which  the  eye  could  penetrate  so  far  as  to  gain  a  distinct  view  of  the 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  445 

cheerful,  smiling  villages  which  have  long  been  the  secure  abodes  of  the 
main  body  of  the  Nestorian  Church.  Here  was  the  home  of  a  hundred 
thousand  Christians,  around  whom  the  arm  of  Omnipotence  had  reared 
the  adamantine  ramparts  whose  lofty,  snow-capped  summits  seemed  to 
blend  with  the  skies  in  the  distant  horizon.  Here,  in  their  munitions  of 
rocks,  God  has  preserved,  as  if  for  some  great  end  in  the  economy  of  his 
grace,  a  chosen  remnant  of  his  ancient  Church,  secure  from  the  beast 
and  the  false  prophet,  safe  from  the  flames  of  persecution  and  the  clangor 
of  war." 

The  first  person  Dr.  Grant  met  in  the  village  was  a  young  man 
whom  he  had  cured  of  blindness  a  year  previous.  This  fact  opened 
the  door  to  him  at  once,  and  the  further  history  of  the  Nestorians 
is  well  known. 

On  this  day,  the  first  of  days.  — Baker,  tr. 
This  is  a  translation  by  Rev.  Sir  Henry  W.  Baker,  of  the  "  Die 
parente  tempornm, ' '  from  the  Breviary  of  Le  Mans.  It  was  made 
in  i860,  for  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,  and  has  seven  stanzas 
in  all.  This  has  been  mentioned  as  the  earliest,  and  perhaps  the 
only  version  of  the  Latin  original  into  English.  It  is  interesting 
to  compare  with  this  another  similar  hymn,  that  of  Gregory  the 
Great,  ' '  Primo  die,  quo  Trinitas, "  in  an  admirable  version  found  in 
Christophers'  Hymn  Writers,  p.  207. 

On  thy  Church,  O  power  divine. — Auber. 
We  have  here  Miss  Harriet  Auber's  version  of  Ps.  6j.   It  is  from 
The  Spirit  of  the  Psalms,  1829,  and  is  in  two  stanzas. 

Once  I  thought  my  mountain  strong. — Newton. 
Whoever  looks  for  this  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  1779,  w*&  not  rec* 
ognize  it  under  the  line,  "Saviour,  shine,  and  cheer  my  soul." 
It  is  called  ' '  The  Change, ' '  with  a  reference  to  Book  II. , 
Hymn  34,  "  Though  the  morn  may  be  serene,"  and  Book  III., 
Hymn  86,  "  Now  may  the  Lord  reveal  his  face."  It  has  six  six- 
line  stanzas.  The  present  hymn  commences  with  the  third.  It 
is  Book  I.,  Hymn  44. 

Once  in  royal  David's  city. — Mrs.  C.  F.  Alexander. 

This  simple  and  beautiful  hymn,  written  for  children,  is  one   of 

the  best  loved  compositions  of  its  author,  the  wife  of  the  bishop  of 

Derry.     It  has  six  stanzas,  and  is  taken  from  the  Hymns  for  Little 

Children,  1848,  a  work  which  vies  with  those  of  Dr.  Watts  and 


446  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Jane  Taylor  in  its  great  popularity.     Over  a  quarter  of  a  million 
copies  had  been  sold  in  1868. 

Once  more,  before  we  part. — Hart. 
This  hymn  is  in  Hart's  Supplement,  1762.      It  has  two   stanzas 
and  is  written  for  the  dismission  of  a  congregation  at  the  close  of 
service.     It  has  a  very  practical,  although  it  may  be  called  also  a 
very  prosaic,  termination  : 

"  Go  on  to  seek  to  know  the  Lord, 
And  practice  what  you  know." 

Once  more,  my  soul,  the  rising  day.  — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  has  this  among  his  Hymns,  Book  II.,  No.  6,  with 
the  title,  "  A  Morning  Song."     It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

It  is  odd  for  us  to  be  able  to  annotate  this  hymn  from  the  alto- 
gether irreligious  pages  of  Philip  Gilbert  Hamerton.  After  speak- 
ing of  the  advantage  of  early  rising  upon  the  mental  and  moral 
fibre,  he  says  : 

"  The  feeling  of  freshness,  cleanliness,  and  moderate  exhilaration  will 
last  for  several  hours,  and  during  those  hours  the  intellectual  work  will 
probably  be  both  lively  and  reasonable.  It  is  difficult  for  a  man  who  feels 
cheerful  and  refreshed,  and  whose  task  seems  easy  and  light,  to  write 
anything  morbid  or  perverse.  .  .  .  Men" — and  how  significant  to  a  re- 
ligious mind  is  this  addition  !— "  men  who  have  the  inestimable  advantage 
of  absolute  tranquillity,  at  all  times,  do  well  to  work  in  the  morning,  but 
those  who  can  only  get  tranquillity  at  times  independent  of  their  own 
choice  have  a  strong  reason  for  working  at  those  times,  whether  they 
happen  to  be  in  the  morning  or  not." 

One  cup  of  healing  oil  and  wine.  — Drummond. 

William  Hamilton  Drummond  was  born  at  Larne,  County  An- 
trim, Ireland,  August,  1778.  He  early  lost  his  father — who  was 
a  physician,  and  died  of  a  contagious  fever — so  that  his  training 
was  entirely  due  to  his  mother's  energy  and  intellect.  She  seems  to 
have  been  a  superior  person,  and  her  son,  though  at  first  destined 
for  commerce,  inclined  toward  scholarship  and  theology.  After 
receiving  his  education  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  and  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
church  in  Belfast,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  In  18 16  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Strand  Street  chapel,  Dublin  ;  and  in  that  city 
he  died,  October  16th,  1865,  in  his  eighty-sixth  year.      He  wrote 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


447 


a  number  of  poems,  which  are  smoothly  versified,  and  have  seme 
merit. 

That  is  but  coarse  and  wicked  pretension,  and  not  benevolence,  which 
bestows  its  alms  openly  and  in  an  ostentatious  manner.  Well  might 
Rabbi  Janay  say  to  one  who  was  giving  charity  in  a  public  place  :  "  Thou 
hadst  better  not  have  given  at  all,  than  to  have  bestowed  alms  so  openly 
and  put  the  poor  man  to  shame." 

The  same  doctrine  is  beautifully  illustrated  in  the  words  of  the  "  Vision 
of  Sir  Launfal"  : 

"  Who  gives  himself,  with  his  alms,  feeds  three, 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  Me." 

One  is  kind  above  all  others. — Miss  Nunn. 

The  first  line  is  altered,  to  distinguish  this  hymn  from  Newton's 
piece,  "One  there  is  above  all  others."  Miss  Marianne  Nunn 
was  born  in  Colchester,  1779,  and  died  unmarried  in  1847.  Tne 
hymn  appeared  on  this  side  of  the  water  in  Dr.  Leavitt's  Christian 
Lyre,  1830,  to  which  it  came  by  the  agency  of  a  friend  resident  in 
Great  Britain.  The  melody  is  given  with  it,  but  differs  from 
"  Caritas"  in  Laudes  Domini,  and  from  the  well-known  setting  in 
Gospel  Hymns  by  Mr.  H.  P.  Main.  Dr.  Leavitt  judiciously 
varied  the  first  line,  and  printed  it,' "There's  a  friend  above  all 
others." 

The  Welsh  air  is  known  as  "  Ar  hydy  nos,^  and  the  hymn  was 
first  published  in  the  collection  of  Miss  Nunn's  brother,  Rev.  John 
Nunn,  about  18 13. 

One  sole  baptismal  sign.  — George  Robinson. 
This  hymn  has  been  traced  to  Leifchild's  Original  Hymns,  1842, 
where  it  has  six  stanzas.  It  has  been  altered  from  its  first  form, 
and  the  author  has  not  been  identified.  The  text  Eph.  4  :  5 
seems  to  belong  with  it.  There  are  several  persons  of  this  name 
who  have  possible  claims  to  the  hymn.  We  must,  however,  ex- 
clude Rev.  George  Wade  Robinson,  born  at  Cork,  Ireland,  in 
1838,  and  who  died  at  Southampton,  January  23d,  1877.  He  is 
the  author  of  a  beautiful  hymn  in  three  six-line  stanzas,  in  Lyra 
Hibernica,  "  Weary  with  my  load  of  sin." 

One  sweetly  solemn  thought.  — Phcebe  Cary. 
Miss  Phcebe  Cary,  a  younger  sister  of  the  more  celebrated  Alice 
Cary  (born  1820),  was  born  in  the  Miami  Valley,  Ohio,  Septem- 
ber 4th,  1824.     At  the   age  of   seventeen  she   wrote   this  hymn. 


448  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

She  published,  jointly  with  her  sister,  a  volume  of  poems  in  1850. 
Encouraged  by  their  success  the  sisters  came  to  New  York  City  in 
1852,  and  there  sustained  themselves  by  literary  work  of  various 
kinds.  What  this  encouragement  amounted  to,  in  actual  money 
value,  can  be  learned  from  Phcebe  Cary's  own  statement,  in  1849, 
that  the  publisher  was  to  give  them  one  hundred  dollars  for  their 
initial  volume. 

The  memoir  of  the  sisters,  prepared  by  their  friend,  Mary  Clem- 
mer  Ames,  affords  glimpses  of  their  delightful  home  in  Twentieth 
Street,  saddened,  however,  by  the  chronic  illness  of  Alice,  who 
finally  died  before  her  sister.  In  the  summer  of  1871,  Phcebe 
went  to  Newport,  R.  I.,  and 

"  There,"  says  her  biographer,  "  without  an  instant's  warning,  her 
death-throe  came.  She  knew  it.  Throwing  up  her  arms  in  instinctive 
fright,  this  loving,  believing,  but  timid  soul,  who  had  never  stood  alone 
in  all  her  mortal  life,  as  she  felt  herself  drifting  out  into  the  unknown, 
the  eternal  — starting  on  the  awful  passage  from  whence  there  is  no  return 
— cried,  in  a  low  and  piercing  voice  :  '  O  God,  have  mercy  on  my  soul  ! 
and  died  "  (July  31st,  1371). 

It  is  a  matter  of  thankfulness  that  we  have  from  her  own  pen 
the  information  we  seek  as  to  the  origin  of  this  hymn,  and  also 
that  she  was  aware  of  the  story  which  we  append  and  which 
greatly  cheered  her.     She  wrote  in  the  last  year  of  her  life  : 

"  I  inclose  the  hymn  and  the  story  for  you,  not  because  I  am  vain  of 
the  notice,  but  because  I  thought  you  would  feel  a  peculiar  interest  in 
them  when  you  knew  the  hymn  was  written  eighteen  years  ago  (1S52),  in 
your  house.  I  composed  it  in  the  little  back  third-story  bedroom,  one 
Sunday  morning,  after  coming  from  church  ;  and  it  makes  me  happy  to 
think  that  any  word  I  could  say  has  done  a  little  good  in  the  world." 

Col.  [Rev.]  Russell  H.  Con  well,  of  Boston,  received  a  letter  after 
Miss  Cary's  death  from  the  old  man  referred  to  in  the  story.  In 
it  he  declares  that  he  has  became  a  "hard-working  Christian," 
while  "  Harry"  has  utterly  renounced  gambling  and  kindred  vices. 

The  story — for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  personal  observa- 
tion and  account  of  Colonel  Conwell — is  as  follows  : 

"  In  Macao,  China,  not  far  from  Hong  Kong,  the  principal  occupation 
of  the  inhabitants  is  gaming.  Here,  on  a  certain  occasion,  a  traveller 
found  a  company  of  gamblers  in  a  back  room  on  the  upper  floor  of  a 
hotel.  At  the  table  nearest  him  there  was  an  American,  about  twenty- 
five  years  old,  playing  with  an  old  man.  They  had  been  betting  and 
drinking.     While  the  gray-haired  man  was  shuffling  the  cards  for  '  a  new 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  449 

deal,'  the  young  man  in  a  swaggering,  careless  way,  sang,  to  a  very 
pathetic  tune,  a  verse  of  Phoebe  Cary's  beautiful  hymn,  '  One  sweetly 
solemn  thought.'  Hearing  the  singing,  several  gamblers  looked  up  in 
surprise.  The  old  man,  who  was  dealing  the  cards,  put  on  a  look  of 
melancholy,  stopped  for  a  moment,  gazed  steadfastly  at  his  partner  in 
the  game,  and  dashed  the  pack  upon  the  floor  under  the  table.  Then 
said  he,  '  Where  did  you  learn  that  tune  ?  '  The  young  man  pretended 
that  he  did  not  know  that  he  had  been  singing.  '  Well,  no  matter,'  said 
the  old  man,  'I've  played  my  last  game,  and  that's  the  end  of  it.  The 
cards  may  lie  there  till  doomsday,  and  I  will  never  pick  them  up.'  The 
old  man  having  won  money  from  the  young  man — about  one  hundred 
dollars— took  it  out  of  his  pocket,  and  handing  it  to  the  latter,  said  : 
'  Here,  Harry,  is  your  money  ;  take  it  and  do  good  with  it  ;  I  shall  with 
mine.'  As  the  traveller  followed  them  down-stairs,  he  saw  them  con- 
versing by  the  doorway,  and  overheard  enough  to  know  that  the  older 
man  was  saying  something  about  the  song  which  the  young  man  had  sung. 
It  had,  perhaps,  been  learned  at  a  mother's  knee,  or  in  a  Sunday-school, 
and  may  have  been  the  means  of  saving  these  gamblers,  and  of  aiding 
others  through  their  influence  toward  that  nobler  life  which  alone  is  worth 
the  living." 

As  certain  questions  have  arisen  respecting  Miss  Cary's  belief,  it 
may  be  as  well  to  add  that  she  was  at  first  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  the  Pilgrims  (New  York  City),  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
George  B.  Cheever,  D.D.  After  his  removal  to  New  Jersey  she 
attended  the  Church  of  the  Strangers  (Dr.  Deems),  in  the  old 
edifice  of  the  Mercer  Street  (Presbyterian)  church.  For  this  con- 
gregation she  prepared,  in  co-operation  with  Dr.  Deems,  a  volume 
of  hymns,  1869,  which  is  still  in  use,  and  has  been  lately  re- 
printed. This  of  itself,  from  the  nature  of  its  contents,  is  a  suffi- 
cient reply  to  all  questions  concerning  the  lady's  "  orthodoxy." 
The  present  writer,  as  he  turns  page  after  page  of  such  a  book— 
for  it  is  now  before  him  in  its  first  edition — grows  increasingly 
grateful  that  the  hymns  which  the  Christian  Church  willingly 
adopts  must  be,  and  always  will  be,  Christian  hymns. 

One  there  is  above  all  others.  — Newton. 
This  hymn  is  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  1779,  Book  I.,  No.  53,  in 
six  stanzas.  It  is  based  on  Prov.  lS  .  24.  Portions  of  the  original 
are  bald  and  prosaic,  but  by  the  omission  of  the  third  and  fifth 
stanzas  the  true  unity  of  the  piece  has  been  preserved.  We  must 
distinguish  this  from  Miss  Nunn's  hymn,  which  is  often  entered 
under  the  same  first  line. — See  Mrs.  Stowe's  "  Oldtown  Folks." 


45 o  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers. — Baring-Gould. 

This  is  eminently  a  Sunday-school  marching  hymn.  Let  us 
join  with  it  the  incident  at  Magdeburg  when  the  cruel  Tilly  sacked 
the  town.  The  school  children,  in  hopes  to  avert  his  wrath, 
marched  across  the  public  square,  singing.  It  enraged  him  sc 
that  he  put  them  all  to  death,  and  the  chronicles  tell  us  that 
from  that  moment  victory  and  good  fortune  left  him,  and  a  sullen 
despair  settled  down  upon  him,  so  that  he  never  smiled  again. 

The  Rev.  Sabine  Baring-Gould  composed  this  piece  in  1865, 
and  it  first  appeared  in  the  Church  Times  (Episcopalian).  The 
author  is  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  has  written 
Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  many  similar  works  of  re- 
search and  value,  including  a  condensation  in  several  volumes  of 
the  vast  Acta  Sanctorum  of  the  Bollandists,  under  the  title  of  Lives 
of  the  Saints.  This  is  his  only  successful  hymn,  though  he  has 
written  others  which  are  excellent. 

He  was  born  at  Exeter,  England,  January  28th,  1834,  and  is  the 
eldest  son  of  Edward  Baring-Gould,  of  Lew-Trenchard,  Devon, 
which  has  been  the  family  seat  for  three  hundred  years,  and  where 
our  author  now  resides.  He  was  graduated  at  Clare  College, 
Oxford,  as  M.A.  in  1856,  and  became  incumbent  of  Dalton, 
1869.  The  Crown  appointed  him,  in  1871,  rector  of  East  Mersea, 
Colchester,  and  in  1872,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  he  succeeded 
to  the  property.  In  1881  he  also  obtained  the  rectory  of  Lew- 
Trenchard.  The  variety  of  his  attainments  is  shown  by  his  pub- 
lication of  Zitta  :  A  Black  Forest  Romance,  in  German,  in  1882, 
and,  a  year  later,  in  English. 

Onward,  Christian,  though  the  region. — S.  Johnson. 
This  hymn  first  appeared  in  the  Book  of  Hymns,  1846,  prepared 
by  the  author  and  Rev.  S.  Longfellow.     It  has  six  stanzas,  and 
commences,  "  Onward,  onward,  though  the  region. " 

Onward,  onward,  men  of  heaven.  — Sigourney. 
There  are  three  double  stanzas  to  this  piece  by  Mrs.  Sigourneyv 
and  the  date  is  1833.     The  Scripture  text  is  Mark  16  :  15. 

Open  now  thy  gates  of  beauty. — Winkworth,  tr. 
Miss  Catherine  Winkworth  has  given  us  this  fine  translation 
from  the  German  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Schmolke  (1 672-1 737).     It 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  451 

begins,  "  Thul  mir  auf  die  schone  P forte."  It  was  first  printed  in 
1734,  and  has  seven  stanzas.  The  title  indicates  that  it  was  de- 
signed to  be  a  communion  hymn. 

Our  blest  Redeemer,  ere  he  breathed. — Auber. 
Miss  Harriet  Auber  was  born  in  London,  October  4th,  1773, 
and  died  in  her  eighty-fourth  year  at  Hoddesdon,  Hertfordshire, 
January  20th,  1862.  Her  principal  work  was  The  Spirit  of  the 
Psalms  ;  or,  a  Compressed  Version  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  London, 
1829.  This  must  not  be  confused  with  Lyte's  volume  bearing  a 
similar  title,  which  appeared  in  1834.  MissAuber's  collection  in- 
cludes other  poems  than  those  original  with  herself.  In  some 
cases  the  names  of  the  authors  are  given.  In  others,  certain  well- 
known  hymns  are  suffered  to  stand  without  comment.  All  the 
rest  are  her  own.  She  lived  quietly,  and  in  a  retired  way, but  wrote 
much  poetry,  and  it  is  believed  that  a  great  many  of  her  produc- 
tions are  still  unpublished.  Her  intimate  friendship  with  Miss 
Mary  Jane  McKenzie  continued  for  years,  and  until  Miss 
McKenzie's  death.  Not  long  afterward  she  also  died,  and  the 
memory  of  herself  and  her  sisters  is  cherished  affectionately  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Broxbourne  and  Hoddesdon,  and  among  a  large 
circle  of  friends  and  relatives. 

Our  country's  voice  is  pleading. — Mrs.  Anderson. 
A  Home  Mission  Hymn  by  Mrs.  Maria  Frances  Anderson, 
daughter  of  Thomas  F.  Hill,  Esq.,  of  Exeter,  England,  and  wife 
of  Rev.  George  W.  Anderson,  D.D.,  of  the  x\m.  Baptist  Pub. 
Society,  Philadelphia.  It  was  written  in  1848  for  the  Baptist 
Harp,  Philadelphia,  1849,  with  four  double  stanzas.  The  author 
was  born  in  Paris,  France,  January  30th,  18 19. 

Our  Father,  hear  our  longing  prayer.  — George  MacDonald. 

George  MacDonald,  the  novelist  and  poet,  was  born  at  Huntly, 
Aberdeenshire,  December  10th,  1824.  He  was  educated  at  King's 
College,  and  afterward  at  Highbury  College,  which  he  entered 
with  a  view  to  the  ministry  of  the  Congregational  or  Independent 
Church.  There  being  some  difficulty  respecting  his  doctrinal 
belief  he  officiated  for  a  time  and  then  retired,  though  he  has  al- 
ways preached  as  he  has  had  the  opportunity.  He  subsequently 
joined  the  Church  of  England,  and  has  been  ordained  in  that  body 


452  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

as  deacon  and  priest  He  is  best  known  by  his  writings,  which 
are  principally  in  the  line  of  fiction.  In  David  Elginbrod  he  has 
sketched  his  own  early  struggles,  and  in  Alec  Forbes  he  gives 
glimpses  of  his  boyhood.  It  is  in  his  Scotch  stories  that  he  is  at 
his  best,  not  in  his  more  metaphysical  books,  or  his  poetry.  He 
has  really  created  the  religious  novel,  but  his  stories  for  children 
are  worthy  of  almost  equally  high  commendation.  He  has  made 
literature  a  profession,  and  has  lived  at  Hammersmith,  near  Lon- 
don, being  prominent  as  a  writer  since  1862.  He  was  placed  on 
the  civil  list  for  a  pension  of  £100,  not  long  ago,  and  the  catalogue 
of  his  works  is  already  extensive  and  valuable.  In  his  volume  on 
the  Miracles  0/ 'the  New  Testament,  there  are  many  most  admirable 
and  beautiful  suggestions.  Dr.  MacDonald  (he  is  LL.  D. )  was  not 
entered  in  the  ecclesiastical  lists  of  the  English  clergy  as  late  as  1 884. 

Our  Father  !  through  the  coming  year. — W.  Gaskell. 
This  hymn  is  the  composition  of  Rev.  William  Gaskell,  an 
English  Unitarian  clergyman,  whose  wife — the  author  of  Mary 
Barton  and  other  works  of  fiction — is  well  known  to  students  of 
literature.  He  was  born  at  Latchford,  near  Warrington,  1805, 
and  died,  June  nth,  1884,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year.  He  is  the 
possible  author  of  a  fine  version  of  the  hymn  of  Luther,  "  Ein* 
feste  Burg,"  which  is  credited  to  him  by  Prescott,  though  it  ap- 
pears in  Miss  Winkworth's  Lyra  Germanica  with  no  name  attached. 
Miss  W.  certainly  made  another  rendering,  ' '  A  sure  stronghold 
our  God  is  he, "  for  this  commences,  "  God  is  our  stronghold,  firm 
and  sure." 

Our  God,  our  help  in  ages  past. — Watts. 

This  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  90.      First  Part,  C.  M.,  "  w. 
1-5,  Man  frail,  and  God  eternal."     It  has  nine  stanzas. 

Our  Helper,  God  !  we  bless  thy  name. — Doddridge. 
This,   in  Doddridge's  hymns,  commences,  "  My  Helper,  God  ! 
I  bless  his  name."     It  is  designed  for  the  New  Year,  and  is  en- 
titled   "  Ebenezer ;    or,   God's    Helping    Hand,    Reviewed    and 
Acknowledged. — 1  Sam.  7  :  12." 

Our  Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead. — C.  Wesley. 
This  is  found  in  the  Psalms  and  Hymns,  1741.      The  date  is 
sometimes  given  as  1739. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  453 

Our  sins,  our  sorrows,  Lord,  were  laid  on  thee.  — Eddis. 
Mr.  Edward  Wilton  Eddis  is  a  member  of  that  singular  society 
called  the  "  Irvingites"  or  "Catholic  Apostolic  Church."  He 
is  the  same  person  who  made  a  translation  of  the  cpd>£  ikapov  in 
Church  Hymns,  commencing,  "  O  Brightness  of  the  Eternal 
Father's  face."  This  line  of  literary  labor  is  quite  natural  to  a 
man  who  affiliates  with  an  organization  so  liturgical  and  elaborate 
as  the  Catholic  Apostolic  Church.  They  believe  in  a  ritual  which 
runs  back  to  the  ancient  Greek,  and  ' '  they  are,  upon  the  whole, 
the  highest  of  High  Churchmen."  In  Mrs.  Oliphant's  Life  of 
Edward  Irving,  the  incipiency  of  this  movement  (1835)  is  nar- 
rated. As  late  as  1856  the  principles  of  the  sect  were  so  earnestly 
aggressive  that  a  single  individual  offered  $500,000  to  plant 
chapels  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  Kingdom.  They 
are  sufficiently  numerous  at  present  to  be  possessed  of  "  seven 
churches"  in  London — this  being  a  mystical  number  with  them 
— and  to  be  represented  elsewhere  in  Great  Britain  and  Germany. 
They  lay  stress  on  spiritual  phenomena ;  and  the  '  ■  gift  of 
tongues"  with  which  the  sect  began  is  firmly  accredited  by  them 
to  divine  inspiration.  The  members  of  this  unique  body  of 
Christians  are  devout  and  sincere — but  their  assumptions  are  some- 
thing which  may  well  make  Ritualism  pause  ere  it  competes  with 
them  on  their  chosen  line  of  action.  They  are  gradually  disap- 
pearing, and  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  they  will  come  to  any 
other  fate  than  that  of  the  Sandemanians,  who  are  now  nearly 
extinct.  Thirty  years  ago  they  did  not  number  more  than  six 
thousand  communicants,  and  they  have  not  increased. 

Of  Mr.  Eddis  our  information  is  very  slight.  He  evidently 
shares  the  Second-Advent  opinions  of  his  fellow-believers,  for  he 
published  before  1865  The  Time  of  the  End  and  Other  Poems. 
In  1864  he  prepared  Hymns  for  the  Use  of  the  Churches  (second 
edition,  1871).  It  is  stated  that  this  second  edition  contains 
sixty -two  of  Eddis' s  own  hymns,  many  being  translations  and  all 
dated.  The  date  of  the  present  piece  is  1863.  We  do  not  know 
the  author's  residence  or  personal  history. 

Peace,  troubled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan. — Shirley. 
The  Hon.  and  Rev.  Walter  Shirley  was  the  cousin  of  Selina 
Shirley,  Countess  of  Huntingdon.      He  belonged   to  "  the  noble 


454  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

house  of  Ferrers,"  his  grandfather  being  the  first  Earl  Ferrers, 
and  his  three  elder  brothers  succeeding  to  the  title  as  fourth,  fifth, 
and  sixth  earls.  The  Countess  of  Huntingdon's  father  was  the 
second  earl,  and  he  was  thus  her  first  cousin. 

Walter  Shirley  was  born  in  1725,  and  received  an  education 
fitted  to  his  station  in  life.  He  then  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Church  of  England,  having  been  led  to  this  course  by  his  acquaint- 
ance with  Rev.  Henry  Venn,  of  Clapham,  whom  he  met  at  Lady 
Huntingdon's  house.  We  find  him  holding  the  living  of 
Loughrea,  County  Galway,  Ireland,  being  presented  to  it  by  the 
Earl  of  Clanricarde,  who  was  a  family  connection  of  the  Shirleys. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  this  sphere  he  did  his  duty,  and 
preached  with  fearlessness  and  spirituality.  He  was  called  to  ac- 
count for  his  "exceptionable  doctrines,"  but  asserted  his  deter- 
mination to  proclaim  the  Articles  and  Homilies  "  in  defiance  of 
the  whole  world."  In  a  word,  he  was  affected  much  as  was  his 
cousin,  Lady  Huntingdon,  by  the  unspiritual  and  careless  condi- 
tion of  the  Church,  and  did  his  best  to  rouse  his  hearers  to  a  new 
and  better  life. 

In  1760  he  met  a  great  affliction  in  the  conduct  of  his  brother 
Launcelot,  Lord  Ferrers,  who  was  arrested  for  the  murder  of  his 
steward,  a  Mr.  Johnson,  at  Staunton  Harold,  and  who  was  finally 
condemned  to  death  on  the  18th  of  April.  He  had  been  im- 
prisoned in  the  Tower,  fully  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged, 
drawn  and  quartered — all  of  which  was  executed  at  Tyburn,  May 
5th,  1760.  It  has  been  supposed  that  Mr.  Shirley — who  was 
deeply  concerned  for  his  brother  and  for  the  family  name — wrote 
at  that  time  the  present  hymn,  of  which  the  second  stanza  fur- 
nishes our  usual  first  line,  "  Peace,  troubled  soul  !  whose  plain- 
tive moan." 

In  the  years  1770-71  Shirley  was  involved  in  controversy  with 
the  Wesleys  in  respect  to  Calvinism.  In  1764,  at  the  instance  of 
Lady  Huntingdon,  he  revised  her  celebrated  hymn-book,  a  task 
in  which  he  displayed  both  judgment  and  independence.  The 
hymn,  "  Sweet  the  moments  rich  in  blessing,"  is  Shirley's  tran- 
script from  James  Allen's  "  When  my  Jesus  I'm  possessing." 
He  left  so  little  of  the  original  that  the  hymn  is  now  properly 
credited  to  him  instead  of  to  Allen. 

Shirley  continued   to   exercise   the  office  of  a  Christian  pastor, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  455 

faithfully  preaching  and  teaching  the  truth,  until  he  became  very 
feeble  by  reason  of  a  dropsical  difficulty.  This  prevented  him 
from  going  abroad,  but  it  did  not  prevent  him  from  gathering  the 
people  around  him  in  his  own  home,  where  he  preached  the 
Gospel,  sitting  in  his  chair,  to  large  numbers  of  anxious  souls. 
He  died,  April  7th,  1786,  at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law, 
George  Kiernan,  in  Dublin. 

Peace,  perfect  peace,  in  this  dark  world  of  sin. 

E.  H.    BlCKERSTETH. 

This  hymn  is  based  on  Isa.  26  :  3,  and  is  found  in  From  Year 
to  Year  (p.  2)  for  Evening  Prayer.  It  has  seven  stanzas.  This 
is  the  ' '  Collect  for  Peace  ' '  on  which  it  is  based  : 

O  God,  from  whom  all  holy  desires,  all  good  counsels,  and  all  just 
works  do  proceed  ;  give  unto  thy  servants  that  peace  which  the  world 
cannot  give  ;  that  our  hearts  may  be  set  to  obey  thy  commandments,  and 
also  that  by  thee,  we,  being  defended  from  the  fear  of  our  enemies,  may 
pass  our  time  in  rest  and  quietness,  through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ 
our  Saviour.     Amen. 

Compare  with  this  Heber's  "  God  that  madest  earth  and  heaven. " 

Pleasant  are  thy  courts  above.  — Lyte. 
This  is  a  version  of  Ps.  84,  by  Rev.  H.  F.  Lyte,  and  is  found 
in  full  in  his  Spirit  of  the  Psalms,  1834.  Like  all  of  this  author's 
hymns,  it  exhibits  facility  of  composition  combined  with  deep 
spiritual  feeling.  In  Songs  for  the  Sanctuary,  the  final  line  of  the 
first  stanza  is  given  correctly,  "  For  thy  fulness,  God  of  grace." 
In  Laudes  Domini  it  has  been  unfortunately  altered. 

People  of  the  living  God.  — Montgomery. 
This  hymn  describes  Montgomery's  feelings  at  the  prospect  of 
being  readmitted  to  the  Moravian  communion  at  Fulneck,  No- 
vember 4th,  i8r4.  He  was  then  just  forty-three  years  of  age,  and 
had  been  the  prey  of  great  spiritual  perplexity.  At  length  he  ap- 
pears to  have  found  peace  and  rest,  and  in  these  verses  he  has 
given  the  story  of  his  struggle.  The  actual  reinstatement  took 
place  on  Tuesday,  December  6th,  and  he  was  shortly  afterward 
publicly  acknowledged  as  being  in  good  standing.  His  letter  to 
his  brother  Ignatius  is  extant,  and  describes  his  feelings  on  that 
memorable  occasion.      In  his  Original  Hymns  these  verses  stand  as 


456  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Hymn  51,  "Choosing  the  Heritage  of  God's  People."     There 
are  three  stanzas. 

Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  — Ken. 

This  doxology  closes  both  the  Morning  and  Evening  hymns  of 
good  Bishop  Ken.  It  has  been  adopted  universally  by  the  Ameri- 
can churches  and  has  become  the  recognized  expression  of  their 
moments  of  especial  gladness.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  Protestant  Te  Deum 
laudamus,  and  the  best  of  all  is  that  it  is  an  original  composition. 
A  careful  investigation  of  the  Ambrosian  and  other  doxologies  in 
the  Latin  reveals  the  interesting  point  just  named.  It  is  in  no 
sense  a  translation,  but  is  of  its  own  kind,  and  unique,  as  compared 
with  the  doxologies  already  familiar  to  the  Church. 

The  composer  of  the  tune  "  Old  Hundred,"  which  is  so  invari- 
ably associated  with  the  doxology,  was  Wilhelm  Franc,  a  German, 
whose  work  may  have  been  revised  by  no  less  a  hand  than  that  of 
Martin  Luther. 

The  instances  of  the  use  of  this  sublime  ascription  of  praise  are 
almost  too  numerous  to  mention.  One  of  the  singular  occasions 
for  its  employment  was  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  October  15th, 
1884,  when  a  great  crowd  filled  the  street  in  New  York  City  before 
the  Republican  headquarters  and  the  news  of  an  important  elec- 
tion in  Ohio  was  received.  It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
before  the  last  bulletin  was  posted.  Previous  to  this  announce- 
ment a  thousand  voices  had  been  singing  uproariously,  ' '  We 
won't  go  home  till  morning,"  but  the  moment  that  the  message 
was  displayed  the  stereopticon  flashed  out  the  line,  "  Praise  God, 
from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  Good-night."  The  IVibune,  in 
reporting  the  incident,  said  :  "  A  deep-voiced  man  in  the  throng 
pitched  the  doxology,  and  a  mighty  volume  of  song  swelled  up- 
ward. Then  the  lights  went  out,  and  the  happy  watchers  departed 
to  their  homes."  There  was  a  like  incident  in  Wall  Street, 
April,   1865. 

It  is  related  of  the  eccentric  "  Billy  Dawson,"  that  in  1835  he 
preached  at  the  opening  of  the  Bridgehouse  Wesleyan  Chapel,  in 
Sheffield.  During  the  inspiring  services  which  followed,  and 
which  continued  all  day  and  late  into  the  night,  the  doxology  was 
sung  not  less  than  thirty-five  times,  as  the  only  adequate  method 
of  giving  thanks  to  God  for  his  goodness. 

A  child  on  the  top  of  Mount  Washington  was  with  her  fathpr 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  457 

above  the  clouds  while  a  thunder-storm  flashed  and  rumbled  be- 
low. Where  they  stood  all  was  perfect  calm  and  sunshine, 
though  the  eye  found  nothing  but  the  blue  of  heaven  and  a  few 
rocks  and  mosses  on  which  to  rest.  "Well,  Lucy,"  said  her 
father,  "there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  here,  is  there?"  But  the 
child  'exclaimed  :  "Oh,  papa,  /  see  the  doxology  j  all  around 
seems  to  say  : 

'  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 
Praise  him  all  creatures  here  below.'  " 

Praise,  Lord,  for  thee  in  Zion  waits.—  Lyte. 

This  is  Mr.  Lyte's  version  of  Ps.  65,  and  the  date  is  1834. 
Praise  the  Lord,  ye  heavens  adore  him.  — Kempthorne  (  ?)  1796. 

The  excellent  notes  to  Hymins  for  the  Church  and  Home  give  the 
authorship  of  this  hymn  to  John  Kempthorne,  1 796,  on  the  strength 
of  the  tracing  conducted  by  the  late  D.  Sedgwick  (who  died 
March  10th,  1879).  Rev.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson  thus  adds  his 
authority  on  that  side  of  the  question,  but  it  is  by  no  means  a 
settled  point.  One  thing  is  certain,  the  hymn  is  in  the  Hymns  for 
the  Foundling  Hospital,  1809,  in  which  Mr.  Kempthorne's  verses 
were  published.  This  book  was  prepared  by  Rev.  W.  Russell, 
and  Mr.  Sedgwick  asserted  that  the  four  pieces  by  Kempthorne 

were  : 

"  Forgive,  O  Lord,  our  frailties  past. 

"  Great  God,  to  thee  our  song  we  raise." 

"  Praise  the  Lord  !  ye  heavens  adore  him." 

"  While  health,  and  strength,  and  youth  remain." 

The  hymn  is  referred  by  the  Springfield  Hymns,  1835,  to  the 
Dublin  Collection,  in  which  the  authorship  is  again  assigned,  con- 
jecturally,  to  Kempthorne.  But  there  is  no  room  for  doubt  that 
1  the  first  publication  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  1796,  or  else  that 
the  piece  was  composed  by  Kempthorne  during  his  prime,  at  about 
that  date.  Hence  it  is  occasionally  entered  as  "Anonymous, 
1796." 

This  is  apparently  a  free  rendering  of  the  148th  Psalm,  though 
it  is  sometimes  said  to  be  a  version  of  the  150th.  John  Kemp- 
thorne, its  presumed  author,  was  the  son  of  Admiral  James  Kemp- 
thorne, and  was  born  at  Plymouth,  June  24th,  1775.  He  -vas 
rector  of  St.  Michael's,   Gloucester,  and  died  at  the  rectory  No- 


45^  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

vember  6th,  1838.  His  hymns  appeared  in  1809-10,  and  it  is 
amazing  that  so  prominent  a  hymnologist  as  Rev.  L.  C.  Biggs 
should  have  credited  this  one  to  "  Bishop  Mant,  1849." 

Praise  the  Saviour,  ye  who  know  him. — Kelly. 
This  hymn  is  based  on  Ps.  88  :  1.     It  is  in  the  edition  of  1809, 
in  two  stanzas. 

Praise  to  God,  immortal  praise. — Barbauld. 
This   hymn   is  by   Mrs.  Anna  Laetitia  Barbauld,  the  eminent 
English  poetess.     The  original  has  nine  stanzas,  and  can  be  found 
in  any  edition  of  her  works.     She  wrote,  in  all,  twelve  hymns,  of 

"  Awake,  my  soul  !  lift  up  thine  eyes."     Six  stanzas. 
"  Again  the  Lord  of  life  and  Light."     Eleven  stanzas. 
"  Blest  is  the  man  whose  softening  heart." 

(From  "  Behold,  where  breathing  love  divine."     Eight  stanzas.) 

"  '  Come,'  said  Jesus'  sacred  voice."     Five  stanzas. 

"  How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies." 

"How  blest  the  sacred  tie  that  binds."     Five  stanzas. 

M  Praise  to  God,  immortal  praise."     Nine  stanzas. 

"  Sweet  is  the  scene  when  virtue  dies," 

"  When  as  returns  this  solemn  day," 

have  a  permanent  place  in  the  worship  of  the  Church. 

Praise  to  thee,  thou  great  Creator.  — Fawcett. 
Verses  one  and  three  are  the  only  parts  of  this  hymn  which 
Fawcett  includes  in  his  collected  pieces,  1782  and  181 7.     The 
entire  production  has  been  much  amended  and  changed  during 
the  period  of  its  use  by  worshipping  congregations. 

Praise  waits  in  Zion,  Lord,  for  thee. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  65.      First  Part,  C.  M.      "A 
Prayer-hearing  God,  and  the  Gentiles  called."     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Praise  ye  Jehovah  !  praise  the  Lord  most  holy.  — Lady  Campbell. 
Lady  Margaret  Cockburn-Campbell  is  the  author  of  a  number 
of  hymns,  which  were  issued  in  lithograph  from  her  manuscript. 
She  was  married  on  the  20th  of  June,  1827,  to  Sir  Alexander 
Thomas  Cockburn-Campbell,  who  took  the  name  of  Campbell  in 
1825.  He  was  a  resident  magistrate  at  Albany,  West  Australia, 
and  died,  April  23d,  1871.  Lady  Margaret  was  the  eldest  daughter 
of   General  Sir  John  Malcolm,  G.C.B.,  and  had    two  children, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  459 

Charlotte  Isabella  and  Olympia.     She  died,  probably  in  Australia, 
in  1859. 

This  hymn  is  in  the  Free  Church  Hymn-Book,  1882,  where  it 
is  printed  from  the  author's  undated,  lithographed  copy. 

Prayer  is  the  breath  of  God  in  man.  — Beddome. 
Like  the  famous  hymn  of  Montgomery,  this  is  a  rather  didactic 
piece  of  poetry.  And,  like  that,  it  has  a  merit  which  prevents  it 
from  being  excluded  by  any  rigid  definition  as  to  the  form  and 
nature  of  a  hymn.  We  may  be  so  exact  in  our  limitations  as  to 
deny  a  place  in  our  collections  to  sacred  compositions  of  this  char- 
acter, and  then  when  we  desire  to  express  the  fact  of  prayer,  we 
have  not  the  very  thing  which  we  need.  Here,  for  instance,  can 
be  grouped  some  illustrations  of  the  universal  habit  of  prayer, 
which  may  serve  to  reveal  the  difference  between  its  right  and 
wrong  expression. 

Among  barbarous  nations  prayer  takes  the  shape  of  petition  for  per- 
sonal advantage,  unpurified  from  selfishness,  cruelty,  or  revenge.  The 
Nootka  Indian  prays:  "Great  Quahootzee,  let  me  live,  let  me  not  be 
sick,  let  me  find  the  enemy,  let  me  not  fear  him,  let  me  find  him  asleep, 
let  me  kill  a  great  many  of  him  !"  Father  Breboeuf  reports  the  prayer 
of  a  Huron  thus  :  "  Oki,  thou  who  livest  in  this  spot,  I  offer  thee  tobacco. 
Help  us,  save  us  from  shipwreck,  defend  us  from  our  enemies,  give  us 
a  good  trade,  and  bring  us  back  safe  and  sound  to  our  villages."  In  a 
similar  strain  the  Kafirs  pray  :  "  Take  care  of  me,  take  care  of  my  chil- 
dren, take  care  of  my  wives,  take  care  of  all  my  people.  Remove  the 
sickness  and  let  my  child  recover.  Give  me  plenty  of  children — many 
boys  and  few  girls.  Give  me  abundance  of  food  and  cattle.  Make  right 
all  my  people."  Of  the  negroes  in  the  Caribbean  Islands,  it  is  reported 
that  they  lay  their  affairs  before  a  supreme  deity  in  their  prayers,  but 
that  these  prayers  "  have  reference  only  to  the  body,  to  health,  fine 
weather,  a  good  harvest,  victory  over  their  enemies,"  and  things  of  this 
selfish  character.  In  the  Polynesian  islands  the  same  feature  of  narrow 
and  personal  interest  is  seen.  Samoans  pray  :  "  Look  kindly  toward  this 
family  ;  let  it  prosper  and  increase,  and  let  us  all  be  kept  in  health. 
Let  our  plantations  be  productive,  let  fruit  grow,  and  may  there  be  abun- 
dance of  food  for  us  your  creatures.  Here  is  ava  for  you,  our  war  gods  ! 
Let  there  be  a  strong  and  numerous  people  for  you  in  this  land."  In 
such  a  way  the  heathen  are  wont  to  relieve  their  hearts  in  prayer. 

But  the  Christian  conception  of  prayer  is  something  as  different  from 
this  as  the  prayer  of  Jacob  at  Beth-el  (Gen.  28  :  20-22)  differs  from  his 
prayer  at  the  brook  Jabbok.  The  first  is  a  petition  barely  redeemed  from 
ignorant  heathenism— a  bargain  with  God  for  prosperity  of  an  earthly 


460  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

sort.     The  other  is  a  spiritual  plea  which  avows  a  determination  not  to 
let  the  angel  go  until  he  grants  a  blessing. 

So  much  larger  then  is  this  Christian  idea  !  The  Rabbinical  writers 
said  that  the  heart  was  like  a  harp  with  many  strings,  some  shorter,  some 
longer,  but  all  needing  to  be  tuned  and  struck  in  their  turn.  And  they 
also  said  that  King  David  had  an  ^Eolian  harp  placed  in  his  palace  which 
was  moved  to  music  by  the  wind  which  came  to  its  strings  in  the  night. 
Then  he  would  rise  and  compose  a  song  of  praise  to  Jehovah. 

Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire. — Montgomery. 

Poets  are  unconscious  prophets.  They  seize  the  symmetry  of 
truth,  and,  in  a  way  unknown  to  themselves,  they  shape  their 
verses  to  express  more  than  they  themselves  conceived.  It  is  a 
remarkable  instance  of  this  that  the  "  In  Memoriam"  of  Tennyson 
has  been  taken  by  a  Mr.  Genung,  and  analyzed  into  a  harmony 
of  form  and  thought  of  which  its  author  probably  did  not  dream 
when  he  wrote  it.  Montgomery  could  not  have  imagined  that  in 
this,  his  most  famous  production,  he  was  prophesying  his  own 
death.  But  in  1854,  when  he  was  over  eighty  years  of  age,  the 
poet  one  evening  conducted  family  worship  as  usual,  and  was 
especially  fervent  in  prayer.  Well  might  he  have  been  so,  for  it 
was  the  last  time  his  voice  was  to  be  heard  on  earth.  He  retired 
at  once  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  he  was  found  un- 
conscious on  the  floor.  He  lingered  until  the  afternoon,  but 
never  spoke  again.  Thus  he  literally  "  entered  heaven  with 
prayer." 

Montgomery  has  told  us,  in  the  account  which  he  gave  to 
friends,  that  this  hymn  brought  to  him  a  great  many  testimonials 
of  approval,  more  interest  being  taken  in  it  than  in  any  other  of 
his  poems.  Strictly,  as  has  been  said  again  and  again,  it  is  not  a 
hymn  at  all,  but  the  Christian  world  has  claimed  and  used  it  in 
public  worship  until  it  is  a  classic  which  is  secure  of  a  permanent 
place.  We  find  it  in  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns,  in  eight 
stanzas.  It  is  entitled  "What  is  Prayer?"  The  concluding 
stanza  was  added  by  the  author  to  give  directness  to  the  senti- 
ment, and  adapt  it  to  the  necessities  of  public  worship. 

The  excellent  Henry  Venn  says  that  often,  when  he  could  find 
no  spirit  of  devotion  in  his  own  heart,  he  would  turn  to  the  119th 
Psalm,  and  the  fire  would  kindle  in  his  breast.  Others  have  taken 
for  a  similar  purpose  the  hymns  of  Newton  and  such  lyrics  as  that 
which  is  before  us. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  461 

Precious  promise  God  hath  given. — Niles. 
This  well-known  "  Moody  and  Sankey"  hymn  was  written  by 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Niles,  a  resident  of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  and,  at  that 
time,  a  lawyer  in  New  York  City.  Mr.  Niles  was  born  at  South 
Kingston,  R.  I.,  September  15th,  1835.  He  composed  these 
verses  upon  the  margin  of  a  newspaper  in  the  railway  car  while 
on  his  way  to  business. 

Purer  yet,  and  purer. — Anon.,  1858. 
This  piece  is  anonymous  in  the  New  Sabbath  Hymn  and  Tune 
Book,  1858.     No  special  mention  is  made  of  it  in  Hymns  and 
Choirs. 

Quiet,  Lord,  my  froward  heart. — Newton. 

This  exquisite  hymn,  admirable  alike  in  thought  and  expression, 
is  found  in  nearly  all  our  American  books.  It  is  Book  III.,  No. 
65,  of  the  Olney  Hymns,  and  has  scarcely  been  altered  in  a  single 
word.  The  fourth  stanza  has  been  omitted — and  properly,  for  it 
is  an  anti-climax  : 

"  Thus  preserved  from  Satan's  wiles, 

Safe  from  dangers,  free  from  fears, 
May  I  live  upon  thy  smiles, 

Till  the  promised  hour  appears. 
When  the  sons  of  God  shall  prove 
All  their  Father's  boundless  love." 

Two  Scriptures  are  appended — Ps.  131  :  2  and  Matt.  18  :  3,  4 
— and  the  title  is,  "  The  Child." 

It  was  during  the  latter  years  of  Mr.  Newton's  life,  for  he  died 
December  21st,  1807,  that  Rev.  Rowland  Hill  had  the  calmness 
to  torture  these  verses  into  several  four-line  stanzas,  and  allow  his 
name  to  accompany  them,  by  inference,  as  their  author.  The 
Evangelical  Magazine  for  June,  1802,  contains  a  hymn  commenc- 
ing, "Jesus,  make  my  froward  heart,"  etc.  It  is  there  printed 
"  as  sung  on  Easter  Monday  last  at  Surry  (sic)  Chapel,  by  about 
5000  Children  after  a  sermon  on  Hosea  XI.  :  1.  The  Words 
by  the  Rev.  R.  Hill."  Whoever  desires  to  do  so  may  find 
these  very  inferior  verses  in  the  Evangelical  Magazine,  or  in  Mr. 
Hill's  Collection  of Hymns  /or  Children,  1819  ;  by  which  date  it  is 
plain  that  he  had  not  yet  repented.  The  matter  is  settled  beyond 
controversy  by  the  early  editions  of  the  Olney  Hymns.  But  Row- 
land Hill  was  an  insatiable  hymn-tinker,  as  a  copy  of  his  Collection, 


462  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

amended  by  him  first  in  type  and  then  again  in  ink,  and  which 
we  have  seen,  clearly  proves. 

"  I  have  often  need,  in  my  tribulations,"  said  Luther,  "  to  talk  even 
with  a  child,  in  order  to  expel  such  thoughts  as  the  devil  possesses  me 
with  ;  and  this  teaches  me  not  to  boast,  as  if  I  of  myself  were  able  to 
help  myself  and  to  subsist  without  the  strength  of  Christ.  I  need  one, 
at  times,  to  help  me  who,  in  his  whole  body,  has  not  so  much  divinity  as 
I  have  in  one  finger." 

"  For  more  than  forty  years,"  said  Sir  Henry  Havelock  to  Sir 
James  Outram,  ' '  I  have  so  ruled  my  life  that  when  death  comes 
I  might  face  it  without  fear." 

Rejoice,  rejoice,  believers. — Borthwick,  tr. 
This  is  from  the  German  of  Laurentius  Laurenti.  The  trans- 
lation is  found  in  Hymns  from  the  Land  of  Luther,  1853,  an(^  me 
original  hymn  begins,  "  Ermuntert  euch,  ihr  Frommen."  The 
present  translation  sometimes  commences,  "  Rejoice,  all  ye  be- 
lievers." 

Rejoice  !   the  Lord  is  King. — C.  Wesley. 

This  is  from  the  Hymns  for  the  Resurrection,  1746.  It  had  ap- 
peared in  the  Moral  and  Sacred  Poems,  1744,  and  was  revised  by 
the  author. 

Return,  my  roving  heart,  return. — Doddridge. 

In  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns  this  is  No.  29,  "  Communing  with 
our  Hearts. — Ps.  4:4."  It  has  five  stanzas.  In  the  third, 
"  windings"  is  the  old  word  "  mazes"  explained  in  a  foot-note  to 
be  ' '  windings,  perplexities. ' ' 

Return,  O  wanderer,  return.  — Collyer. 

The  author,  Rev.  William  Bengo  Collyer,  contributed  this 
"  Hymn  on  Jer.  31  :  20,"  in  six  stanzas,  to  the  Evangelical  Maga- 
zine for  May,  1806. 

Rev.  Dr.  Armitage,  of  New  York,  in  an  anniversary  address  before  the 
Tract  Society,  1885,  made  this  interesting  statement  :  "  A  Christian  en- 
graver in  this  city  told  me,  within  a  few  days,  that  the  great  impression 
of  his  life  was  made  by  a  print  of  *  The  Only  Son  '—a  boy  with  a  bundle 
on  his  back  leaving  home;  and  God's  Spirit  asked,  'Where  to?' 
That  was  enough." 

Return,  O  wanderer,  to  thy  home.  — Hastings. 
Dr.  Hastings  wrote  this  hymn  about  the  year  1830.     Shortly 
before  his  death  he  communicated  to  Rev.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  463 

that  the  hymn  was  written  just  after  a  stirring  sermon  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Kint,  on  the  "  Prodigal  Son,"  delivered  in  a  Presbyterian  church 
in  Utica.  Fully  two  hundred  converts  were  present,  and  the 
preacher  at  the  peroration  of  his  discourse,  exclaimed  :  ' '  Sinner, 
come  home  !  come  home  !  come  home  !"  It  was  afterward  easy 
work  to  write  the  hymn,  and  he  subsequently  printed  it  in  Spirit- 
ual Songs,  1833. 

Rise,  crowned  with  light,  imperial  Salem,  rise. — Pope. 
For  a  long  time  the  favorite  "  hymn  "  from  Alexander  Pope  was 
"  Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame."  To  a  moderate  extent  the  uni- 
versal prayer  ("  Father  of  all  in  every  age")  was  also  looked  upon 
as  a  Christian  lyric — though  it  is  rather  an  expression  of  general  re- 
ligiousness than  of  any  Christian  faith.  Pope  wrote  to  Sir  Richard 
Steele  regarding  the  first  form  of  "  Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame," 
and  declared  it  a  free  version  of  the  dying  words  of  the  Emperor 
Hadrian.  Pope  seems,  by  a  quotation  from  one  of  his  letters,  to 
have  had  in  mind  a  fragment  of  Sappho  as  well  as  the  verses  of 
Hadrian.  That  fragment  (b.c.  600)  can  be  found  in  the  Spec- 
tator for  November  15th,  17-11.  The  final  form  of  Pope's  ode 
was  due  to  Sir  Richard  Steele,  who  wrote,  December  4th,  1712, 
asking  him  to  revise  his  original  verses  into  something  suitable  for 
music.  In  reply  he  sent  the  hymn  as  it  is  now  in  current  use. 
The  original  Latin  is  : 

"  Animula  vagula,  blandula, 
Hospes  comesque  corporis, 
Quae  nunc  abibis  in  loca? 
Pallidula,  rigida,  nudula, 
Nee,  ut  soles,  dabis  jocos." 
We  render  these  lines  thus  : 

Thou  wandering,  pleasant,  little  breath, 

The  body's  host  and  guest, 
Where  now  dost  thou  abide  beneath? 
So  naked,  chill  and  pale  in  death  ; 

Without  thy  wonted  jest  ! 

It  is  needless  to  print  the  biography  of  Alexander  Pope — familiar 
as  it  is  to  all  readers  of  English  literature.  He  was  born  in  1688, 
and  died  May  30th,  1744.  The  translation  before  us  appeared  in 
the  Spectator,  May  14th,  171 2,  with  a  commendation  by  Addison. 
It  is  not  strictly  a  song  of  praise  or  trust,  but  rather  an  extract  from 


464  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  Messiah,  which  is  a  rendering  of  the  Fourth  Eclogue  of  Virgil. 
That,  in  its  turn,  has  been  frequently  compared  with  the  prophecies 
of  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel,  to  both  of  which  it  bears  a  strong  likeness 
and  lrom  which  it  may  have  been  derived.  As  at  present,  set  to 
appropriate  and  majestic  music,  it  constitutes  one  of  the  finest  of 
modern  "  processional  "  or  "  recessional  "  hymns. 

Ride  on  !  ride  on  in  majesty. — Milman. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Hart  Milman,  D.  D.,  is  known  to  us  as  one  of 
the  best  of  Church  historians.  He  was  born  in  London,  Febru- 
ary 10th,  1791,  his  father,  Sir  Francis  Milman,  having  been  the 
physician  of  George  III.  He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  where  he 
took  the  Newdigate  prize  for  English  verse,  181 2,  and  became  a 
Fellow  of  Brasenose  College,  18 15.  His  ordination  occurred  in 
18 1 6.  From  182 1  to  1831  he  was  Professor  of  Poetry  at  Oxford. 
He  was  first  appointed  to  the  vicarage  of  St.  Mary's,  Reading 
(18 1 6),  and  afterward  (1835)  to  be  rector  of  St.  Margaret's,  West- 
minster, and  canon  of  Westminster.  His  promotion  to  be  dean 
of  St.  Paul's  was  in  1849,  Dean  Milman's  poetry — once  highly 
esteemed — has  disappeared  from  public  notice.  But  the  Broad 
Churchman  still  lives  in  his  hymn,  "  When  our  hearts  are  bowed 
with  woe,"  and  the  present  piece. 

After  a  life  filled  with  devoted  labor  in  his  chosen  lines  of  liter- 
ature  and  scholarship — after  leaving  on  record  such  works  as  the 
History  of  Christianity  (1840  ;  revised  1866),  and  the  History  of 
Latin  Christianity  (1856  ;  revised  1858) — Dean  Milman  died  at 
Sunninghill,  near  Ascot,  September  24th,  1868.  His  histories 
extend  over  the  period  between  the  Birth  of  Christ  and  the  Pontifi- 
cate of  Nicholas  V.  (1455).  Of  his  religious  opinions  it  can  be 
briefly  said  that  he  advocated  "  the  abolition  of  subscription  to  the 
Articles  and  proposed  subscription  to  the  Liturgy  instead."  This 
debate  on  creed  subscription,  by  the  way,  is  as  old  as  the  Confes- 
sional of  Archdeacon  Francis  Blackburne,  1766. 

The  present  hymn  is  for  Palm  Sunday.  It  and  other  pieces  ap- 
peared in  connection  with  Bishop  Heber's  hymns  for  the  Christian 
year.     The  date  is  1827. 

Rise,  glorious  Conqueror,  rise. — Bridges. 
A  real  and  grand  hymn,  taken  from  the  Hymns  of  the  Heart, 
for  the  Use  of  Catholics  (1848),  by  Matthew  Bridges. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  465 

Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings.  — Seagrave. 
Rev.  Robert  Seagrave  was  born  at  Twyford,  Leicestershire, 
November  2  2d,  1693 — where  his  father,  after  whom  he  was  named, 
was  vicar  from  1687  to  1720.  He  received  his  education  at  Clare 
Hall,  Cambridge,  being  graduated  B.A.  in  17 14,  and  M.A.  four 
years  later.  In  171 5  he  took  orders  in  the  Church  of  England,  but 
very  soon  showed  his  distaste  for  the  low  moral  condition  of  the 
clergy.  This  opened  the  line  of  his  life-work.  He  published,  be- 
tween 1 73 1  and  1738,  several  pamphlets  with  this  reformation  in 
view,  but  it  was  like  a  voice  crying  in  the  desert  and  only  hearing 
its  own  echoes.  He  therefore  withdrew  entirely  from  the  Church 
of  England,  and  imitated  the  course  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  whom  he 
had  already  defended.  In  1739  we  nnd  him  the  evening  lecturer 
at  Lorimer's  Hall,  Cripplegate,  London.  And  on  June  26th, 
1740,  Whitefield  wrote  to  congratulate  him  on  his  attitude.  He 
says  : 

"  And  is  one  of  the  priests  also  obedient  to  the  word  ?  Blessed  be 
God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  translated  you  from 
darkness  to  light — from  the  power  of  Satan  to  the  service  of  the  ever- 
living  God.  ...  O  dear  Sir,  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad  ;  and  let 
the  love  of  Jesus  constrain  you  to  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  to 
compel  poor  sinners  to  come  in.  .  .  .  Go  on,  dear  Sir,  go  on,  and  follow 
your  glorious  Master,  without  the  camp,  bearing  his  sacred  reproach.  .  .  . 
O  dear  Sir  !  though  I  know  you  not,  yet  my  heart  is  enlarged  toward 
you."     With  much  more  to  the  same  effects 

In  1 74 1,  Seagrave  met  Whitefield,  and  became  one  of  his 
valued  co-laborers.  And  when  the  Tabernacle  was  erected  in 
Moorfields,  not  far  from  Lorimer's  Hall,  Seagrave  preached  there 
also.  This  continued  until  1750.  In  1759  we  have  the  testimony 
of  Rev.  John  Griffith  to  the  great  spiritual  benefit  he  had  received 
from  hearing  Mr.  Seagrave  preach.  And  even  in  old  age  it  would 
seem  that  he  "  brought  forth  fruit,"  and  was  "  flourishing,"  for 
he  was  in  active  pulpit  service  beyond  his  sixty-sixth  year.  Others, 
however,  think  that  his  death  occurred  about  1755,  when  he  was 
sixty-two.     The  date  is  probably  unknown. 

Seagrave's  relations  with  the  Calvinistic  Methodists  were  close 
and  cordial.  He  was  an  orthodox,  capable  and  earnest  preacher, 
and  undoubtedly  he  achieved  larger  results  than  we  can  now  dis- 
cover. Mr.  Sedgwick  reprinted  his  fifty  original  hymns,  with  a 
biographical  sketch,  in  his  Library  of  Spiritual  Songs  (i860). 


466  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

The  Hymns  for  Christian  Worship,  1742,  were  prepared  by  Sea- 
grave  for  the  Lorimer's  Hall  congregation  and  were  issued  in  suc- 
cessive enlargements  in  a  second  (1742),  third  (1744),  and  fourth 
edition  (1748).  His  original  hymns  were  included  in  these  books 
with  other  pieces  of  a  high  order  of  merit. 

Rise,  ye  children  of  salvation. — Falckner,  tr. 
This  hymn  appeared  in  the  English  Presbyterian  Collection  (1867) 
with  this  designation. 

Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me. — Toplady. 
John  Wesley  wrote  to  Mr.  Merryweather  at  Yarm,  June  24th, 
1770  : 

"  Mr.  Augustus  Toplady  I  know  well ;  but  I  do  not  fight  with  chimney- 
sweepers. He  is  too  dirty  a  writer  for  me  to  meddle  with  ;  I  should  only 
foul  my  fingers.  ...  I  leave  him  to  Mr.  Sellon.  He  cannot  be  in 
better  hands.  .  .  .     Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  John  Wesley." 

He  also  called  him  a  "lively  coxcomb,"  and  added  other  epithets 
more  forcible  than  polite.  Finally  he  engaged  in  a  regular  con- 
troversy with  him  in  downright  print.  Toplady  retorted  by  styling 
Wesley  "  Pope  John  ;"  wondering  whether  the  "  insidious  "  pre- 
dominated over  "the  acid"  in  his  composition;  spoke  of  his 
"  hatching  blasphemy  ;"  said  his  forehead  was  "  petrified  "  and 
11  impervious  to  a  blush  ;"  and  that  he  wrote  "  a  known,  wilful, 
palpable  lie  to  the  public." 

When  it  is  remembered  that  one  of  these  men  was  the  author  of 
"  Rock  of  Ages,"  and  the  other  translated  the  hymn  of  Gerard 
Tersteegen  into  that  almost  ineffable  rendering, 

"  O  thou  to  whose  all-searching  sight 
The  darkness  shineth  as  the  light," 

we  must  stand  abashed  before  the  imperfections  of  even  the  best 
.men.  Yet  it  was  the  same  David  who  wrote  the  23d  Psalm  who 
Heft  directions  in  regard  to  Joab,  and  we  find  the  Solomon  of  Can- 
ticles to  be  a  different  figure  from  the  man  who  followed  after  the 
gods  of  his  "  outlandish"  wives.  A  hymn,  by  degrees,  becomes 
dissociated  from  its  author.  It  spreads  heavenly  wings.  One 
hears  the  song  caught  up  by  many  voices  and  does  not  know  who 
first  uttered  it.  In  the  fourteenth  century  it  is  said  that  all  Europe 
was  carolling  the  songs  of  an  unknown  singer,  and  when  he  was 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  467 

found  he  was  a  leper,  who  carried  a  little  bell  to  warn  people  of 
his  approach,  and  went  muffled,  for  very  loathsomeness,  about  the 
public  streets. 

When  Toplady  was  near  his  death  the  physician  perceived  him 
to  be  much  improved,  and  spoke  encouragingly  of  his  prospects. 
But  the  wiser  patient  replied  :  "  No,  no  ;  I  shall  die,  for  no  mortal 
could  endure  such  manifestations  of  God's  glory  as  I  have,  and 
live."  The  next  day  he  expired,  while  singing  one  of  his  own 
hymns,  "  Deathless  principle  arise." 

It  was  to  this  "  Rock  of  Ages  "  also  that  the  beloved  Prince  Con- 
sort, Albert  of  England,  turned,  repeating  it  constantly  upon  his 
death-bed.  "  For,"  said  he,  "  if  in  this  hour  I  had  only  my  world- 
ly honors  and  dignities  to  depend  upon,  I  should  be  indeed  poor." 

The  imagery  of  this  hymn  merits  a  Bible-reading  of  its  own. 
Compare  :  Ps.  78  :  15  ;  Ex.  17  :  5,  6  ;  Num.  20  :  n  ;  Ex. 
II  :  22  ;  Ps.  27  :  5  ;  Isa.  2  :  10  ;  1  Cor.  10  :  4  ;  Jno.  19  :  34  ; 
1  Jno.  5  :  6.  These  quotations  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  the 
hymn. 

When  we  come  to  the  question  of  the  date  we  find  that  this  illus- 
trious song  was  inserted  in  the  Gospel  Magazine  for  March,  1776, 
with  the  title,  "  A  living  and  dying  Prayer  for  the  holiest  Be- 
liever in  the  World."  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  originally 
intended  to  clinch  a  controversial  article  against  Methodism. 

Spurgeon  says,  with  much  vividness  and  power  : 

"  A  glimpse  at  the  thorn-crowned  head  and  pierced  hands  and  feet  is 
a  sure  cure  for  '  modern  doubt,'  and  all  its  vagaries.  Get  into  the  '  Rock 
of  Ages,  cleft  for  you,'  and  you  will  abhor  the  quicksand.  That  eminent 
American  preacher,  the  seraphic  Summerfield,  when  he  lay  a-dying 
turned  around  to  a  friend  in  the  room,  and  said  :  '  I  have  taken  a  look 
into  eternity.  Oh,  if  I  could  come  back  and  preach  again,  how  differ- 
ently would  I  preach  from  what  I  have  done  before.'  " 

"  Be  much  at  death-beds,"  said  Spurgeon  to  his  students  ;  "they  are 
illuminated  books.  There  shall  you  read  the  very  poetry  of  our  religion, 
and  learn  the  secrets  thereof.  What  splendid  gems  are  washed  up  by  the 
waves  of  Jordan  !  .  .  .  I  have  heard  humble  men  and  women,  in  their 
departing  hours,  talk  as  though  they  were  inspired,  uttering  strange 
words,  aglow  with  supernal  glory.  These  they  learned  from  no  lips 
beneath  the  moon  ;  they  must  have  heard  them  while  sitting  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  God  whispers  them  in  their  ears  amid 
their  pain  and  weakness  ;  a'hd  then  they  tell  us  a  little  of  what  the  Spirit 
has  revealed.  I  will  part  with  all  my  books,  if  I  may  see  the  Lord's 
Elijahs  mount  their  chariots  of  fire." 


468  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Mrs.  Lucy  Seaman  Bainbridge,  who,  with  her  husband,  Dr. 
Bainbridge,  made  the  tour  of  the  world  in  order  to  study  Chris- 
tian missions,  tells  a  most  beautiful  incident  in  connection  with 
this  hymn  : 

The  Chinese  women,  it  seems,  are  so  anxious  to  "  make  merit"  for 
themselves  that  they  will  perform  any  labor  to  escape  the  painful  trans- 
migrations of  the  next  life.  They  dread  to  be  born  again  as  dogs  or 
cats,  and  the  highest  hope  possessed  by  them  is  to  be  reborn  as  men.  In 
order  to  secure  this  they  do  any  and  every  meritorious  act.  One  whom 
Mrs.  Bainbridge  saw  had  with  incredible  labor  dug  a  well  twenty-five  feet 
deep,  and  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet  across.  With  her  poor,  weak  hands 
she  had  excavated  every  foot  of  it,  and  it  was  only  after  this  achievement 
that  she  learned  of  Christ  and  of  the  free  Gospel  of  salvation.  When 
Mrs.  Bainbridge  met  her  she  was  an  old  woman  of  eighty,  and  stretching 
out  her  crippled  and  aged  fingers  she  and  her  visitor  sang  together  : 

11  Nothing  in  my  hands  I  bring, 
Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling." 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  S.  Pomeroy  relates,  that  when  he  was  visiting  an 
Armenian  church  in  Constantinople,  he  saw  many  in  tears  while 
they  were  offering  praise,  and  on  inquiry,  found  that  they  were 
singing  a  Turkish  translation  of  this  hymn  of  Toplady's  : 

"  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 

Let  me  hide  myself  in  Thee." 

And  now  as  to  the  alterations  of  the  text.  There  are  two  ver- 
sions in  Laudes  Domini.  No.  962  gives  the  lines  as  they  are  found 
in  Toplady's  Hymn-Book,  July,  1776.  In  the  Gospel  Magazine 
"  while"  is  whilst,  and  "  to  worlds  unknown"  is  through  tracts 
unknown.  The  expression  "  eyelids  close  in  death,"  about  which 
so  much  useless  debate  has  clustered,  was  approved  by  Toplady 
himself,  later  in  his  life.  In  the  Gospel  Magazine  and  in  the  Hymn- 
Book  it  stands  "  eye-strings  break  in  death  !"  Other  variations 
are  wounded  for  "  riven,"  the  law's  for  "  thy  law's,"  and  vile  for 
"foul." 

We  cannot  close  this  account  of  a  precious  hymn  without  quot- 
ing these  original  and  suggestive  words  of  Rev.  Alexander  Mc- 
Kenzie,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.  : 

"  I  know  that  beautiful  line  of  the  hymn  ;  I  would  not  take  a  note  from 
its  divine  and  blessed  melody.  It  is  true,  but,  like  most  single  lines,  it  is 
but  a  fragment  of  the  truth  : 

4  Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling.' 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  469 

Yes  ;  with  the  arms  of  a  clinging  faith.  I  shrink  from  going  on,  lest  any 
one  should  think  I  do  not  make  enough  of  that  which  is  the  heart  and 
life  of  piety,  the  simple  trust  in  Christ  and  him  crucified.  But  what  did 
Christ  ever  say,  what  did  the  apostles  ever  teach,  which  warrants  you  in 
saying,  '  All  I  have  to  do  is  to  cling  to  the  cross '  ?  What  did  Jesus  say 
about  the  cross  ?  He  said,  '  Take  it  up  and  go  about  obeying  the  will  of 
God.'  Cling  to  the  cross,  not  as  one  who  is  weary  and  is  finding  rest 
alone  ;  not  merely  as  one  who  is  guilty  and  is  there  finding  pardon  alone. 
Cling  to  it,  doing  the  will  of  God.  Where  would  the  world  have  been  to- 
day if  John  and  Peter  and  Paul  had  been  content  to  cling  to  the  cross 
and  do  nothing  more?  You  have  God  to  serve,  and  a  man  cannot  do 
all  the  will  of  God  sitting  in  a  sanctuary,  kneeling  in  a  closet,  clasping 
his  arms  around  a  sacred  tree,  or  laying  his  cheek  against  the  wood  that 
is  red  with  the  blood  of  the  Christ  of  God.  By  Christ  alone  are  we  saved, 
and  Christ  we  are  to  follow.  Cling  to  the  cross,  but  not  '  simply.'  Cling 
to  the  cross,  but  go  about  clinging  to  it.  Cling  to  the  cross,  but  obey 
God  while  you  cling,  following  his  commandments  with  your  deeds, 
glorifying  him  upon  the  earth,  finishing  the  work  which  he  has  given  you 
to  do.  Cling  to  the  cross  until  the  eternal  glory  comes  ;  but  while  you 
cling,  follow  Christ  whithersoever  he  leads  you." 

Roll  on,  thou  mighty  ocean.  — Edmeston. 

A  missionary  hymn  included  in  James  Edmeston's  Missionary 
Hymns,  1822. 

Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus. — Fanny  J.  Crosby. 

Mrs.  Frances  Jane  (Crosby)  Van  Alstyne  has  written  about 
three  thousand  Sunday-school  pieces — some  of  them  very  widely 
known.  She  was  born  at  South  East,  N.  Y.,  in  1823,  and  lost  her 
sight  when  six  weeks  old  through  the  ignorant  application  of  a 
warm  poultice  to  her  eyes.  She  has  been  an  inmate  of,  and  teacher 
in,  the  New  York  [City]  Institution  for  the  Blind,  and  united  with 
the  Thirtieth  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1851.  Mar- 
ried to  Mr.  Alexander  Van  Alstyne  in  1858,  she  continues  to  write 
many  verses. 

The  present  piece  was  composed  offhand,  "  in  twenty  min- 
utes" ["  stans  in  uno  pede"  /]  for  Mr.  W.  H.  Doane,  the  musician, 
who  gave  her  the  theme.  It  has  been  popular,  and  at  the  funeral 
of  General  U.  S.  Grant,  August  7th,  1885,  its  melody  was  a 
favorite  with  the  bands. 

It  is  more  to  Mrs.  Van  Alstyne' s  credit  as  a  writer  that  she  has 
occasionally  found  a  pearl  than  that  she  has  brought  to  the  surface 
so  many  oyster -shells.    It  is  not  generally  known  that  her  pen  traced 


47°  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  words  of  those  very  popular  songs,  "  Rosalie,  the  Prairie 
Flower,"  "Hazel  Dell,"  and  "There's  Music  in  the  Air." 
Her  earliest  Sunday-school  piece  was  "  A  Home  Beyond  the  Tide  " 
— written  February  5th,  1864,  for  Mr.  W.  B.  Bradbury.  Her 
poems  were  published  in  1844  and  1849,  Wlt^  another  volume  in 
1858.  She  lives  at  present  in  New  York  City,  at  302  East  Seventy- 
ninth  Street,  and  is  reported  to  be  regularly  salaried  by  the  firm  of 
Biglow  &  Main,  for  whom  she  is  said  to  compose  "  three  hymns 
a  week,  the  year  round. ' ' 

The  report  of  the  McCall  Mission  in  France,  for  January,  1886, 
has  this  touching  story  : 

"  In  another  district,  a  dying  girl  named  Julie  was  delighted  when 
they  sung  to  her  in  French,  '  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus.'  She  asked  a 
young  friend  who  came  to  her  sick-room,  if  she  loved  her.  '  Yes,'  was 
the  reply.  '  And  I  have  another  Friend  who  loves  me  ;  do  you  know 
him  ? '  '  Jesus,  you  mean.  Oh,  yes,  he  is  my  best  Friend  !  '  When  she 
knew  that  she  must  die,  she  sent  a  message  to  her  absent  brother  :  '  Tell 
him  that  I  want  him  to  love  Jesus  as  I  have  learned  to  love  him.'  Her 
nurse  repeated  the  verse,  '  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any 
more.'     Julie  smiled,  and  said  :  '  How  blessed  that  is  !  Thank  you.'  " 

Safely  through  another  week. — J.  Newton. 
This  is  from  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  II.,  No.  40.      Its  title  is 
"  Saturday  Evening,"  and  it  has  five  stanzas. 

Saints  of  God  !  the  dawn  is  brightening. — Mrs.  Maxwell. 

By  the  kindness  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Taylor  Hatfield,  into  whose  hands 
have  come  the  hymnological  papers  of  his  father,  the  late  lamented 
Dr.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield,  it  is  possible  to  give  a  definite  account  of 
the  circumstances  connected  with  this  hymn. 

In  1875  the  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.D.,  then  Superintendent 
of  Home  Missions  in  the  West  under  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Home  Missions,  desired  a  "  home  mission  hymn."  It  occurred 
to  him  that  the  offer  of  two  prizes,  one  of  $100  (for  a  hymn)  and 
one  of  $50  (for  a  poem)  would  stimulate  various  authors  to  prepare 
such  pieces.  He  sent  this  offer  from  the  office  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain Presbyterian  to  two  hundred  religious  newspapers,  in  February, 
1875,  and  requested  Rev.  Dr.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield  to  act  as  chair- 
man of  a  committee  of  three,  and  to  name  his  two  associates. 
They  had  full  power  to  decide  upon  the  merits  of  the  various  poems 
submitted. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  471 

Dr.  Hatfield  accepted  this  duty,  and  named  the  Rev.  S.  Irenaeus 
Prime,  D.  D. ,  editor  of  the  New  Fork  Observer,  together  with  Rev. 
Thomas  S.  Hastings,  D.  D.  The  award  was  made  on  the  28th  of 
September,  1875,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Maxwell,  of  Danville,  Va.,  who 
preferred  to  be  known  as  "  A  Lady  of  Virginia." 

A  letter  addressed,  at  a  venture,  to  Mrs.  Maxwell,  has  found 
her  (1884)  in  Richmond,  Va.,  and  a  mutual  friend  has  kindly 
furnished  the  following  facts  regarding  her  life  : 

She  was  born  in  Norfolk,  Va.  [no  date  obtained],  and  was  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Robert  Robertson,  a  merchant.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  and 
for  years  a  ruling  elder  of  the  first  Presbyterian  church  established  in  that 
part  of  Virginia.  His  wife  was  Frances  Ferebe,  whose  ancestry  is  pre- 
sumably Norman-French.  Mrs.  Maxwell's  maternal  grandfather  died  at 
Yorktown  while  "  in  the  service  of  his  country  in  the  American  army." 

Mrs.  Maxwell  was  educated  in  Norfolk,  and  enjoyed  remarkable  ad- 
vantages. In  1839  she  was  married  to  William  Maxwell,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College,  and  a  favorite  pupil  of  Dr.  Dwight.  This  gentleman  was 
an  excellent  scholar,  a  lover  of  letters,  and  "an  eloquent  speaker." 
At  the  time  of  his  marriage  he  was  President  of  Hampden-Sidney  Col- 
lege, and  afterward  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  at  a  time  when  its 
members  were  conspicuous  for  their  learning  and  ability.  He  subse- 
quently edited  the  Virginia  Historical  Register.  His  death  occurred  in 
1857.  At  the  "  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,"  Mrs.  Maxwell  removed 
to  Danville,  and  there  remained  with  relatives  "  until  the  close  of  the 
conflict,  when  she  returned  to  Richmond,  where  she  still  lives."  She  has 
frequently  written  verse  and  prose,  but  has  always  shunned  any  publicity. 
The  present  hymn  was  selected  by  the  committee  out  of  700  competing 
pieces,  but  Mrs.  Maxwell  accepted  the  award  only  on  condition  that  her 
name  should  not  be  given.  This  restriction  being  now  taken  off,  there  is 
no  reason  why  these  facts  should  not  be  known. 

Salvation  is  forever  nigh. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts' s  version  of  Ps.  85,  Second   Part,  L.  M.,  v.  9,  etc., 
"  Salvation  by  Christ."     It  has  four  stanzas. 

Salvation,  oh,  the  joyful  sound. — Watts. 
This  is  Book  II.,  No.  88,  of  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns.  It  is  entitled 
' '  Salvation, ' '  and  has  three  stanzas.  The  fourth,  which  appears 
in  Laudes  Do?nini,  commencing,  "  Salvation,  O  thou  bleeding 
Lamb,"  was  probably  added  by  Rev.  Walter  Shirley  in  1774,  and 
we  find  it,  with  a  chorus  to  the  stanzas,  in  Lady  Huntingdon's 
Collection.  The  chorus  is,  ' '  Glory,  honor,  praise  and  power, ' '  etc. , 
and  doubtless  has  the  same  origin  as  the  annexed  stanza. 


472  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Saviour,  again,  to  thy  dear  name  we  raise.  — Ellerton. 
This  hymn,  by  Rev.  John  Ellerton,  is  said  to  have  been  written 
in    1866    for    "a    Festival    of    Parochial    Choirs,    at    Nantwich, 
Cheshire."     In    1868  it  was  placed  in  the  Appendix  to  Hymns, 
Ancient  and  Modern. 

Saviour,  blessed  Saviour. — Thring. 
The  original  form  of  this  hymn  by  Rev.  Godfrey  Thring  has  ten 
stanzas,  and  the  date  is  1862. 

Saviour,  breathe  an  evening  blessing. — Edmeston. 
For  years  this  hymn  (printed  in  1820)  formed  part  of  the  even- 
ing service  in  the  church  at  Homerton,  England,  where  Mr.  Ed- 
meston lived  and  died.  He  is  said  to  have  written  it  after  reading, 
in  Salt's  Travels  in  Abyssinia,  these  words  :  "  At  night  their  short 
evening  hymn,  '  Jesus,  forgive  us,'  stole  through  the  camp." 

Saviour,  happy  would  I  be. — Nevin. 
This  hymn  is  based  on  Isa.  12  :  2,  with  the  title,   "  God  is  my 
Salvation  ;  I  will  trust. "     It  was  written  by  Rev.  E.  H.  Nevin, 
D.D.,  in  1858. 

Saviour  !  hasten  thine  appearing. — Deck. 
A  stanza  of  Thomas  Kelly's  hymn,  "  Hark,  ten  thousand  harps 
and  voices,"  opens  with  this  same  line.     The  date  of  that  was 
about  1804,  while  Mr.  Deck's  publication  was  in  1838. 

Saviour,  I  follow  on. — C.  S.  Robinson. 
Rev.  Charles  Seymour  Robinson,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  in 
Bennington,  Vt. ,  March  31st,  1829,  and  was  graduated  at 
Williams  College  in  1849.  After  a  year  and  a  half  spent  at  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary  he  entered  Union  Seminary,  New  York 
City,  where  he  was  afterward  an  instructor.  He  was  ordained  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Troy,  April  19th,  1855,  and  was  pastor  of  Park 
Street  (Presbyterian)  church,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  1855-60;  First  church, 
Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  1860-68;  American  Chapel,  Paris,  1868-71. 
Since  the  last  date  he  has  been  pastor  of  the  Memorial  Presbyterian 
church,  New  York  City,  which  has  been  erected  and  freed  from 
debt  under  his  management.  Dr.  Robinson  in  1876-77  was  editor 
of  the  Illustrated  C/irislian  Weekly,  and  has  compiled  and  published 
several  successful  hymn-books.     The  first  of  these  was  the  Songs 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  473 

of  the  Church,  1862.  Then  came  its  revised  form,  the  Songs  for 
the  Saiiciuary,  1865,  which  was  very  widely  adopted.  About  the 
time  when  Dr.  Robinson  returned  from  Europe  to  New  York  City 
there  was  a  demand  for  an  additional  work  of  a  slightly  different 
character  which  he  met  by  issuing  (through  the  Century  Company) 
the  book  called  Spiritual  Songs,  1878.  In  1884  appeared  the 
latest  hymn-book  of  the  series  (for  we  are  not  now  reckoning  the 
abridgments  and  adaptations  rendered  necessary  for  Sunday-school 
and  chapel  use,  nor  including  Psalms  and  Hymns  and  Spiritual 
Songs),  and  in  this  work,  entitled  Laudes  Domini,  the  concluding 
volume  of  the  list  has  been  reached.  Laudes  Domini  is  a  compen- 
dium of  the  best  of  the  English  hymns,  together  with  the  finest 
and  strongest  tunes.  It  is  to  this  book,  therefore,  that  the  present 
annotations  have  been  adapted,  as  the  most  convenient  and  latest 
selection  of  the  familiar  and  precious  lyrics  of  the  great  masters  of 
hymnody. 

Dr.  Robinson  is  known  to  his  intimate  friends  as  a  preacher  and 
pastor,  even  more  favorably  than  in  his  other  relations.  His 
homiletical  skill  and  his  methods  of  work  have  long  ago,  in  their 
eyes,  appeared  as  his  specialty,  and  have  surpassed  the  reputation 
which  he  currently  receives  from  his  hymn-books  and  lesson- 
notes.  His  published  sermons  are  the  best  of  proof  that  this  opin- 
ion is  not  ill-based. 

The  present  hymn  dates  from  Songs  of  the  Church,  1862,  where 
it  appears  with  the  initials  "  C.  S.  R. "  It  is  worthy  of  the  exten- 
sive use  it  has  obtained. 

Saviour  King,  in  hallowed  union. — Anon.,  1865. 
This  appears   first  in  Songs  for  the  Sanctuary  (1865)  with  no 
author's  name  attached. 

Saviour,  now  the  day  is  ending.  — Doudney. 
Miss  Sarah  Doudney  is  quite  a  voluminous  author  of  religious 
stories  and  poetry.  She  was  born  near  Portsmouth,  England,  and 
lives  at  Ivy  Lodge,  Cobham,  Hampshire.  She  is  still  unmarried, 
and  her  principal  claim  to  permanent  remembrance  consists  in  the 
fact  that  she  wrote  "  The  Watermill, "  a  poem  in  which  occurs  the 
refrain,  "  The  mill  cannot  grind  with  the  water  that  is  past." 
She  states  in  a  letter  to  Miss  Anna  L.  Ward  (one  of  the  compilers 
of  the  Hoy  t  Ward  Cyclopcedia  of  Practical  Quotations)  that  the  poem 


474  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

was  suggested  to  her  by  her  discovery  of  the  line  in  a  tattered  old 
scrap-book,  where  it  was  placed  beneath  the  picture  of  a  mill. 
Further  than  this  she  cannot  trace  it.  Miss  Doudney's  religious 
poetry  is  mostly  found  in  Psalms  of  Life,  1871  [with  a  preface  by 
R.  H.  Baynes]   (second  edition,    1875),  and  in   Stepping  Stones, 

1880.  The  present  verses  are  from  the  Children's  Hymn-Book^ 

1881.  Other  particulars  are  lacking. 

Saviour,  let  thy  love  for  me. — Knowlton. 
"  Miss  H.  O.  Knowlton,"  says  Mr.  W.  F.  Sherwin,  in  a  per- 
sonal letter,  ' '  was  a  school-girl  in  Illinois,  put  into  communica- 
tion with  me  by  one  of  her  teachers."  He  adds  that  she  married 
shortly  afterward,  removed  "  to  Minnesota  or  Dakota,"  and  "  dis- 
appeared from  public  view. ' '     Her  present  name  and  address  are 

unknown. 

Saviour,  send  a  blessing  to  us.  — Kelly. 

The  date  of  this  simple  and  direct  petition  is  1 840.  Even  if  we 
lack  faith  we  are  still  to  take  our  wants  to  the  Lord  :  "  Be  it  ours 
thy  grace  to  prove." 

Saviour,  teach  me,  day  by  day. — Leeson. 

Miss  Jane  Elizabeth  Leeson  has  written  Hymns  and  Scenes  of 
Childhood  (third  edition,  1842),  from  which  this  piece  is  taken. 
She  is  also  the  author  ot  Paraphrases  and  Hymns  for  Congregational 
Singing,  1853.  Her  translations  from  the  Latin  and  German  lan- 
guages are  well  executed,  but  the  particulars  of  her  personal  history 
are  withheld. 

Saviour,  through  the  desert  lead  us. — Kelly. 

This  hymn,  by  Thomas  Kelly,  is  based  on  Ps.  78  :  53,  and  is 
in  seven  stanzas.      The  date  is  1804. 

Saviour,  thy  dying  love. — Phelps. 

In  the  first  series  of  Gospel  Hymns  we  find  this  hymn,  in  four 
stanzas,  with  the  title,  "Something  for  Jesus."  The  author  is 
Sylvanus  Dryden  Phelps,  D.D.— a  degree  received  from  Madison 
University  in  1854.  He  was  born  at  Suffield,  Conn.,  May  15th, 
1816,  graduated  at  Brown  University  in  1844,  and  then  entered 
the  ministry.  He  became  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church, 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  1846,  of  Jefferson  Street  church,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  1876,  and  at  this  same  date  was  editor  of  The  Christian 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  475 

Secretary,  published  at  Hartford,  Conn.  Dr.  Phelps's  writings 
comprise  Eloquence  of  Nature,  a?id  Other  Poems,  1842  ;  Sunlight 
and  Hearthlight  [poems],  1856  ;  Holy  Land:  a  Year  s  Tour,  1863 
(eleventh  edition,  1877)  ;  The  Poet's  Song,  etc.,  1867,  and  Bible 
Lands,  1869. 

Saviour,  visit  thy  plantation. — Newton. 

This  is  found  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  II.,  No.  51,  "  Prayer 
for  a  Revival,' '  and  is  in  five  stanzas. 

It  is  singular  that  no  one  has  remarked  the  imagery  of  this  hymn.  The 
man  who  wrote  it  was  formerly  employed  in  planting  lime  and  lemon 
trees  upon  his  master's  plantation  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sherbro  River,  in 
Africa.  When  the  slips  that  he  had  set  in  the  ground  were  "  no  higher 
than  a  young  gooseberry  bush,"  his  master  sneeringly  said  to  him: 
11  Who  knows  but  by  the  time  these  trees  grow  up  and  bear,  you  may  go 
home  to  England,  obtain  the  command  of  a  ship,  and  return  to  reap  the 
fruit  of  your  labors  ?  We  see  strange  things  sometimes  happen."  It 
was  meant,  and  understood,  as  a  contemptuous  speech,  but  John  Newton 
really  did  return,  in  command  of  a  ship,  and  with  some  hope  of  heaven 
in  his  heart,  and  saw  these  same  trees  grown  to  stature  and  bearing  fruit. 

Saviour,  when  in  dust  to  thee. — Grant. 

This  "  well-known  Litany"  is  No.  2  of  the  twelve  written  by 

Sir  Robert  Grant.      It  was  first  published  in  the  Christian  Observer, 

1815. 

Say,  sinner,  hath  a  voice  within. — Hyde. 

This  hymn  is  by  Mrs.  Abigail  (Bradley)  Hyde,  who  said  of  it 
that  it  was  "  written  down  from  my  lips,  by  a  young  sister,  when  I 
was  not  able  to  hold  up  my  head  from  the  pillow." 

There  are  six  stanzas  to  this  hymn  in  Nettleton's  Village  Hymns, 
1824,  and  it  is  accompanied  by  the  text,  Gen.  6  :  3. 

Saviour,  who  thy  flock  art  feeding. — Muhlenberg. 

In  May,  1826,  the  Hymn  Committee  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  met  in  New  York  City.  Bishop  Hobart,  Dr.  Turner,  Dr. 
Wilson,  and  Dr.  (then  Mr.)  Muhlenberg  constituted  the  working 
sub-committee  to  which  Dr.  H.  U.  Onderdonk  of  Brooklyn  was 
added.     Dr.  Muhlenberg  records  in  his  diary  : 

44  On  the  score  of  my  own  compositions,  amendments,  etc.,  I  have 
every  reason  to  be  satisfied.  '  Saviour,  who  thy  flock  art  feeding,'  and 
4  How  short  the  race  our  friend  has  run, '  '  Shout  the  glad  tidings, '  '  I  would 
not  live  alway,'  and  '  Like  Noah's  weary  dove,'  are  those  of  mine  which 


476  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

are  wholly  original.  I  am  aware  that  they  are  wanting  in  the  chief  ex- 
cellence of  a  hymn — devotional  spirit.  '  I  would  not  live  alway  '  was  at 
first  rejected  by  the  committee,  in  which  I,  not  suspected  of  being  the 
author,  agreed— knowing  it  was  rather  poetry  than  an  earnest  song  of 
redemption.     It  was  restored  at  the  urgent  request  of  Dr.  Onderdonk." 

Scorn  not  the  slightest  word  or  deed. — Anon.,  1845. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  Briggs's  (Unitarian)   Collection  (1845), 
and  Adams  and  Chapin's  (Universalist)  Hymn-Book   (1846).      In 
both  cases  it  is  credited  to  the  London  Inquirer. 

See  Israel's  gentle  Shepherd  stand. — Doddridge. 
In  Dr.    Doddridge's  hymns  this  is  No.   198  :   "  Christ's  Con- 
descending Regard  to  Little  Children. — Mark   10  :  14."      It  has 
five  stanzas  ;  the  date  is  1755. 

Perhaps  we  forget  the  little  phrases  of  the  evangelists  as  to  this  inci- 
dent. Matthew  says  that  Christ  was  expected  to  "  put  his  hands  on  them 
and  pray  ;"  Luke  that  he  should  "  touch"  them,  and  Mark  adds  that  he 
4<  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands  on  them  and  blessed  them." 
And  if  it  was  a  precious  memory  for  such  a  child  in  later  life  to  know 
that  he  had  once  been  in  the  Saviour's  arms,  how  precious  it  must  also  be 
to  one  who  knows — even  in  our  days — that  he  has  been  so  committed  to 
the  Lord's  love  in  his  earliest  moments. 

See,  the  Conqueror  mounts  in  triumph. — C.  Wordsworth. 
From  the  Holy  Year  of  Bishop  Christopher  Wordsworth,  1862. 

Servant  of  God,  well  done. — Montgomery. 
This  hymn  was  written  (about  1825)  to  commemorate  the  labors 
and  death  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Taylor,  a  Wesleyan  minister.  He 
co-operated  with  the  Wesleys  for  fifty-five  years,  refusing  handsome 
offers  elsewhere,  and  enduring  great  hardness  as  a  good  soldier. 
He  had  many  trials,  and  was  wretchedly  poor,  but  was  ultimately 
very  successful  in  Glasgow.  He  conducted  the  singing  at  his  own 
public  meetings,  but  not  until  he  had  spent  nearly  all  of  his  own 
money  in  hiring  a  precentor,  at  eight  cents  a  service,  to  "  lead  the 
psalms,"  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland.  At 
last  he  persuaded  his  congregation  to  take  to  the  Methodist  tunes 
and  hymns,  and  they  "  liked  them  right  well."  He  was  nearly 
eighty  when  he  was  called  away — a  veteran  honored  and  beloved. 
In  a  sermon  not  long  before  his  death  he  had  said  :  "  I  should  like 
to  die  like  an  old  soldier,  sword  in  hand." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  477 

The  piece  is  No.  311  in  the  Original  Hymns,  and  is  entitled, 
"  On  the  Death  of  an  Aged  Minister."  It  has  twelve  stanzas,  and 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  Charles  Wesley's 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done  ; 
Thy  glorious  warfare's  past," 

which  was  written  for  John  Wesley's  funeral  sermon  over  White- 
field,   November  18th,  1770.     The  date  of  the  present  hymn  is 

1816. 

See  the  eternal  Judge  descending. — Anon.,  1800. 

This  is  probably  an  American  hymn,  as  it  is  found  in  the  Balti- 
more Collection,  about  1800.  Its  stanza  and  style  are  very  sugges- 
tive of  Thomas  Kelly,  but  the  piece  does  not  appear  among  his 
hymns.  Dr.  Joshua  Leavitt  places  it,  in  seven  stanzas,  on  the 
same  page  with  "  Hark  !  the  voice  of  love  and  mercy,"  in  the 
Christian  Lyre,  1830.  The  version  in  Laudes  Domini  corresponds 
with  the  altered  form  (in  four  stanzas)  which  Hickok  gave  to  the 
hymn  in  his  Sacred  Harp,  1832. 

The  direct  and  awful  truth-telling  of  this  hymn  finds  an  instructive 
illustration  from  those  Welsh  preachers  who  were  celebrated  for  their 
honesty  and  force  in  proclaiming  the  Word  of  God.  One  of  them,  fami- 
liarly known  as  Billy  Breeze,  was  at  Bristol  about  the  year  1810  or  1812 
and  was  in  the  habit  of  making  addresses  which  were  very  forcible, 
though  not  expressed  in  the  most  fluent  English.  On  the  occasion  of 
which  we  are  writing,  he  was  associated  with  a  younger  man — a  semi- 
rationalist  fresh  from  the  schools.  Breeze  suffered  the  neophyte  to  speak 
first,  who  took  for  his  text,  "  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and  he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  He  handled  this  solemn  theme  in 
an  affected  and  puerile  fashion,  frequently  growing  sentimental  over  it, 
and  finally  begging  the  pardon  of  his  audience  for  the  sad  statement  that 
his  text  forced  him  to  make.  "  Indeed,"  said  he,  "  he  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not— indeed,  I  regret  to  say,  I  beg 
your  pardon  for  uttering  the  terrible  truth — but,  indeed,  he  shall  be  sen- 
tenced to  a  place  which  here  I  dare  not  mention." 

This  was  quite  beyond  the  patience  of  Mr.  Breeze,  which  had  already 
been  badly  strained.  He  was  in  no  mood  to  palter  with  divine  things. 
He  broke  out :  "  I  shall  take  the  same  text  to-night  which  you  have  just 
heard.  Our  young  friend  has  been  fery  foine  to-night  ;  he  has  told  you 
some  fery  polite  things.  I  am  not  fery  foine,  and  I  am  not  polite  ;  but 
I  will  preach  a  little  bit  of  Gospel  to  you,  which  is  this  :  '  He  that  be- 
lieveth shall  be  saved,  and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  tamned,'  and  I 
begs  no  pardons."  He  went  on  in  this  abrupt,  incisive  manner  for  some 
little  time,  at  the  close  of  each  paragraph  reiterating  the  text,  and  clinch- 


478  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ing  it  with  his  peculiar  disclaimer.  Finally  he  said  :  "  And  now  you  will 
say  to  me  :  '  What  do  you  mean  by  talking  to  us  in  this  way  ?  and  who 
are  you,  sir  ?  '  And  now  I  will  tell  you  I  am  Pilly  Preeze.  I  have 
come  from  the  mountains  of  Cardiganshire  on  my  Master's  business,  and 
his  message  I  must  deliver.  If  you  will  never  hear  me  again,  I  shall  not 
matter  much  ;  but  while  you  shall  hear  me,  you  shall  hear  me,  and  this 
is  his  word  to  me  and  in  me  to  you  :  '  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved, 
and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  tamned  '  ;  and  I  begs  no  pardons." 

The  plain  preacher  was  beset  by  the  deacons  in  the  vestry  after  service 
and  with  no  intervening  delay.  "  Mr.  Breeze,"  exclaimed  one,  "  your 
sermon  to-night  has  been  most  insolent  and  shameful."  And  after  a 
very  sharp  denunciation  of  such  discourses  and  preachers,  this  insulted 
church  officer  wound  up  by  saying  :  "  In  short,  I  don't  understand  you." 
"Ho,  ho!"  cried  Breeze.  "What!  you  say  you  don't  understand 
me.  Eh  !  look  you,  then,  I  will  tell  you  I  do  understand  you.  Up  in 
our  mountains  we  have  one  man  there,  we  do  call  him  exciseman.  He 
comes  along  to  our  shops  and  stores,  and  says  :  '  What  have  you  here  ? 
Anything  contraband  here  ?  '  And  if  it  is  all  right,  the  good  man  says  : 
1  Step  in,  Mr.  Exciseman  ;  come  in,  look  you.'  He  is  all  fair,  and  open 
and  above-board.  But  if  he  has  anything  secreted  there,  he  draws  back 
surprised,  and  he  makes  a  fine  face,  and  says  :  '  Sir,  I  don't  understand 
you.'  Now  you  do  tell  me  you  don't  understand  me  ;  but  I  do  under- 
stand you,  gentlemen.  I  do,  and  I  do  fear  you  have  something  contra- 
band here  ;  and  now  I  will  say  good-night  to  you  ;  but  I  must  tell  you 
one  little  word — that  is,  '  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  tamned,'  and  I  begs  no  pardons"  Authentic  tra- 
dition adds  that  this  wholesome  truth-telling  was  not  forgotten  by  the 
audience,  nor  by  the  church  officers. 

Shepherd,  with  thy  tenderest  care. — Anon.,  1865. 

In  Songs  for  the  Sanctuary,  1865,  this  first  appears.  In  Church 
Melodies  there  is  a  very  similar  hymn  : 

"  Shepherd  of  the  fold  of  God, 
Who  hast  bought  us  by  thy  blood, 
Make  these  little  ones  thy  care, 
Keep  their  hearts  from  every  snare  ; 
Bid  them  see  thy  heavenly  charms, 
Fold  them  in  thy  gracious  arms. 

M  Shepherd  of  the  fold  of  God, 
Who  the  vale  of  sonows  trod. 
Once  thyself  a  little  child, 
Holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
Now  these  waiting  children  see, 
Cause  them  to  resemble  thee. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  479 

"  Shepherd  of  the  fold  of  God, 
Hear  us  from  thy  high  abode  ; 
For  these  lambs  to  thee  we  cry  : 
Let  them  on  thy  grace  rely  ; 
Let  their  follies  be  forgiven, 
Fit  them  for  the  gate  of  heaven." 

The  earliest  Christian  hymn,  "  Shepherd  of  tender  youth  "  (Dr. 
Dexter' s  version),  is  doubtless  the  prototype  of  these  and  others  : 
as  the  23d  Psalm  is  of  them  all. 

Shall  we  gather  at  the  river  ? — Lowry. 

Rev.  Robert  Lowry,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  March 
12th,  1826.  In  1854  he  was  graduated  from  Lewisburg  Univer- 
sity in  Pennsylvania,  and  shortly  afterward  entered  the  Baptist 
ministry.  He  has  been  pastor  at  West  Chester,  Pa.,  and  in  New 
York  City  and  Brooklyn,  as  well  as  Professor  of  Belles-Lettres  in 
Lewisburg.  Thence  he  removed  to  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  where  he 
now  lives. 

The  present  hymn  was  written  on  a  sultry  afternoon  in  July, 
1864,  in  Dr.  Lowry' s  study  in  Elliott  Place,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Having  recorded  the  words  the  author  sat  down  at  his  parlor-organ 
and  composed  the  tune,  which  is  now  familiar  to  all  Sunday-school 
children  throughout  the  world. 

Shine,  mighty  God  !  on  Zion  shine. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.  67,  C.  M.,  "The  Nation's 
Prosperity  and  Church's  Increase. "  The  first  line  varies  from  the 
original,  which  reads,  "  Shine,  Mighty  God,  on  this  our  land." 
Dr.  Dwight  gives  still  another  opening,  "  Shine  on  our  land, 
Jehovah,  shine,"  etc.     There  are  seven  stanzas. 

Shine  on  our  souls,  eternal  God.  — Doddridge. 
This  is  No.  53  of  Dr.  Doddridge's  hymns,  with  the  title,  "Joy 
and  Prosperity  from  the  Presence  and  Blessing  of  God/'     It  is 
based  on  Ps.  90  :  17,  and  has  four  stanzas.      The  designation  of  it 
in  Laudes  Domini  &s  a  version  of  Ps.  134  is  therefore  incorrect. 

Shout  the  glad  tidings,  exultingly  sing. — Muhlenberg. 
This  was  one  of  the  hymns  appended  in   1826  to  the  American 
Episcopal  Prayer-Book  by  the  committee,  of  which  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg was  a  member,  and  to  which  he  submitted  this  with  others. 


480  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Shout,  0  earth  !  from  silence  waking. — W.  H.  Havergal. 

The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1841,  and  it  has  five  stanzas. 
Show  pity,  Lord  !   O  Lord,  forgive  ! — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  gives  us  here  his  rendering  of  Ps.  51.  It  is  the  First 
Part,  L.  M.,  "A  Penitent  Pleading  for  Pardon, "and  has  six 
stanzas. 

"  Surely,"  said  a  servant  to  her  master  after  hearing  the  51st, 
130th,  and  1 1 6th  Psalms,  "surely  some  persons  long  ago  must 
have  felt  as  I  feel,  for  those  Psalms  seem  to  have  been  written  for 
their  use  and  comfort. ' ' 

Since  Jesus  is  my  friend. — Winkworth,  tr. 
Miss  Catherine  Winkworth  has  given  us  this  fine  version  of  Paul 
Gerhardt's  hymn,  "  1st  Gott  fur  mich,  so  trete."  The  present 
hymn  is  a  cento  from  the  translation  there  given,  commencing  with 
the  second  half  of  the  first  stanza,  "  If  Jesus  be  my  friend."  See, 
11  Here  I  can  firmly  rest." 

Since  thy  Father's  arm. — H.  A.  P.,  tr. 

The  initials  '*  H.  A.  P."  are  appended  to  this  hymn  in  Sursum 
Corda,  1877,  a  very  beautiful  little  collection  of  verses  compiled  by 
Mrs.  Tileston,  and  published  by  Roberts  Brothers,  Boston.  The 
translation  is  from  the  German  of  Karl  Rudolph  Hagenbach,  but 
the  editor  mentions  nothing  further  as  to  him  or  as  to  the  trans- 
lator. 

While  Hagenbach  is  eminent  as  a  Church  historian  and  theolog- 
ical professor,  it  scarcely  occurs  to  us  that  he  has  a  claim  also 
upon  the  hymnologist.  His  name  does  not  meet  us  in  Rubier' s 
long  and  excellent  list  of  German  hymn-writers,  and  his  biographers 
do  not  dwell  on  this  side  of  his  character.  But  the  facts  of  his  life 
are  easily  secured. 

He  was  born  at  Basel,  March  4th,  1801,  and  educated  at  Basel 
and  at  Bonn.  Thence  he  went  to  Berlin  and  came  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Schleiermacher  and  Neander.  Returning  to  Basel, 
through  the  influence  of  De  Wette,  he  began  to  teach  in  1823, 
and  was  soon  made  professor,  continuing  his  connection  with  the 
University  until  his  death.  In  1873  ne  celebrated  his  fiftieth  an- 
niversary in  this  relation.  During  these  years  he  had  been  widely 
influential  as  a  preacher  in  addition  to  his  fame  as  a  scholar  and 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  48 1 

instructor.  In  Basel  he  was  born,  in  Basel  he  spent  his  life,  and 
in  Basel  he  died,  June  7th,  1874.  He  is  best  remembered  by  his 
History  of  Doctrine  (Dogmengeschichte)  1840  (fifth  edition,  1867), 
and  his  History  of  the  Reformation  (English  edition,  1878). 

Sing,  O  heavens  !  O  earth  rejoice. — Monsell. 
Mr.    Monsell  calls  this  "  A  Hymn  for  Ascension  Day,"  and 
places  it  in  his  Hymns  of  Love  and  Praise.     It  has  five  four-line 
stanzas,  which  are  condensed  in  Laudes  Domini  into  two  double 
stanzas,  with  the  omission  of  the  fourth  of  the  original  and  of  the 
"  Alleluia  "  after  each  verse.     The  text  appended  is  Ps.  47  :  5>  6. 
Sing,  sing  his  lofty  praise.  — Kelly. 
As  found  in  Thomas  Kelly's  fifth  edition,  1820,  this  is  in  six 
stanzas,  with  a  reference  to  Ps.  147  :  12. 

Sing  to  the  Lord  a  joyful  song. — Monsell. 
This  is  the  first  hymn  in  Hymns  of  Love  and  Praise,  by  Rev. 
John  S.  B.  Monsell,  LL.D.  It  is  based  upon  Ps.  145  :  xi  2» 
and  consists  of  five  double  stanzas,  of  which  the  present  four-line 
stanzas  in  Laudes  Domini  are  the  halves — the  second  verse  being 
the  chorus  to  each  in  turn  : 

"  For  he's  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth. 
Whom  angels  serve  and  saints  adore, 
The  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
To  whom  be  praise  forevermore." 
The  royal  gardens  of  an  English  king  were  once  thrown  open  to  the 
people,  who,  as  it  soon  appeared,  were  too  fond  of  the  flowers  to  keep 
their  hands  from  them.     The  gardener  complained  to  His  Majesty,  but 
the  king  only  said  :  "  What,  are  they  so  fond  of  flowers  ?     Then  plant 
some  more  !"  And  thus,  in  his  generosity,  God  deals  with  us.    Our  prin- 
cipal enjoyment  is  in  the  destruction  of  what  is  so  welcome  and  so  beauti- 
ful ;  but  he  only  plants  fresh  flowers,  more  and  more. 

Sing  we  the  song  of  those  who  stand. — Montgomery. 
This  is  found  in  James  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns,  where  it 
consists  of  six  stanzas,  and  is  entitled  "  The  Church  Militant  learn- 
ing the  Church  Triumphanfs  Song. ' '  The  date  is  variously  given 
as  1825,  1846  and  1853.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  amend- 
ments of  Montgomery  himself.  The  author  has  sometimes  been 
called,  "  the  Cowper  of  the  nineteenth  century,"  which  is  praise 
above  his  desert. 


482  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

He  was  born  in  1771,  at  Irvine,  in  Ayrshire,  the  region  so  long 
famous  as  the  native  place  of  Robert  Burns.  When  he  was  about 
five  years  old,  his  father,  who  was  a  Moravian  clergyman,  removed 
to  Grace  Hill,  a  settlement  of  the  United  Brethren  near  Ballymena, 
Ireland,  and  shortly  afterward  to  Fulneck,  in  Yorkshire,  England. 
Thus,  by  the  time  he  was  eight  years  old,  the  child  had  resided  in 
Scotland,  Ireland  and  England. 

The  greater  part  of  James  Montgomery' s  life,  however,  was  spent 
in  Sheffield,  to  which  town  his  name  and  that  of  Ebenezer  Elliott 
have  contributed  much  poetical  renown.  Of  his  hymns,  William 
Howitt  says  :  "  Perhaps  there  are  no  lyrics  in  the  language  which 
are  so  truly  Christian.  We  feel  that  he  has  caught  the  genuine 
spirit  of  Christ. "  It  is  by  his  hymns  that  Montgomery  is  remem- 
bered rather  than  by  his  more  ambitious  poetry.  "  Prayer  is  the 
soul's  sincere  desire  " — though  not  strictly  a  hymn — will  long  out- 
last the  Pelican  Island;  and  "Hail  to  the  Lord's  Anointed"  is 
loved  by  plenty  of  persons  who  never  heard  of  The  World  before 
the  Flood,  or  The  Wanderer  of  Switzerland.  But  in  these  produc- 
tions, as  in  his  hymns,  the  poet  spoke  words  of  truth  and  sober- 
ness. His  West  Indies  is  an  anti-slavery  document  of  the  most  im- 
pressive sort.  This  grew  out  of  the  circumstance  of  his  parents 
being  sent  as  missionaries  to  the  West  Indies  in  1783,  where  they 
died  and  were  buried,  one  in  Barbadoes  and  the  other  in  Tobago. 

After  his  education  at  Fulneck — which  Mr.  Howitt  describes  in 
his  Homes  and  Haunts — we  find  Montgomery  in  1787,  at  Mirfield, 
near  Wakefield,  in  a  retail  shop.  He  was  kindly  treated,  but  was 
anxious  to  live  in  London,  and  engage  in  literature.  This  was 
not  so  successful  as  he  hoped,  and  he  soon  returned  to  the  counter 
at  Wath,  near  Rotherham,  and  in  1792  he  made  his  permanent 
home  in  Sheffield.  Here  he  assisted  Mr.  Gales,  printer  of  the 
Register \  of  which  he  became  editor  in  1794.  He  changed  its 
name  to  the  Iris,  and  conducted  it  for  thirty  years.  As  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  paper  were  too  liberal  for  the  Government's  ideas, 
Montgomery  was  twice  fined  and  imprisoned,  and  to  this  imprison- 
ment we  are  indebted  for  many  of  his  best  hymns.  He  never 
married,  and  was  subject  frequently  to  fits  of  religious  despond- 
ency. In  this  respect  he  was  certainly  very  like  Cowper.  The 
Government  (by  way,  perhaps,  of  atonement)  at  length  gave  him 
a  literary  pension  of  two  hundred  pounds  a  year,  and  from   1822, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  483 

until  his  death  in  1854,  he  enriched  the  hymnody  of  the  Church 
universal  with  many  admirable  lyrics. 

He  states  that  as  a  boy  he  wrote  much  poetry  in  the  form  of 
hymns  ;  as  a  man  less  ;  and  when,  in  middle  life,  he  undertook  it 
again,  it  was  only  done  with  diffidence  and  difficulty.  He  com- 
posed his  verses,  indeed,  "  very  slowly  and  only  by  fits,"  when  he 
could  rouse  his  "  indolent  powers  into  exertion."  He  is  desirous 
to  "  lie  in  wait  for  his  heart  "  and  have  it  strung  "  to  the  pitch  of 
David's  lyre."  When  seriously  ill  and  quite  advanced  in  years 
he  once  offered  some  of  his  hymns  to  his  attending  physician  that 
they  might  be  read  aloud  to  him.  But  he  became  very  much 
affected  by  them,  saying  that  every  one  embodied  some  distinct  ex- 
perience, and  adding  that  he  hoped  they  might  be  profitable  to 
others  from  this  fact.  His  death  occurred  April  30th,  1854,  dur- 
ing his  sleep. 

Hugh  Miller,  in  the  Witness,  has  described  Montgomery's  bear- 
ing and  presence  when  he  visited  Edinburgh  during  his  later  years. 

"  His  appearance  speaks  of  antiquity  and  not  of  decay.  His  hair  has 
assumed  a  snowy  whiteness,  and  the  lofty  and  full-arched  coronal  regions 
exhibit  what  a  brother  poet  has  well  termed  the  '  clear,  bald  polish  of  the 
honored  head  ; '  but  the  expression  of  the  countenance  is  that  of  middle 
life.  It  is  a  thin,  clear,  speaking  countenance  ;  the  features  are  high, 
the  complexion  fresh,  though  not  ruddy,  and  age  has  failed  to  pucker 
either  cheek  or  forehead  with  a  single  wrinkle.  .  .  .  The  figure  is  quite 
as  little  touched  by  age  as  the  face.  It  is  well,  but  not  strongly  made, 
and  of  the  middle  size  ;  and  yet  there  is  a  touch  of  antiquity  about  it, 
too,  derived,  however,  rather  from  the  dress  than  from  any  peculiarity  of 
the  person  itself.  To  a  plain  suit  of  black  Mr.  Montgomery  adds  the 
voluminous  breast-ruffles  of  the  last  age,  exactly  such  things  as,  in  Scot- 
land, at  least,  the  fathers  of  the  present  generation  wore  on  their  wedding- 
days."  He  was  at  that  time  just  threescore  and  ten,  and  continued  on 
earth  for  thirteen  years  longer. 

Sing  with  all  the  sons  of  glory.  — Irons. 

The  author  of  "  Day  of  wrath  !  Oday  of  mourning"  —  the  most 
popular  English  rendering  of  the  '  'Dies  Irce, ' '  1 848 — is  also  the  au- 
thor of  this  hymn,  1875.  R-ev-  William  Joseph  Irons,  D.D.,  was 
bornatHoddesdon,  Hertfordshire,  England,  September  12th,  181 2, 
and  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Irons  (178  5-1 8  5  2),  who  wrote  a  few 
hymns  which  have  not  been  generally  adopted.  The  father  was  first 
a  builder  and  then  an  Independent  minister  ;  the  son  became  cele- 


484  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

brated  for  his  adherence  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  for  his 
High  Church  views.  Young  Irons  was  educated  at  Queen's  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  1833,  became  curate  of  St.  Mary's,  Newington, 
1835  ;  vicar  of  St.  Peter's,  Walworth,  1837  ;  vicar  of  Barkway, 
Hertfordshire,  1838  ;  and  of  Brompton,  London,  1842.  He  has 
since  then  been  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's,  London,  and  rector  of  St. 
Mary-Woolnoth. 

Dr.  Irons 's  writings  are  ecclesiastical  and  controversial.  His 
hymns  are  derived  from  the  Metrical  Psalter,  1857,  and  the  Psalms 
and  Hymns  for  the  Church,  one  hundred  and  ninety  in  number, 
1875.  He  died,  June  18th,  1883.  The  middle  name  of  Dr.  Irons 
is  variously  given.  The  Schaff-Gilman  Library  of  Religious  Poetry 
has  it  "Josiah."  Dr.  Allibone  writes  "Jonah."  We  follow 
Routledge's  Men  of  the  Time. 

Sinners,  turn,  why  will  ye  die  ? — C.  Wesley. 

This  hymn  is  from  a  very  long  poem  (sixteen  eight-line  stanzas) 
on  Ezek.  18:31.  It  is  taken  from  Hymns  on  God's  Everlasting 
Love  (1741-56).  The  present  piece  in  Laudes  Domini  contains 
the  first  three  stanzas  entire  and  nearly  unaltered.  After  these 
have  been  taken,  the  remainder  of  the  poem  is  unfit  for  use  as  a 
hymn. 

The  Hymns  on  God's  Everlasting  Love  first  appeared  in  1741,  a 
second  edition  (enlarged)  in  1756,  a  third  in  1770,  and  a  fourth 
in  1792. 

They  were  in  the  form  of  a  tract  which  consisted  of  two  parts, 
of  thirty-six  (1741)  and  forty-eight  pages  (1756)  respectively. 
The  change  from  ' '  you  "  to  "  ye  "  which  can  be  noticed  in 
modern  versions,  is  the  work  of  John  Wesley. 

Sion,  to  thy  Saviour  singing.  — A.  R.  Thompson,  tr. 
Among  the  best  class  of  recent  translators  from  the  Latin  stands 
our  American  pastor  and  scholar,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Ramsay 
Thompson,  D.D.  He  was  born  in  New  York  City,  October  2 2d, 
1822,  graduated  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York 
(1842),  pursued  a  theological  course  at  Princeton  (1842-45),  and 
was  licensed  in  the  latter  year,  by  the  Second  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  to  preach  the  Gospel.  After  preaching  as  an  assistant  pastor 
in  Brooklyn  (Central  church,  R.  P.  D. )  and  in  New  York  (Astor 
Place  Presbyterian  church)  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Pres- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  485 

byterian  church  of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  and  was  ordained  January 
10th,  1846,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  (O.  S.).  Dr.  Hatfield 
has  collected  with  his  usual  care  the  exact  statistics  of  Dr.  Thomp- 
son's pastorates,  which  we  can  here  summarize.  He  gathered  a 
congregation  in  East  Brooklyn  (1848)  ;  then  was  pastor,  Tomp- 
kinsville,  Staten  Island,  R.  P.  D.  church  (1848-51)  ;  Stapleton, 
Staten  Island,  R.  P.  D.  (1851-58)  ;  Stated  Supply,  Second  Con- 
gregational church,  Bridgeport,  Conn.  (1859-62);  associate  pas- 
tor with  Dr.  G.  W.  Bethune,  St.  Paul's  R.  P.  D.  church,  New 
York  City,  and  at  his  death  sole  pastor  (1862-74)  ;  North  Re- 
formed church  (R.  P.  D. ),  Brooklyn  (1874-).  Dr.  Thompson's 
renderings  of  the  Latin  hymns  have  latterly  appeared  in  the  Sun- 
day-School Times,  Philadelphia. 

The  present  hymn  is  the  "  Lauda  Sion  Salvatorem,"  the  famous 
hymn  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  for  whom  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn- 
Writers  and  their  Hymns."  It  appeared  in  1883  in  the  Sunday- 
School  Times.  There  is  further  information  under  "  Here  the 
King,"  etc. 

Dr.  Thompson's  best-known  translation  is,  "  The  morning  pur- 
ples all  the  sky,"  which  is  the  "Aurora  caelum  purpurat"  an 
"  Ambrosian"  hymn. 

Sit  down  beneath  his  shadow. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  Miss  Havergal' s  Poems,  p.  92.      It  is 
a   Communion    hymn,    "Under    His     Shadow.  —  Cant.    2  :  3," 
and  has  six  stanzas.     Her  own  date  for  it  in  Songs  of  Grace  and 
Glory  is  1870. 

Sleep  thy  last  sleep. — Dayman. 

This  hymn  first  appeared  in  the  Sarum  Hymnal,  1868. 

So  let  our  lips  and  lives  express. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymn  132,  Book  L,  and  was  first  printed 
to  follow  a  sermon  on  Titus  2  :  10-13.    Its  title  is,  "  Holiness  and 
Grace,"  and  it  has  four  stanzas. 

So  rest,  our  Rest,  thou  ever  blest. — Massie,  tr. 

This  hymn,  in  seven  stanzas,  is  one  of  Solomon  Frank's  seven 

Passion  Hymiis,  and  is  addressed  to  "  Jesus  in  the  Grave."     Some 

have  assigned   the  present  translation   to   Rev.    William   Mercer 

(1811-1873),    1861.     It  certainly  appears  in  six  stanzas  in  his 


486  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Psalter ■,  a  copy  of  which,  annotated  by  the  veteran  Daniel  Sedg- 
wick, is  now  before  us.  But  Sedgwick,  who  has  marked  all  the 
other  hymns  of  Mercer  with  great  care,  has  not  credited  him  with 
this  one.      It  is  a  version  by  Richard  Massie,  made  in  1856. 

There  is  another  rendering  of  this  same  hymn  by  Miss  Wink- 
worth,  ' '  Rest  of  the  weary  !  Thou, ' '  which  is  found  in  Lyra 
Germanicdy  I  :  85.  There  is  still  a  third  in  the  Psalms  and  Hymns 
of  Arthur  Tozer  Russell,  No.  103. 

The  composer  of  the  original  German  hymn,  Solomon  Frank, 
was  born  at  Weimar  on  the  6th  of  March,  1659.  The  facts  relat- 
ing to  his  life  are  very  obscure.  He  is  known  to  have  written 
many  hymns  on  death  and  heaven,  and  of  the  three  hundred  which 
have  been  identified  with  his  name  there  are  some  which  are  quite 
excellent.  He  was  an  admirer  of  Rist,  and  these  Passion  Hymns  were 
published  first  in  171 6.  The  original  of  this  hymn  is,  ilSo  ruhest 
Du,  O  meine  Ruh, ' '  and  it  is  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Schaff's  Gesangbuch. 

Frank,  who  must  be  distinguished  from  Johann  Frank  and  A. 
H.  Franke,  was  Secretary  to  the  Consistorium  of  Weimar,  and  died 
in  that  town,  June  nth,  1725.  He  is  also  the  author  of  another 
hymn,  familiar  to  us  in  its  translation  as,  "I  know  my  end  must 
surely  come." 

Softly  fades  the  twilight  ray. — S.  F.  Smith. 

The  author,  Rev.  Samuel  Francis  Smith,  D.D.,  contributed  this 
hymn,  with  several  others,  to  the  Psalmist,  a  Baptist  collection,  in 
1843.  I*  was  written — so  he  has  kindly  informed  us — in  1832. 
What  the  circumstances  were  which  led  him  to  compose  it,  we  are 
not  aware  ;  but  it  has  the  true  melody  of  an  evening  song,  such  as 
the  early  Christians  used  to  sing  in  those  days  which  Dr.  Cave 
commemorates,  when  at  their  toil  or  in  their  houses,  and  at 
morning  and  noon  and  evening  their  thanks  and  praises  could  be 
heard  ascending  in  sweet  strains  to  God.  The  beautiful  little  poem 
by  Miss  Dora  Green  well,  entitled  "  Vespers,"  may  fittingly  take  its 
place  by  the  side  of  such  a  hymn  of  tranquil  devotion  as  this  : 

"  When  I  have  said  my  quiet  say, 

When  I  have  sung  my  little  song, 
How  sweetly,  sweetly  dies  the  day 

The  valley  and  the  hill  along  ; 
How  sweet  the  summons,  '  Come  away,' 

That  calls  me  from  the  busy  throng  ! 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  487 

"  I  tLougbt  beside  the  water's  flow 

Awhile  to  lie  beneath  the  leaves, 
I  thought  in  Autumn's  harvest  glow 

To  rest  my  head  upon  the  sheaves  ; 
But,  lo  !  methinks  the  day  was  brief 

And  cloudy  ;  flower,  nor  fruit,  nor  leaf 
I  bring,  and  yet  accepted,  free 

And  blest,  my  Lord,  I  come  to  Thee. 

"  What  matter  now  for  promise  lost, 

Through  blast  of  Spring,  or  Summer  rains  ! 
What  matter  now  for  purpose  crost, 

For  broken  hopes  and  wasted  pains  ; 
What  if  the  olive  little  yields, 

What  if  the  grape  be  blighted  ?  Thine 
The  corn  upon  a  thousand  fields, 

Upon  a  thousand  hills  the  vine. 

"  Thou  lovest  still  the  poor  ;  oh,  blest 

In  poverty  beloved  to  be  J 
Less  lowly  is  my  choice  confess'd, 

I  love  the  rich  in  loving  Thee  ! 
My  spirit  bare  before  Thee  stands, 

I  bring  no  gift,  I  ask  no  sign, 
I  come  to  Thee  with  empty  hands 

The  surer  to  be  filled  from  Thine  !" 

Softly  now  the  light  of  day. — Doane. 

Rev.  George  Washington  Doane,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  in 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  27th,  1799.  He  was  graduated  from  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  in  1818,  and  was  ordained  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Episcopalian  Church,  August  6th,  1823,  the  cere- 
mony taking  place  in  New  York  City.  Here  he  at  once  became 
an  assistant  in  Trinity  parish,  and  in  1825  removed  to  Hartford, 
to  assume  the  duties  of  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Belles-Leitres  in 
Washington,  now  Trinity,  College.  Three  years  later  he  was 
selected  as  the  assistant  minister,  and  finally  became  rector  of 
Trinity  church,  Boston.  From  this  position  he  was  elevated  to 
the  dignity  of  the  episcopate,  November  31st,  1832,  and  put  in 
charge  of  the  diocese  of  New  Jersey  until  his  death,  in  Burlington, 
N.  J.,  April  27th,  1859.  It  is  his  son,  Rev.  William  Crosswell 
Doane,  D.D.,  who  was  the  first  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Albany, 
and  who  has  written  a  memoir  of  his  father. 

We  owe  to  Bishop  Doane  a  singular  debt  of  gratitude,  for  it  was 


488  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

he  who  gave  to  the  Christian  Year  of  Keble  very  much  of  its  vogue 
in  America.  There  now  lies  before  the  present  writer  a  copy  of 
the  first  American  edition,  1834,  enriched  with  Bishop  Doane's 
annotations,  and  dedicated  to  his  "  next  friend  and  more  than 
brother,  the  Rev.  William  Crosswell,  rector  of  Christ  church, 
Boston."  For  the  use  of.  this  volume  he  is  indebted  to  Rev.  E. 
E.  Rankin,  D.D.,  of  Newark,   N.   J.     The  hymn  itself  is  dated 

1826. 

Sometimes  a  light  surprises.  — Cowper. 

This  hymn  was  the  last  that  Rev.  R.  M.  McCheyne  seemed  to 
comprehend  upon  his  dying  bed.  His  sister  read  it  to  him, 
March  21st,  1843 — four  days  before  his  death — and  he  appeared 
to  know  it.  Then  came  on  the  delirium,  but  even  in  that  delirium 
he  was  engaged  in  laboring  for  his  people — fancying  that  he  was 
pleading  or  praying  with  them,  and  once  saying:  "  You  may  soon 
get  me  away,  but  that  will  not  save  your  souls."  In  his  final  mo- 
ments he  raised  his  hands  as  if  pronouncing  the  benediction,  and 
so  sank  away  to  his  eternal  rest.  "  He  was  so  sanctified,"  says  a 
reviewer  of  his  life,  "  his  heart  was  a  perpetual  hymn." 

Cowper  contributed  this  as  the  forty-eighth  hymn  of  Book  III. 
of  the  Olney  Hymns,  in  four  double  stanzas.  It  has  two  suggestive 
scriptural  notes.  One  to  the  "  unknown  to-morrow"  refers  us 
to  Matt.  6  :  34  ;  the  other  to  the  "  vine  and  fig-tree  "  draws  our 
attention  to  Hab.  3  :  17,  18.  It  is  interesting  to  know  in  this, 
as  in  other  cases,  what  special  part  of  God's  Word  was  influencing 
the  hymn-writer's  mind. 

There  is,  by  the  way,  no  good  reason  for  placing  ' '  Rev. ' '  be- 
fore Cowper' s  name  as  is  now  sometimes  done.  He  probably 
"  preached  "  a  few  times,  but  that  was  all  ;  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  looked  upon  himself,  or  to  have  been  looked  upon,  in  that 
ecclesiastical  light. 

Son  of  God,  to  thee  I  cry. — Mant. 

Bishop  Richard  Mant  wrote  this  as  an  original  hymn,  and  its 
precise  shape  can  be  seen  in  Dr.  Roger's  Lyra  Britaimica.  The 
present  hymn  in  Laudcs  Domini  is  derived  from  the  Church  Hymnal 
(Dublin,  1853),  and  fuses  the  one  printed  as  above  with  another 
by  the  same  author,  "  Jesus,  our  Light  and  Saviour,"  which  Lyra 
Britannica  also  gives  on  p.  393.     The  latter  is  the  one  which  is 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  4^9 

followed   through   three  stanzas   out  of  the  four.     The  former  is 
found  in  Dr.  Mant's  "  Holydays  of  the  Church,"  1831. 
Songs  of  praise  the  angels  sang. —Montgomery. 
This  is  No.  90  in  James  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns,  consist- 
ing of  six  stanzas,  and   is  of  the  date  1819,  when  it  appeared  in 
Criteria s  Selection.     It  is  entitled  ' '  Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest, 
and  he  has  affixed  to  it  the  text,  Luke  2:13.     To  those  who  think 
that  fine  scenery  and  extended  landscape  are  necessary  for  poetic 
inspiration  it  may  be  well  to  commend  the  words  of  Montgomery 
himself  : 

"  From  the  room  in  which  I  sit  to  write,  and  where  some  of  my  hap- 
piest pieces  have  been  produced,"  he  said  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Everett, 
"  all  the  prospect  I  have  is  a  confined  yard,  wheie  there  are  some  mis- 
erable  old  walls,  and  the  back  of  houses  which  present  to  the  eye  neither 
beauty,  variety  nor  anything  else  calculated  to  inspire  a  single  thought 
except  concerning  the  rough  surface  of  the  bricks,  the  corners  of  which 
have  either  been  chopped  off  by  violence,  or  fretted  away  by  the  weather. 
No  ;  as  a  general  rule,  whatever  of  poetry  is  to  be  derived  from  scenery 
must  be  secured  before  we  sit  down  to  compose  ;  the  impressions  must 
be  made  already,  and  the  mind  must  be  abstracted  from  surrounding 
objects.  It  will  not  do  to  be  expatiating  abroad  jn  observations  when 
we  should  be  at  home  in  concentration    of  thought." 

Soon  may  the  last  glad  song  arise.—  Voke  (?),  1816. 
This  is  Prof.  Bird's  and  the  English  ascription.  The  hymn  is, 
however,  not  from  the  Baptist  Magazine,  1 8 1 6.  He  queries  it  thus 
as  "  in  Mrs.  Voke's  style  and  on  her  favorite  subject. "  We  think 
there  is  great  doubt  of  the  authorship.  The  missionary  hymns  of 
that  era  are  very  like  to  each  other. 

Soul,  then  know  thy  full  salvation. — Lyte. 
Among  Mr.  Lyte's  flock  at  Brixham  were  many  odd  characters. 
There  was  a  great  deal  of  doctrinal  debate,  especially  between 
Arminians  and  Calvinists.  An  old  Arminian  was  once  seen  of  a 
Sunday  morning,  just  outside  the  door  of  the  Calvinistic  chapel, 
stirring  a  very  filthy  pool  with  a  stick.  He  was  notorious  as  a  con- 
troversialist, so  his  opponents  gathered  around  him  and  asked  what 
he  was  looking  after.  Still  probing  in  the  mud,  he  said  :  "  I  am 
searching  for  the  eternal  decrees  ! "  It  was  such  people  whom  Mr. 
Lyte  had  to  encounter— who  could  tolerate  stagnant  water  in  front 
of  a  chapel   door,    and  who  could  stir  it  with  a  stick  in  order  to 


490  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

taunt  their  adversaries.  But  how  grandly  does  the  doctrine  of  the 
divine  will  shine  forth  in  this  beautiful  hymn  !  "  It  is  of  no 
consequence,"  says  Hans  Andersen's  beautiful  story,  "if  one  is 
born  in  a  duck's  nest,  provided  it  is  only  from  a  swan's  egg." 

The  present  hymn  is  a  portion  of  the  better-known  lyric, 
"Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken,"  which  was  composed,  in  six 
double  stanzas,  by  Mr.  Lyte  in  1834.  It  commences  in  the  origi- 
nal not  as  given  here,  but,  "  Take,  my  soul,  thy  full  salvation," 
and  embraces  the  last  two  stanzas  of  the  larger  piece. 

Sovereign  of  worlds  !  display  thy  power. — B.  H.  Draper. 

The  facts  relative  to  this  hymn  have  been  long  sought.  It  has, 
in  its  original  form,  seven  stanzas,  and  has  been  cut  in  twain  and 
made  into  two  hymns,  the  second  commencing  with  the  line, 
"Ye  Christian  heralds,  go,  proclaim."  The  mythical  "Mrs. 
Voke' '  has  frequently  received  the  credit  of  it,  but  it  is  found  in 
Elias  Smith's  and  Abner  Jones's  Hymns  for  the  Use  of  Christians, 
Portland,  Me.,  1805 — and  the  title  is,  "  On  the  Departure  of  the 
Missionaries.     By  a  Bristol  Student." 

We  are  indebted  to  the  assiduity  of  Rev.  John  Forsyth,  D.  D. , 
of  Newburgh,  N.  Y. ,  for  the  final  solution  of  the  problem.  He 
printed  in  the  New  York  Independent,  September  17th,  1885,  a  full 
account  of  the  matter,  which  we  condense. 

Rev.  Bourne  Hall  Draper,  whose  initials,  "  B.  H.  D.,"  have 
at  length  identified  him  with  the  "  Bristol  Student,"  was  born  at 
Cumnor,  near  Oxford,  England,  in  1775.  He  came  of  a  Church 
of  England  family,  and  was  intended  for  the  ministry,  but  poverty 
prevented  his  studies.  He  then  became  an  apprentice  to  the  print- 
ing business  at  the  Clarendon  Press,  Oxford  ;  joined  the  Baptist 
church  in  Oxford  ;  and,  on  completing  his  apprenticeship,  was 
recommended  by  that  church  as  a  student,  and  admitted  to  the 
Baptist  Academy  at  Bristol,  then  under  the  care  of  Rev.  John 
Ryland,  D.D.,  author  of  the  hymn,  "  In  all  my  Lord's  appointed 
ways. ' '  It  was  natural  that  the  young  man  should  take  to  hymn- 
writing  in  that  atmosphere,  and  this  piece  must  have  been  com- 
posed between  1802,  when  he  entered,  and  1804,  when  he  was 
ordained  as  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  of  Chipping-Norton, 
Oxfordshire.  The  "  departure  of  the  missionaries  "  fixes  the  date, 
for  they  sailed  December  1st,   1803. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


491 


Mr.  Draper  removed  from  this  position  to  another  church  at 
Southampton,  where  he  died,  October,  1843.  He  was  a  man  of 
piety  and  earnestness  ;  wrote  little  books  for  children,  and  pub- 
lished some  other  devotional  works  and  sermons — thirty- six  in  all. 
His  hymns  are  not  traceable,  though  the  Baptist  Magazine  contains 
a  good  deal  of  fugitive  poetry  signed  with  his  initials. 

Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed. — Montgomery. 
In  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns  (1853)  this  is  Hymn  255, 
"  The  Field  of  the  World."      It  has  seven  stanzas. 

"  Deeply  interested  as  the  Sheffield  bard  always  was  in  the  spiritual  as 
well  as  the  moral  and  social  welfare  of  the  young,  he  wrote  a  new  hymn 
for  each  Whit-Monday  gathering  of  the  Sunday-schools  of  the  town  dur- 
ing a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  his  hymn  usually  was  the  first  on  the 
broadsheet  annually.  As  many  as  twenty  thousand  children  have  joined 
at  one  service  there  to  sing  the  praises  of  God  in  the  words  of  their 
honored  townsman." 

Speak  to  me,  Lord,  thyself  reveal. — C.  Wesley. 
This  is  taken  from  verses  entitled    "On  a  Journey,"    1740. 
The  second  stanza,  chosen  here  as  the  first,  begins,  '*  Talk  to  me, 
Lord,  thyself  reveal."     There  are  six  stanzas  in  all. 

Spirit  of  God  !  descend  upon  my  heart. — Croly. 

Rev.  George  Croly,  LL.D.,  is  credited  by  Dr.  Allibone  with 
the  authorship  of  thirty-one  distinct  volumes  and  treatises.  He 
was  born  in  Dublin,  August  17th,  1780,  and  was  educated  at 
Trinity  College  in  that  city,  being  graduated  in  1798,  and  M.  A., 
1804.  His  life  as  a  clergyman  is  identified  with  his  long  rector- 
ship of  St.  Stephen's,  Wallbrook,  London,  to  which  was  added  the 
living  (oddly  named)  of  St.  Benedict  Sherehog.  He  was  given 
both  by  Lord  Brougham.  The  theme  of  his  writings  is  usually 
religious,  but  he  has  composed  at  least  one  masterpiece  in  fiction, 
Salathiel ;  and  another  in  poetry,  Catiline  :  a  Tragedy.  Of  his 
minor  pieces  the  best  is  "  Earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to  dust."  In 
1854  he  published  Psalms  and  Hymns  for  Public  Worship,  to  which 
he  contributed  ten  psalms  and  ten  hymns.  There  are  five  stanzas 
to  the  present  piece,  and  its  text  of  Scripture  is  Gal.  5  .-25. 

Dr.  Croly  died  suddenly,  November  24th,  i860,  while  walking 
in  Holborn,  London.  He  was  an  extreme  Conservative  in  politics 
and  a  fierce  opponent  of  Liberalism  of  every  sort. 


492 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


"J.  D.,"  the  "author  of  the  Life  of  Chatterton,"  dating  his 
book  from  London,  March,  185 1,  has  given  among  other  Pen 
Pictures  a  capital  sketch  of  our  author  in  the  pulpit. 

The  parish  church  of  St.  Stephen,  Wallbrook,  he  says,  is  "  in  an  out- 
of-the-way  thoroughfare  at  the  back  of  the  Mansion  House,"  and  has 
been  celebrated  "  for  its  filthy  condition,  and  for  the  warfare  of  its  vicar 
with  Alderman  Gibbs." 

The  audience  on  that  particular  morning  was  quite  small.  Three 
fourths  of  the  pews  were  unfilled,  and  "  the  remainder  had,  on  a  average, 
about  two  persons  each  in  them.  There  were,"  continues  J.  D.,  "  half  a 
dozen  benches,  and  these  were  occupied  by  miserable,  old-looking  charity 
children,  frightfully  dressed,  and  who  appeared  much  as  our  great-grand- 
fathers and  great-grandmothers  might  be  supposed  to  look,  when  sur- 
veyed through  the  wrong  end  of  a  telescope.  Then  there  were  some 
shivering  souls  in  the  livery  of  the  workhouse,  whose  teeth  chattered 
again,  and  who  evidently  were  sincere  when  they  proclaimed  themselves 
to  be  '  miserable  sinners.'  Everything  and  everybody  looked  damp 
and  dingy,  from  the  mahogany  cherub  smothered  in  dust,  to  the  cracked- 
voice  old  clerk,  who  appeared  to  go  through  the  service  by  heart ;  for  he 
never  once,  that  I  saw,  removed  his  hands  from  his  pockets  to  turn  a 
leaf. 

"  And  no  wonder  the  congregation  was  cold,  for  the  church  was  damp 
and  mouldy,  and  as  dirty  as  though  it  had  been  shut  up  for  a  hundred 
years,  and  opened  for  the  first  time  on  that  very  morning.  The  clear, 
cold  sunbeams  of  early  December  failed  to  pierce  through  the  cobwebbed 
and  crusted  windows  ;  the  upper  portion  of  the  sounding-board  of  the 
pulpit  was  inch-deep  in  dust  ;  the  hangings  of  the  pews  were  literally 
hangings,  for  they  were  tattered  shreds  ;  and  the  stone  pavement  was 
reeking  with  moisture."  ...  "  The  Psalm  having  been  sung  through, 
the  preacher  rose.  He  was  tall,  and,  in  the  pulpit,  appeared  of  Herculean 
proportions.  Surmounting  a  broad,  massive  chest  was  a  head,  massively 
shaped  also,  and  connected  with  the  trunk  by  a  short,  thick  neck.  This 
head  was  grandly  formed,  and  its  fine  dome-like  proportions  were  distinct 
enough,  it  being  but  thinly  covered  with  short,  stubbly  hair,  of  an  iron-gray 
color.  Beneath  a  high  and  broad  forehead,  furrowed  with  deep,  trans- 
verse lines,  were  two  large,  gray  eyes  ;  the  nose  was  thick  and  large,  and 
the  mouth  wide.  An  ample  chin  formed  the  lower  portion  of  the  face, 
whose  chief  expression  was  a  mixture  of  confident  boldness  and  severity. 
"  Scorning  the  aid  of  notes,  Croly  commenced  his  discourse  without 
them,  and  closing  the  large  Bible  which  lay  on  the  cushion,  he  placed  it 
on  the  seat  behind  him  and  read  occasionally  from  a  smaller  book  which 
he  held  in  his  hand.  Unlike  most  pulpit  orators,  who  usually  commence 
in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  and  gradually  increase  its  volume  as  they  warm 
up  to  their  subject,  Dr.  Croly's  first  words  were  uttered  in  loud  and  sono- 
rous tones  which  echoed  and  re-echoed  through  the  almost  deserted  build- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  493 

ing.  His  subject  was  one  which  led  him  incidentally  to  refer  to  the 
splendors  of  ancient  Nineveh,  and  certainly  such  a  magnificent  specimen 
of  word-painting  I  never  before  heard.  Listening  to  him  was  like  reading 
scenes  from  his  own  gorgeously-eloquent  "  Salathiel,"  or  perusing  the 
Revelations  (sic)  by  flashes  of  lightning.  With  a  perfectly  marvellous 
command  of  language  he  described  the  glories  of  the  now  ruined  cities, 
and  with  an  amazing  fluency  heaped  splendor  upon  splendor  ;  until  as  the 
eye  grows  dazzled  by  gazing  on  the  changing  pomp  of  a  tropical  sunset, 
when  the  amber  and  vermilion-hued  clouds,  piled  on  each  other,  assume 
a  thousand  fantastic  shapes,  so  the  mind  became  satiated  by  his  numer- 
ous and  superb  illustrations.  It  was  grand,  but  we  may  have  too  much 
of  even  grandeur.  What  the  poor,  ignorant,  workhouse  people  and  the 
shivering  charity  children  thought  of  their  minister's  discourse,  or  how 
much  the  staid  and  sober  parishioners  were  benefited  by  it,  it  is  not  for 
me  to  say,  but  I  certainly  thought  that  something  less  magnificent,  and 
a  little  better  suited  to  simple  compiehension  would  have  been  more  in 
place. 

"  That  Croly  is  a  man  of  vast  power,  and  is  possessed  of  a  mind  of 
gigantic  grasp,  his  works  testify,  and  that  he  is  prodigiously  energetic, 
both  his  sermons  and  his  platform  speeches  sufficiently  prove,  but  he  is 
not  a  great  preacher — the  sphere  for  the  exercise  of  his  talents  is  not  the 
pulpit— and  on  the  platform  he  allows  his  violent  political  feelings  and 
warm  temper  to  run  away  with  his  judgment." 

Dr.  Croly  at  that  date  was  the  editor  of  the  Britannia,  a  weekly  news- 
paper, and  J.  D.  adds  this  significant  sentence  to  his  racy  account  : 
"  Since  the  above  was  written,  St.  Stephen's,  Wallbrook,  has  been  re- 
stored to  its  former  splendor,  and  Alderman  Gibbs,  half-ruined  by  litiga- 
tion, has  resigned  his  aldermanic  gown." 

Stand  up  and  bless  the  Lord. — Montgomery. 

In  the  Original  Hymns  this  is  Hymn  86,  "  Exhortation  to  Piaise 
and  Thanksgiving/'     It  has  six  stanzas.     Its  proper  date  is  1825. 

Stand  up,  my  soul,  shake  off  thy  fears. — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns   this  is  Book  II.,  No.  77,  "  The  Chris- 
tian Warfare."      It  has  six  stanzas.     It  is  a  "  rare,  good  soldier- 
song.  ' ' 

Stand  up,  stand  up,  for  Jesus. — G.  Duffield. 

This  hymn  has  had  such  a  history  and  has  been  so  extensively 
honored  of  the  Lord  in  the  work  of  the  Church  that  it  absolves  the 
present  writer  from  any  feeling  of  delicacy  which  he  might  other- 
wise have  experienced  in  its  annotation.  It  will  remain  to  him  as 
one  of  his  own  happiest  memories  that  the  same  hand  which  pens 
these  lines  made  the  first  copy  of  this  fine  lyric  for  the  press.     As 


494  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

well  as  he  can,  he  therefore  undertakes,  in  this  article,  to  clear  up 
a  number  of  misstatements  and  errors  which  he  has  found  associated 
with  the  hymn.  Nor  is  there  a  briefer  or  better  method  than  by 
quoting  the  author's  own  little  leaflet  entire. 

"  By  request  of  friends,  to  answer  inquiries,  to  correct  mistakes,  and 
save  explanations,  I  reprint  a  hymn  that  has  met  with  such  wide  and 
unexpected  favor,  and  add  this  note. 

"  '  Stand  Up  for  Jesus'  was  the  dying  message  of  the  Rev.  Dudley  A. 
Tyng,  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  the  ministers  asso- 
ciated with  them  in  the  Noon-Day  Prayer  Meeting,  during  the  great  re- 
vival of  1858,  usually  known  as  '  The  Work  of  God  in  Philadelphia.' 

"A  very  dear  personal  friend,  I  knew  young  Tyng  as  one  of  the 
noblest,  bravest,  manliest  men  I  ever  met  ;  not  inferior  in  eloquence  to 
his  honored  father,  and  the  acknowledged  leader  of  a  campaign  for  Christ 
that  has  become  historical.  The  Sabbath  before  his  death  he  preached  in 
the  immense  edifice  known  as  Jaynes'  Hall,  one  of  the  most  successful 
sermons  of  modern  times.  Of  the  five  thousand  men  there  assembled,  at 
least  one  thousaiid.it  was  believed,  were  '  the  slain  of  the  Lord.'  His 
text  was  Exodus  10  :  11,  and  hence  the  allusion  in  the  third  verse  of  the 
hymn. 

"  The  following  Wednesday,  leaving  his  study  for  a  moment,  he  went 
to  the  barn  floor,  where  a  mule  was  at  work  on  a  horse-power,  shelling 
corn.  Patting  him  on  the  neck,  the  sleeve  of  his  silk  study  gown  caught 
in  the  cogs  of  the  wheel,  and  his  arm  was  torn  out  by  the  roots  !  His 
death  occurred  in  a  few  hours.  Never  was  there  greater  lamentation  over 
a  young  man  than  over  him,  and  when  Gen.  50  :  26  was  announced  as  the 
text  for  his  funeral  sermon,  the  place  at  once  became  a  Bochim,  and  con- 
tinued so  for  many  minutes. 

"  The  following  Sunday  tne  author  of  the  hymn  preached  from  Eph. 
6  :  14,  and  the  above  verses  were  written  simply  as  the  concluding  exhor- 
tation. The  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school  had  a  fly-leaf  printed 
for  the  children — a  stray  copy  found  its  way  into  a  Baptist  newspaper — 
and  from  that  paper  it  has  gone  in  English,  and  in  German  and  Latin 
translations  all  over  the  world.  The  first  time  the  author  heard  it  sung, 
outside  of  his  own  denomination,  was  in  1864,  as  the  favorite  song  of 
the  Christian  soldiers  in  the  Army  of  the  James. 

"  One  word  more.  The  author  is  not  his  father,  Rev.  George  Duf- 
field,  D.D.,  the  Patriarch  of  Michigan,  born  1796,  and  who  died  at  De- 
troit, 1868.  Neither  is  he  his  son,  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Duffield,  born  in 
1843,  graduated  at  Yale  College,  1S63,  and  now  pastor  of  the  Westmin- 
ster church,  Bloomfield,  N.  J.  .  .  .  His  father  has  not  yet  lost  his  iden- 
tity, and  claims  to  be  his  own  individual  self — viz.,  Rev.  George  Duffield, 
A.M.,  pastor  in  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  seven  years  ;  in  Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  four 
years  ;  in  Philadelphia,  ten  years,  leaving  there  in  1861  ;  and  the  rest  of 
his  life  an  active  pastor  in  the  West— more  than  forty  years  in  all  ;  born 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  495 

[September  12th],  1818  [at  Carlisle,  Penn.],  graduated  at  Yale  College, 
1837,  and  at  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  in  1840,  and  now 
living  in  Detroit. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  many  mutilations  and,  alterations  and  perver- 
sions to  which  this  hymn  has  been  subjected,  it  is  but  proper  to  say,  that 
since  the  night  it  was  written,  it  has  never  been  altered  by  the  author  in 
a  single  verse,  a  single  line,  or  a  single  word,  and  it  is  his  earnest  wish 
that  it  shall  continue  unaltered  until  the  Soldiers  of  the  Cross  shall  re- 
place it  by  something  better. 

"  To  adopt  the  words  of  Faber — '  That  our  Blessed  Lord  has  permitted 

this  hymn  to  be  of  some  trilling  good  to  souls,  and  so,  in  a  very  humble 

way,  to  contribute  to  his  glory,  is  to  the  author  a  source  of  profitable 

confusion,  as  well  as  of  unmerited  consolation.' 

"  George  Duffield. 
"  Detroit,  May  29,  1883." 

And  now  follows  the  hymn  in  its  author's  preferred  text  : 
"STAND  UP  FOR  JESUS." 

"  Stand  up  ! — stand  up  for  Jesus  ! 

Ye  soldiers  of  the  cross  ; 
Lift  high  His  royal  banner, 

It  must  not  suffer  loss. 
From  victory  unto  victory 

His  army  He  shall  lead 
Till  every  foe  is  vanquish'd, 

And  Christ  is  Lord  indeed. 

"  Stand  up  ! — stand  up  for  Jesus  ! 

The  solemn  watchword  hear  ; 
If  while  ye  sleep  He  suffers,* 

Away  with  shame  and  fear  ; 
Where'er  ye  meet  with  evil, 

Within  you  or  without, 
Charge  for  the  God  of  Battles, 

And  put  the  foe  to  rout  ! 

"  Stand  up  ! — stand  up  for  Jesus  ! 
The  trumpet  call  obey  ; 
Forth  to  the  mighty  conflict, 

In  this  His  glorious  day. 
'  Ye  that  are  men  now  serve  Him,' 

Against  unnumber'd  foes  ; 
Let  courage  rise  with  danger, 
And  strength  to  strength  oppose. 


Matt.  26 :  36-46. 


496  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Stand  up  ! — stand  up  for  Jesus  ' 

Stand  in  His  strength  alone  ; 
The  arm  of  flesh  will  fail  you, 

Ye  dare  not  trust  your  own. 
Put  on  the  Gospel  armor, 

Each  piece  put  on  with  prayer  ; 
Where  duty  calls  or  danger, 

Be  never  wanting  there  ! 

"  Stand  up  ! — stand  up  for  Jesus  ! 

Each  soldier  to  his  post  ; 
Close  up  the  broken  column, 

And  shout  through  all  the  host ! 
Make  good  the  loss  so  heavy, 

In  those  that  still  remain, 
And  prove  to  all  around  you 

That  death  itself  is  gain  ! 

11  Stand  up  ! — stand  up  for  Jesus  ! 

The  strife  will  not  be  long  ; 
This  day  the  noise  of  battle, 

The  next  the  victor's  song. 
To  him  that  overcometh, 

A  crown  of  life  shall  be  ; 
He  with  the  King  of  Glory 

Shall  reign  eternally  !" 

It  has  always  been  understood  that  the  death  of  Rev.  Dudley 
Atkins  Tyng  came  about  through  the  arm  mortifying.  The  third 
amputation,  carried  high  into  the  shoulder,  did  not  save  him.  At 
first  only  the  lower  portion  of  the  arm  was  involved  to  all  appear- 
ance, but  in  reality  it  was,  as  has  been  said,  "  torn  out  by  the 
roots,"  as  the  ligaments  and  muscles  were  dragged  into  the 
machinery  and  strained  and  wrenched  from  the  neck  down.  A 
cob  of  corn  from  that  "  threshing-floor  "  has  ever  since  hung  on 
the  study-wall  of  the  author  of  the  hymn. 

The  "  Sunday-school  superintendent  "  was  Benedict  D.  Stewart, 
just  deceased  (1886),  a  gentleman  long  known  and  beloved  in  the 
Presbyterian  churches  of  Philadelphia. 

The  hymn  first  appeared  in  full,  in  any  permanent  publication, 
in  the  Lyra  Sacra  Americana  (1868)  of  Professor  C.  D.  Cleveland, 
to  whom  Dr.  Dufneld  gave  a  correct  copy. 

For  some  years  the  present  writer  was  annoyed  by  a  gross  mis- 
print in  the  hymn  which  was  unintentional  on  the  part  of  the  com- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  497 

piler  of  the  hymn-book  in  question,  but  which  was  none  the  less 
disagreeable.  It  was  "  his  army  shall  be  led"  for  "  his  army 
he  shall  lead,"  and  it  spoiled  the  sentiment  as  well  as  the 
rhyme. 

The  first  regular  use  of  the  hymn  for  purposes  of  hymnology 
was  in  the  supplement  to  the  Church  Psalmist,  Dr.  Beman's  book, 
which  was  prepared  by  the  Presbyterian  Publication  Committee 
(N.  S.),  Philadelphia,  in  1859.  It  is  in  this  publication  that  the 
hymn  is  altered  into  "watching  unto  prayer,"  and  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  alleged  amendment  must  rest,  for  good  or  ill,  with 
the  chairman  of  the  committee's  sub- committee. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  mention  that  the  hymn  is  repeatedly 
commended  in  Hymns  and  Choirs,  the  book  issued  by  the  compilers 
of  the  New  Sabbath  Hymn  and  Tune  Book.  They  were  among  the 
earliest  to  recognize  its  worth,  and  gave  to  it  the  tune  "  Tyng." 

In  1862  Dr.  C.  S.  Robinson  joined  it  to  "  Yarmouth."  But, 
so  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  it  was  W.  B.  Bradbury  who 
adopted  the  tune  Webb  in  the  Golden  Chain.  In  Rev.  Leonard 
Woolsey  Bacon's  book,  the  Book  of  Worship,  1866,  this  popular 
setting  of  it  was  also  utilized. 

The  hymn  has  been  rendered  into  other  languages.  A  version 
in  Chinese  has  been  recently  prepared  by  Rev.  W.  J.  McKee,  of 
Ning-po,  China,  and  there  is  also  a  transfusion  into  Latin,  and 
another,  by  J.  D.  Evans,  into  Welsh. 

A  pretty  incident  in  connection  with  the  use  of  the  hymn  is  the 
story  of  the  little  four-year-old  child  of  Dr.  Roberts,  of  Prince- 
ton, who,  hearing  it  given  out  in  church,  sang  it  fearlessly  and  to 
the  admiration  of  the  congregation.  Moreover,  the  singing  was 
with  a  loud  voice  and  great  joy,  as  of  "  something  understood." 
It  was  at  Saratoga,  and  the  baby  was  far  from  home,  but  the  hymn 
was  very  real  and  familiar,  and  the  little  voice  made  melody  in  it. 

Dr.  Duffield  himself,  in  a  private  letter,  says  : 

"  There  is  one  pleasure  I  have  enjoyed  in  hymns,  which  is  somewhat 
personal  and  of  its  own  kind.  On  three  different  occasions — once  in  the 
General  Assembly  at  Brooklyn,  and  once  at  a  meeting  of  the  A.  B.  C. 
F.  M.,  and  once  at  a  mass-meeting  of  Sabbath-schools  in  Illinois,  when 
outward  and  inward  troubles  met,  and  I  was  in  great  and  sore  affliction — • 
I  have  entered  the  church  and  found  that  the  great  congregation  was  sing- 
ing, '  Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus  !  ' 

"  The  feeling  of  comfort  was  inexpressible,  to  have  my  own  hymn  thus 


498  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

sung  to  me  by  those  unaware  of  my  presence.     It  was  as  though  an  angel 
strengthened  me." 

One  of  the  original  leaflets  headed  "  Stand  up  for  Jesus"  is 
now  before  the  present  writer.  Its  quotation  from  Dudley  Tyng's 
last  words  is,  "  Tell  them  to  stand  up  for  Jesus  !  Now  let  us  sing 
a  hymn. ' '  The  verses  in  Lyra  Sacra  Americana  are  copied  exactly 
from  the  original. 

Standing  at  the  portal. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  is  in  Miss  Havergal' s  Poems,  p.  89,  "  Faithful  Promises  " 
(a  New  Year's  Hymn).      It  is  based  on  Isa.  41  :  10,  and  the  date 
given  by  the  author  is  1873. 

Stars  of  the  morning,  so  gloriously  bright. — Neale,  ir. 

Dr.  Neale  calls  this  "  A  Cento  from  the  Canon  of  the  '  Bodiless 
Ones  '  ;  Tuesday  in  the  Week  of  the  Fourth  Tone."  We  heartily 
commend  this  title  to  musical  archaeologists  in  search  of  a  topic 
on  which  to  expend  a  little  superfluous  zeal.  The  fact  is  that 
Dr.  Neale' s  titles  in  his  Hymns  of  the  Eastern  Church  are  wonder- 
fully aesthetic,  and  this  is  a  fair  example  of  their  profound  unmean- 
ingness  to  the  ordinary  reader. 

The  original  has  six  stanzas,  of  which  the  hymn  in  Laudes 
Domini  uses  the  first  two  and  last  two.  The  author  is  St.  Joseph 
of  the  Studium,  from  whom  Dr.  Neale  has  given  us  "  O  happy 
band  of  pilgrims,"  "  Safe  home,  safe  home  in  port,"  "  And  wilt 
thou  pardon,  Lord,"  and  "  Let  our  choir  new  anthems  raise." 

A  characteristic  story  is  told  of  the  devotion  of  St.  Joseph  to  his 
hymns  : 

A  certain  citizen  of  Constantinople  prayed  faithfully  in  the  church  of 
St.  Theodore  of  the  Studium  for  three  days,  and  had  no  benefit  "  from 
the  intercessions  of  that  martyr."  As  he  was  about  to  give  up  in  despair, 
Theodore  (so  it  is  said)  appeared  in  vague  and  shadowy  vision  before  him, 
and  explained  that  he  and  the  other  saints  had  been  absent  from  the 
church  attending  to  paradise  the  soul  of  Joseph,  who  had  celebrated  them 
so  often  in  his  songs  of  praise  !  This  was  a  matter,  doubtless,  of  much 
comfort  to  the  citizen  and  of  much  glory  to  the  hymnody  of  Joseph. 

Stealing  from  the  world  away. — Palmer. 
A  hymn  by  Dr.  Palmer  which  has  been  very  popular  from  the 
date  of  its  first  publication.      It  was  written  at  New  Haven  in  1834, 
and  its  text  of  Scripture  is  Ps.  36  :  9.      It  resembles  in  sentiment, 
though  it  scarcely  equals,  "  Away  from  earth  my  spirit  turns." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  499 

Still,  still  with  thee,  my  God. — Burns. 
'  Mr.  Burns, ' '  it  has  been  well  said,  ' '  was  a  true  Christian  and 
a  true  poet,  too  soon  called  from  toil  and  suffering  to  rest  and 
triumph."  Born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  February  18th,  1823, 
James  Drummond  Burns  received  his  education  at  the  High 
School  and  University  of  his  native  place.  At  the  time  of  the 
famous  "  Disruption  "  he  was  twenty  years  old  and  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  Free  Church,  under  whose  great  leader,  Thomas  Chalmers, 
he  received  his  theological  training.  In  1845  ne  was  installed  over 
the  Free  Church  congregation  at  Dunblane.  In  a  very  short  time 
the  rigor  of  the  climate  told  severely  on  a  frame  worn  with  hard 
study,  and,  in  two  years  after  his  settlement,  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  spend  a  winter  in  Madeira.  In  1848  it  was  plain  that  he 
must  permanently  remove  to  a  southern  climate  altogether.  He 
therefore  went  to  Madeira,  and  the  next  three  years  were  spent  in 
scenes  favorable  to  both  poetry  and  health.  Here  his  Vision  of 
Prophecy  (published  in  1856)  was  written.  In  1854  he  thought 
himself  sufficiently  recovered  to  try  his  pastoral  work  anew  in  the 
suburbs  of  London,  at  Hampstead.  He  is  described  by  his 
biographer,  Rev.  Dr.  James  Hamilton  (1868),  as  "  a  tall,  loosely- 
knit  man,  clad  always  in  clerical  black,  with  the  gentlest  of  man- 
ners, a  sad,  resigned  sort  of  voice,  and  with  great  sweetness  of 
smile."  He  was  at  this  period  evidently  "  weak  and  ill  "  also, 
and  it  was  clear  that  consumption  had  resolved  to  stalk  and  slay 
him,  by  those  slow  approaches  which  are  so  stimulating  to  the 
mind  and  so  deadly  to  the  body.  His  preaching  was  thus  of 
an  unearthly  beauty,  idealistic  and  loftily  spiritual,  but  accepting 
the  hard  circumstances  of  earthly  struggle  as  a  preparation  for 
heavenly  glory.  He  knew  nothing  but  Christ  and  Him  crucified, 
and  his  wonderful  fancy  delighted  to  pay  its  tribute  of  love  to  the 
Redeemer  of  men.  A  poet  whose  dreamy  intuitions  of  natural 
and  metaphysical  loveliness  were  preternaturally  acute,  he  could 
descend  from  his  high  place  of  imagination  at  any  moment  to 
afford  assistance  to  the  sick  or  the  poor.  In  this  he  was  a  noble 
example  to  all  those  would-be  sensitive  and  ethereal  souls,  who 
must  be  nourished  on  the  dainty  food  of  compliment  and  sustained 
toward  their  best  endeavors  by  the  comforts  of  a  robust  body  and 
the  help  of  an  undisturbed  mind.  This  man,  like  Lyte  or  Cow- 
per,  or  the  weary  singers  of  our  finest  songs,  was  singing  with  his 


500  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

breast  against  the  thorn,  as  the  old  poets  said  was  the  habit  of 
that  sweetest  singer,  the  nightingale.  In  1864  his  disease  drove 
him  to  the  Riviera.  He  had  not  been  idle  in  Madeira — for  there 
he  had  preached  for  five  years.  And  now  at  Mentone  he  was  eager 
to  return  to  his  parish.  He  endeavored  to  do  so,  but  the  effort 
was  too  great,  and  the  next  autumn  found  him  back  at  Mentone 
for  the  last  time.  Here  he  sunk  away  and  died,  on  the  Sabbath, 
November  27th,  1864.      He  had*been  married  in  1859. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  loving  care  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Hamilton, 
for  many  particulars  of  his  personal  life.  The  Memoir  prepared 
by  him  contains  much  of  Mr.  Burns's  poetry. 

Sun  of  my  soul,  thou  Saviour  dear. — Keble. 

This  is  from  Keble' s  Evening  Hymn  in  The  Christian  Year, 
commencing  with  the  third  stanza. 

Rev.  John  Keble  was  the  son  of  Rev.  John  Keble,  vicar  of  Coin 
St.  Aldwyn's,  Gloucestershire,  England,  and  was  born  on  his 
father's  estate  at  that  place,  April  25th,  1792.  He  was  prepared 
by  his  father  for  college,  and  was  graduated  from  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Oxford,  1  810,  taking  his  M.  A.  degree  in  1813.  Avery 
brilliant  scholar,  he  took  many  prizes  during  his  course,  and,  in 
1 8 14,  he  was  appointed  Examining  Master  for  three  years.  His 
ordination  as  deacon  occurred  in  181 5,  and  he  was  made  priest  on 
Trinity  Sunday  of  the  year  following.  His  ecclesiastical  career 
briefly  summed  up  is  as  follows  :  He  was  curate  of  East  Leach 
and  Burthorpe,  18 15  to  18 18  ;  tutor  in  Oriel  College,  181 8-1823  ; 
curate,  as  before,  with  Southrop  added,  replacing  his  brother, 
Thomas,  who  had  replaced  himself,  1823  ;  offered  an  archdeacon- 
ship  by  Bishop  Coleridge,  of  Barbadoes,  with  a  salary  of  £2000, 
which  he  declined,  1824  ;  curate  of  Hursley,  1825.  He  became 
his  father's  curate  at  Fairford  in  1826. 

The  Christian  Year  appeared  in  1827 — the  result  of  long  labor 
and  of  such  polishing  and  revision  as  Gray  put  upon  ihe  Elegy. 
It  had  also  the  same  classical  success.  It  became,  and  has  since 
remained,  a  household  volume.  Its  ninety-sixth  edition  was  re- 
vised by  the  same  hand  that  originally  wrote  its  pages. 

In  1 83 1  Keble  was  elected  Professor  of  Poetry  at  Oxford,  though 
he  did  not  remove  thither  ;  and  he  has  sometimes  been  regarded 
— certainly  by  Cardinal  Newman — as  the  true  author  of  the  Trac- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  501 

tarian  movement  of  1833.  His  sermon  on  National  Apostasy  con- 
tained the  germs  of  that  agitation.  Of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times 
Keble  wrote  Nos.  4,  13,  40,  52,  54,  57,  60  and  89. 

His  father  died  in  January,  1835,  and  he  succeeded  him  in  the 
vicarage,  marrying,  October  10th,  1835,  Miss  Charlotte  Clark,  the 
sister  of  his  brother's  wife.  He  next  received,  in  1836,  the  vicar- 
age of  Hursley,  his  former  curacy,  where  his  High-Church  opin- 
ions were  noted  and  disliked.  He  was  also  one  of  the  seven  con- 
tributors to  the  volume  called  Lyra  Apostolica,  over  the  signature 
"y,"  and  united  with  Drs.  Newman  and  Pusey  in  editing  the 
Library  of  the  Fathers,  1838.  He  also  proposed  to  supersede  all 
other  translations  and  to  offer  a  Psalter  of  his  own,  but  to  no 
avail.  In  1841  his  professorship  terminated.  In  1846  appeared 
the  Lyra  Innocentium.  Thenceforward  he  wrote  but  little,  and 
that  little  was  of  an  ecclesiastical  and  controversial  character. 

He  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  November  30th,  1864,  and  sur- 
vived in  feebleness  until  March  29th,  1866,  when  he  died  at 
Bournemouth  in  his  seventy-fourth  year. 

The  brief  but  admirable  commendation  of  him  by  Archdeacon  Prescott, 
mostly  drawn  from  personal  sources,  gives  us  a  bit  of  the  interior  history 
of  The  Christian  Year,  to  which  many  are  strangers.  In  the  poet's 
Memoir,  by  Sir  J.  T.  Coleridge,  it  is  stated  that  the  poems  were  only 
published  under  the  strongest  pressure  from  Keble's  friends.  Arnold 
said  :  "  Nothing  equal  to  them  exists  in  our  language."  Coleridge  and 
Whately  also  approved  them  highly. 

During  1827  the  author  therefore  added  what  would  complete  the  cycle 
of  the  Church  year,  and  consented  to  publish  what  he  always  called  "  that 
book."  Says  Archbishop  Whately,  alluding  to  the  hampered  attitude  of 
the  poet  to  his  theme  :  "  He  was  like  an  eagle  in  chains."  But  when  he 
put  on  the  title-page,  "  In  quietness  and  confidence  shall  be  your 
strength,"  "he  struck,"  says  Prescott,  "the  key-note  of  all  true  re- 
ligion." "I  myself,"  he  adds,  "  know  no  body  of  uninspired  poetry, 
where  purity  and  power,  where  knowledge  of  Holy  Scripture  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  human  heart,  where  the  love  of  nature  and  the  love  of  Christ 
are  so  wonderfully  combined." 

The  work  was  published  anonymously,  and  Keble  was  always  its  pro- 
prietor. "  In  twenty-five  years,  108,000  copies  had  been  issued,  in  forty- 
three  editions.  In  April,  1873,  when  the  copyright  expired,  305,500 
copies  had  been  sold.  Since  that  date  the  circulation  has  enormously  in- 
creased, both  in  England  and  America."  "  It  is  a  book,"  says  Canon 
Barry,  "  which  leads  the  soul  up  to  God,  not  through  one,  but  through  all 
of  the  various  faculties  which  he  has  implanted  in  it." 


502  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Bishop  Doane  published  an  .American  edition  of  it  in  1835,  with  anno- 
tations. 

Sure  the  blest  Comforter  is  nigh. — Steele. 

This  is  the  third  stanza  of  the  hymn  in  eight  stanzas,  commenc- 
ing, "  Dear  Lord,  and  shall  thy  spirit  rest,"  which  is  found  in  the 
Poems  of  Theodosia,  1760.  Its  title  is,  "  The  Influences  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  the  Heart. — John  14  :  16,  17." 

Surely  Christ  thy  griefs  hath  borne.  — Toplady. 

The  revised  version  of  this  hymn,  as  prepared  by  Toplady,  is 
found  in  D.  Sedgwick's  Toplady  s  Poetical  Remains  (London, 
i860).  It  is  among  the  Select  Paraphrases,  and  is  based  on  Isa. 
53  :  4,  5,  12,  "  He  hath  borne  our  griefs. "  It  has  six  six-line 
stanzas. 

Augustus  Montague  Toplady  was  the  son  of  Major  Richard 
Toplady,  who  died  at  the  siege  of  Carthagena  soon  after  the  child's 
birth.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Catharine  Bate.  Top- 
lady's  parents  were  married  at  Deptford,  December  21st,  1737, 
and  their  first  child,  Francis,  died  in  infancy.  Augustus,  the 
second,  was  born  at  Farnham,  in  Surrey,  November  4th,  1740. 
His  name  was  taken  from  his  godfathers,  Augustus  Middleton  and 
Adolphus  Montague.  Having  been  a  bright  and  promising  scholar 
at  Westminster  School,  he  was  able  to  render  his  mother  some  as- 
sistance in  prosecuting  a  claim  for  an  estate  in  Ireland,  though  he 
was  only  a  lad.  It  was  perhaps  due  to  this  event  that  we  find  him 
at  sixteen  years  of  age  deeply  convicted  of  sin,  from  attending  a 
meeting  held  in  a  barn  at  Codymain,  in  Ireland,  where  a  layman 
was  preaching.  On  February  29th,  1768,  Toplady  refers  to  the 
scene  and  to  the  circumstances.  The  text  was  Eph.  2  :  13,  and 
the  preacher's  name  was  Morris. 

11  By  the  grace  of  God,  under  the  ministry  of  that  dear  messenger  and 
under  that  sermon,"  adds  Toplady,  "  I  was,  I  trust,  brought  nigh  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  in  August,  1756.  Strange  that  I,  who  had  so  long  sat 
under  the  means  of  grace  in  England,  should  be  brought  near  to  God  in 
an  obscure  part  of  Ireland,  amidst  a  handful  of  God's  people,  met  to- 
gether in  a  barn,  and  under  the  ministry  of  one  who  could  hardly  spell 
his  name.  .  .  .  The  excellency  of  such  power  must  be  of  God,  and  can- 
not be  of  man."  Not  long  before  his  death  he  reaffirmed  this  statement, 
denying  that  he  had  been  influenced  by  "Mr.  John  Wesley  or  any 
preacher  connected  with  him,"  and  affirming  that  his  "  Arminian  preju- 
dices received  an  effectual  shock  in  reading  Dr.  Manton's  sermons  on 
the  xviiith  of  St.  John." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  503 

Between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  eighteen  he  wrote  many  small 
pieces  of  verse.  These  were  printed  in  a  little  i2mo  at  Dublin  in 
1759.      Among  them  are  some  things  that  are  really  meritorious. 

He  entered  the  ministry  June  6th,  1762,  being  ordained  in 
Trinity  Church  [Dublin?].  In  his  subscription  to  the  articles, 
homilies  and  liturgy  he  repeated  his  signature  five  times  in  order 
to  show  his  devout  assent  to  their  principles.  [This  was  akin  to 
the  action  of  Ben  Jonson,  who  drank  the  full  cup  of  communion 
wine  to  show  his  heartiness.] 

Next  he  received  the  living  of  Blagdon,  in  Somersetshire,  which 
he  soon  resigned.  "  In  the  year  1768  he  took  possession  of  the 
vicarage  of  Broad  Hembury,  in  Devonshire,  which  he  held  until 
his  death."  The  proceeds  of  this  living  amounted  to  £80,  or 
about  $400  per  annum.  "  It  was  his  chief  aim,"  says  Mr.  Sedg- 
wick, "  to  merit  the  highest  and  to  be  content  with  the  lowest." 
Here  he  composed  those  writings  by  which  he  will  be  always  re- 
membered. 

He  was  a  man  of  frail  and  sickly  constitution.  The  cold  moist 
air  of  Devonshire  doubtless  helped  him  into  a  consumption.  He 
was  a  most  indefatigable  student  and  often  remained  at  his  desk 
until  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Failing  to  exchange 
his  position  for  another  in  a  more  congenial  climate  he  removed  to 
London  in  1775,  and  preached  as  he  had  opportunity.  After  a 
time  his  friends  secured  for  him  the  use  of  the  French  Calvinistic 
Reformed  church,  in  Orange  Street,  Leicester-fields,  on  Sunday 
and  Wednesday  evenings.  Toplady  delivered  his  first  discourse 
there  on  Sunday,  April  nth,  1776,  from  Isa.  44  :  22.  Two  years 
and  three  months  later  his  ministerial  career  terminated  on  this 
same  spot.  Often  it  seemed  to  those  who  heard  him  that  he  was 
"  divested  of  the  body,"  and  already  a  participant  in  "  the  happi- 
ness that  appertains  to  the  Church  triumphant. " 

It  was  in  1776  that  he  published  his  celebrated  Collection  of 
Psalms  and  Hymns.  There  are  four  hundred  and  nineteen  of  these 
pieces — which  he  altered  and  amended  to  suit  himself.  The 
different  hymns  were  selected  from  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty  books, 
and  some  were  of  his  own  composition. 

On  Easter  Sunday,  April  19th,  1778,  he  attempted  to  preach 
from  Isa.  26  :  19,  but  being  excessively  hoarse  he  could  only  name 
the   text   and  descend  from   the    pulpit.      Four  times    more   he 


504  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

preached,  however,  and  on  each  occasion  it  was  felt  that  his  voice 
might  never  be  heard  again.  He  was  but  thirty-eight  years  old 
when  he  died,  August  nth,  1778. 

Mr.  Sedgwick  has  preserved  for  us  several  interesting  incidents 
connected  with  this  good  man's  life  : 

His  Calvinistic  belief  was  strong,  even  to  sternness.  He  said  of  the 
doctrine  of  election  that  "  God's  everlasting  love  to  his  chosen  people  ; 
his  eternal,  particular,  most  free,  and  immutable  choice  of  them  in  Christ 
Jesus,  was  without  the  least  respect  to  any  work,  or  works  of  righteous- 
ness, wrought,  or  to  be  wrought,  or  that  ever  should  be  wrought  in  them 
or  by  them  ;  for  God's  election  did  not  depend  upon  our  sanctification, 
but  our  sanctification  depended  upon  God's  election  and  appointment  of 
us  to  everlasting  life." 

When  near  his  death  he  was  told  that  his  heart  beat  weaker  and  weaker. 
He  replied  with  a  smile  :  "  Why,  that  is  a  good  sign,  that  my  death  is  fast 
approaching  ;  and,  blessed  be  God,  I  can  add  that  my  heart  beats  every 
day  stronger  and  stronger  for  glory."  His  last  illness  was  full  of  such 
testimony  to  his  happiness  and  confident  trust.  He  once  said  that  he 
"  enjoyed  a  heaven  already  in  his  soul,"  and  that  God's  consolations  were 
so  great  that  he  had  nothing  left  to  pray  for  but  "  a  continuance  of  them." 

He  frequently  called  himself  "  the  happiest  man  in  the  world."  "  Sick- 
ness," he  said,  "  is  no  affliction,  pain  no  curse,  death  itself  no  dissolu- 
tion." Sometimes  he  declared  that  the  day  had  been  "  a  day  of  sun- 
shine" to  him,  and  that  he  had  no  words  with  which  to  express  his  de- 
light. He  rejoiced  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans,  from  the  thirty-third 
to  the  thirty-ninth  verses  inclusive.  "  Once,"  he  said,  "  I  find  as  the 
bottles  of  heaven  empty  they  are  filled  again."  "The  sky,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  is  clear  ;  there  is  no  cloud.    Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly  !' 

About  an  hour  before  his  death  he  called  his  friends  and  his  servant, 
and  told  them  he  wished  to  know  if  they  could  give  him  up.  On  their 
replying  that  they  could,  if  it  was  God's  will,  he  answered  :  *'  Oh,  what 
a  blessing  it  is,  you  are  made  willing  to  give  me  up  into  the  hands  of  my 
dear  Redeemer,  and  to  part  with  me  ;  it  will  not  be  long  before  God  takes 
me,  for  no  mortal  man  can  live,"  said  he,  bursting  into  tears,  "  after  the 
glories  which  God  has  manifested  to  my  soul."  Not  long  afterward  he 
closed  his  eyes,  and  "  fell  asleep  in  Jesus." 

The  funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Rowland  Hill  and  Dr. 
Illingworth,  on  Monday,  August  17th,  1778,  and  were  attended  by 
several  thousand  persons  at  Tottenham  Court  chapel,  where  he 
was  buried  under  the  gallery  opposite  the  pulpit. 

It  must  be  noted  that  Wesley's  hymn,  "  Christ,  whose  glory  fills 
the  skies/'  has  been  often  credited  to  Toplady,  and  that,  in  Mr. 
Sedgwick's   judgment,   Toplady's    "Deathless    principle    arise" 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  505 

might  well  have  been  written  by  Wesley.  Toplady's  signature  in 
the  Gospel  Magazine  was  "  Minimus,"  though  he  sometimes  em- 
ployed that  of  ' '  Concionator. ' ' 

Sweet  is  the  light  of  Sabbath  eve.  — Edmeston. 
There  is  no  portion  of  the  Sabbath  which  is  lovelier  than  the 
evening.      James   Grahame,  whose    "  Sabbath  "    is   a   much-neg- 
lected poem,  has  many  references  to'  it. 

Mr.  Edmeston  has  himself  written  the  best  comment  on  his  own  hymn 
by  his  verses  upon  "  The  Sabbath  Evening  "  : 

"  Is  there  a  time  when  moments  flow  "  Delightful  scene  !  a  world  at  rest, 

More  lovelily  than  all  beside  ?  A  God  all  love,  no  grief  nor  fear : 

It  is,  of  all  the  times  below,  A  heavenly  hope,  a  peaceful  breast, 

A  Sabbath  eve,  in  Summer  tide.  A  smile,  unsullied  by  a  tear. 

"  Oh,  then  the  setting  sun  smiles  fair  ;  "  If  heaven  be  ever  felt  below, 

And  all  below,  and  all  above,  A  scene  celestial  as  this 

The  different  forms  of  nature  wear  May  cause  a  heart  on  earth  to  know 

One  universal  garb  of  love.  Some  foretaste  of  unmingled  bliss. 

"  And  then  the  peace  that  Jesus  beams,  "  Delightful  hour  !  how  soon  will  night 

The  life  of  grace,  the  death  of  sin,  Spread  her  dark  mantle  o'er  thy  reign  ! 

With  nature's  placid  woods  and  streams,  And  morrow's  quick  returning  light 

Is  peace  without,  and  peace  within.  Must  call  us  to  the  world  again. 

"  Yet  will  there  dawn  at  last  a  day — 
A  sun  that  never  sets  shall  rise  ; 
Night  will  not  veil  its  ceaseless  ray  ! 
The  heavenly  Sabbath  never  dies." 

These  words  come  fitly  from  him  who  also  wrote  : 

"  Saviour,  breathe  an  evening  blessing 
Ere  repose  our  spirits  seal." 

Sweet  is  the  memory  of  thy  grace. — Watts. 
This    is    Dr.  Watts's  version  of  Ps.    145,  Second  Part,  C.  M., 
vv.  7,  etc.,  "  The  Goodness  cf  God."     It  is  in  five  stanzas. 

Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God,  my  King.  —Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  has  this  as  his  version  of  Ps.  92,  First   Part,  L.  M., 
"  A  Psalm  for  the  Lord's  Day."     It  is  in  seven  stanzas. 

Sweet  is  the  work,  O  Lord.  — Auber. 
This  is  Miss  Auber's  version  of  Ps.  92,  published  in  1829. 

Sweet  Saviour,  bless  us  ere  we  go. — Faber. 
In  the  hymns  of  Faber  this  appears  as  an  "  Evening  Hymn," 
in  six  stanzas.     The  only  stanza  omitted  in  Landes  Domini  is  the 


506  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

fifth,  but  this  would  have  held  its  place  except  for  the  length  of  the 

hymn  : 

"  Labor  is  sweet,  for  thou  hast  toiled, 

And  care  is  light,  for  thou  hast  cared  ; 
Let  not  our  works  with  self  be  soiled, 
Nor  in  unsimple  ways  ensnared." 

Frederick  William  Faber  was  of  Huguenot  origin,  the  seventh 
child  of  Thomas  Henry  Faber,  Esq.  He  was  born  at  the  vicarage 
of  Calverley,  Yorkshire,  England,  June  28th,  18 14,  where  his 
grandfather,  Rev.  Thomas  Faber,  was  then  vicar.  The  boy 
showed  a  decided  talent  for  study,  which  was  carefully  and  thor- 
oughly cultivated.  He  was  ardent,  impulsive  and  poetical  from 
his  earliest  years,  and  his  childhood  was  spent  amid  scenes  of 
beauty.  But  sorrow  came  soon  to  him,  his  mother  dying  in 
1829,  and  his  father  about  four  years  later.  At  Harrow,  and  then 
at  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  he  received  his  education.  It  was  to 
be  expected  that  he  would  fall  under  the  influence  of  a  man  who, 
at  that  time  (1833),  was  originating  a  movement  in  the  Church  of 
England  which  was  peculiarly  attractive  to  a  mind  like  Faber' s — as 
it  also  was  to  his  not  dissimilar  contemporary,  Edward  Caswall. 
This  inspirer  was  John  Flenry  Newman,  now  Cardinal  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  at  that  date  the  vicar  of  St.  Mary's, 
Oxford.  The  Tracts  for  the  Times  presently  followed,  designed 
as  the  exposition  of  the  "  Church  principles"  of  these  agitators, 
and  it  is  meagre  enough  notice  for  us  to  say  of  them  that  they  cost 
the  English  Church  a  vast  deal  more  than  was  at  first  sup- 
posed. 

Ultimately  they  cost  it  Faber.  He  was  made  a  Fellow  of  Uni- 
versity College  in  January,  1837,  then  became  deacon  in  August, 
then,  May  26th,  1839,  was  ordained  as  a  presbyter,  and  occupied 
the  next  four  years  with  a  pupil  in  a  tour  of  Europe,  drifting 
closer  and  closer  to  Rome  all  the  while.  The  result  had  been 
really  inevitable,  to  a  man  who  took  his  angle  of  observation  and 
thought  under  the  influence  of  Newman.  The  very  self-devotion 
and  churchliness  of  his  ideas  caused  him  co  forget,  in  the  beauties 
of  St.  Bernard  and  the  other  lofty  excellences  of  the  old  fathers  of 
Roman  Catholicism,  that  there  ever  was  need  for  a  Calvin  or  a 
Luther,  or  that  Wickliffe  had  found  it  necessary  to  be  a  reformer. 
Faber  was  always  an  idealist,  and  his  sweet  and  lovely  spirit  was 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  507 

drawn  by  the  evident  poetry  and  scholarship  of  Newman,  as  the 
metal  is  drawn  by  the  magnet. 

This  explains  everything.  In  1843,  Mr.  Faber  began  his  parish 
work  at  Elton,  a  rectory  given  him  by  his  college,  and  there  he 
displayed  a  self-denying  earnestness  which  was  as  successful  as  it 
was  uncommon.  The  place  was  noted  for  its  intemperance  and 
immorality — and  it  afforded  scope  for  the  most  charming  qualities 
in  its  rector's  character.  He  reduced  it  to  order  and  decency,  be- 
came very  popular  as  a  preacher,  and  aroused  the  careless  and 
profligate  to  a  sense  of  their  danger.  Church  attendance  increased, 
and  the  parish  grew  to  be  as  well-reputed  for  thrift  and  good  be- 
havior as  it  had  hitherto  been  for  vice  and  crime. 

On  Sunday  evening,  November  16th,  1845,  tms  peaceful  state 
of  affairs  was  terminated,  so  far  as  the  principal  mover  in  it  was  con- 
cerned. Mr.  Faber,  during  the  service,  announced  that  he  must 
leave  them,  as  he  could  no  longer  remain  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  next  day  saw  him  admitted  into  the  Roman  Catholic 
communion  at  Northampton.  He  then  went  to  Rome  for  a  visit, 
and,  on  his  return,  founded  a  "  Community  "  at  Birmingham. 

From  Birmingham  he  removed  (April,  1849)  t0  London,  where 
he  had  been  placed  in  charge  of  the  Oratory  of  St.  Philip  Neri. 
This  position  he  held  until  his  death,  on  the  26th  of  September, 
1863.      He  was  but  forty-nine  years  of  age. 

The  hymns  which  he  wrote  were  collected  and  published  in 
1848.  There  were  not  many  of  them.  The  edition  of  1849  was 
much  enlarged,  and  that  of  1852  contained  sixty-six  pieces.  In 
1 86 1  the  number  had  risen  to  one  hundred  and  fifty.  These 
hymns  are  so  truly  devotional  in  spirit,  and  so  eminently  appro- 
priate to  the  religious  use  of  all  Christians,  that  they  have  been  for 
a  long  time  among  the  treasures  of  English  hymnody.  Editions 
of  them  have  been  issued,  from  which  those  that  belong  to  the  ex- 
clusive service  of  the  Church  of  Rome  have  been  eliminated,  and 
in  which  the  touching  and  exquisite  lyrics  which  are  so  dear  to  all 
believers  have  been  retained.  This  is  in  full  accordance  with  the 
large  desire  of  their  author,  who  says  this  much  and  more  in  his 
preface.      His  language  is  : 

"  It  is  an  immense  mercy  of  God  to  allow  any  one  to  do  the  least  thing 
which  brings  souls  nearer  to  Him.  Each  man  feels  for  himself  the  pecul- 
iar wonder  of  that  mercy  in  his  own  case.     That  our  Blessed  Lord  has 


508  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

permitted  these  hymns  to  be  of  some  trifling  good  to  souls,  and  so  in  a 
very  humble  way  to  contribute  to  His  glory,  is  to  the  Author  a  source  of 
profitable  confusion  as  well  as  of  unmerited  consolation." 

Sweet  the  moments,  rich  in  blessing.  — J.  Allen. 
This  hymn  is  definitely  assigned  to  Allen  on  the  strength  of  his 
own  marked  copy  of  the  Kendal  Hymns,  1757.  Its  present  form 
is  due  to  the  emendations  of  Honorable  and  Rev.  Walter  Shirley, 
in  1774,  who  placed  it  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  Collection.  It  origi- 
nally began,  "While  my  Jesus  I'm  possessing,"  and  was  rough 
but  strong.  Shirley's  finer  taste  rescued  it  from  oblivion  by  a  few 
judicious  alterations. 

Sweet  the  time,  exceeding  sweet.- — Burder. 

The  writer  of  this  hymn,  Rev.  George  Burder,  was  the  author 
of  the  Village  Sermons.  He  was  born  in  London,  June  5th,  1752, 
and  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  mother  in  1762,  while  he  was 
still  a  child.  As  he  showed  some  ability  in  drawing  and  in  sketch- 
ing, it  was  thought  that  this  fact  would  determine  his  profession. 
He  was  consequently  placed  under  the  tuition  of  Isaac  Taylor,  an 
artist,  and  studied  at  the  Royal  Academy.  At  an  early  age  he 
evinced  sincere  piety,  and  when  he  heard  Mr.  Whitefield  these  im- 
pressions were  deepened.  When  he  was  twenty-three  he  began  to 
preach,  having  become  a  member  of  the  Tabernacle  Church  in 
London,  and  at  length  he  gave  up  his  artistic  pursuits  for  the  minis- 
try. He  was  ordained,  October  29th,  1778,  as  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  at  Lancaster,  and  in  1783  removed  to  Coventry, 
where  he  continued  for  twenty  years. 

Mr.  Burder' s  pen  furnished  him  an  efficient  means  of  doing 
good — his  Early  Piety,  Village  Tracts  and  other  writings  being  read 
by  very  many.  He  was  a  valued  contributor  to  the  current  relig- 
ious periodicals  of  that  day  and  an  editor  of  the  Evangelical  Maga- 
zine. It  was  one  of  his  successes  to  take  Bunyan'  s  Pilgrim  s  Progress 
and  Holy  War,  lecture  upon  them,  and  publish  text  and  commen- 
tary together.  In  1797  the  Village  Sermons  had  a  great  sale,  and 
did  much  good,  and  in  1799,  Burder,  with  other  clergymen, 
founded  the  "  Religious  Tract  Society."  Impressed  with  a  desire 
to  bless  as  large  a  number  of  persons  as  he  could,  he  wrote  twelve 
Sea  Sermons,  the  nautical  phrases  being  reviewed  and  corrected  by 
a  minister  who  had  served  in  the  navy.      Five  years  later,  1826,  he 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  509 

put  forth  twelve  Cottage  Sermons,  and  again,  182^,  twelve  Sermons 
for  the  Aged.  All  of  these  publications  were  extraordinarily  suc- 
cessful, and  are  here  mentioned  for  that  reason. 

In  1803,  Mr.  Burder  became  the  secretary  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  and  preached  at  Fetter  Lane.  The  next  year  he 
helped  to  found  the  "  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society."  His 
sight  gradually  failed  him,  and  he  grew  quite  infirm,  but  he  was 
able  to  preach  until  within  three  months  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  his  eightieth  year,  May  29th,  1832. 

The  collection  of  hymns  which  bears  his  name  was  first  pub- 
lished in  1784.  It  embraced  many  authors,  and  the  original 
hymns  in  it — three  in  number — are  marked  with  the  letter  B. 

Sweet  was  the  time  when  first  I  felt. — Newton. 
This  hymn  is  from  the    Olney  Hymns,  Book  I.,  No.  43,  "Oh 
that  I  were  as  in  Months  past  ! — Job  29:2."     It  has  eight  stanzas. 

Sweeter  sounds  than  music  knows. — Newton. 
We  find  this  piece  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  II.,  No.  37,  where 
it  is  entitled  "  Christmas  Hymn  :  Praise  for  the  Incarnation,"  and 
has  five  stanzas. 

Swell  the  anthem,  raise  the  song. — Strong. 

The  Rev.  Nathan  Strong,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Coventry,  Conn., 
October  16th,  1748.  Here  he  was  educated,  and  from  this  town 
he  went  to  Yale  College,  where  he  was  graduated  with  honor  in 
1769,  taking  the  valedictory  oration  over  no  less  a  competitor  than 
the  future  President  of  Yale,  Timothy  Dwight.  Dr.  Strong  first 
studied  law  and  then  abandoned  this  for  theology.  In  1772  he 
was  a  tutor  in  the  college,  and  in  1773  ne  accepted  the  pastorate 
of  the  First  Congregational  church,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  where  he 
was  ordained,  January  5th,  1774,  and  in  which  he  continued  to 
minister  up  to  the  date  of  his  death. 

Dr.  Strong  was  an  earnest  patriot,  and  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
colonies  against  the  mother  country  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Afterward  he  labored  even  more  earnestly  to  stem  the  tide  of  in- 
fidelity induced  by  the  ebullition  of  this  new  freedom.  His 
biographers  give  him  a  noble  character  for  zeal  and  devotion  to 
true  religion,  especially  to  ' '  revivals, ' '  which  were  then  in  great 
disrepute.     The  church  of  which  he  was  pastor  was  also  known 


510  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

as  the  "North  Presbyterian  Church,"  and  from  this  he  dates  a 
volume  on  a  subject  still  under  debate,  viz.,  "  The  Doctrine  of 
Eternal  Misery  Reconcilable  with  the  Infinite  Benevolence  of 
God,  and  a  Truth  plainly  asserted  in  the  Christian  Scriptures." 

Dr.  Strong  was  remarkable  not  merely  for  his  goodness,  but  also 
for  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  and  for  odd  and  witty  speeches.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  geniality,  a  charming  companion,  and  a  warm 
and  helpful  friend  to  all  who  were  in  need  of  his  sympathy  and 
advice.  He  is  described  as  a  person  possessing  more  than  an 
ordinary  power  of  reading  character,  and  as  a  counsellor  sought 
and  trusted  by  the  most  influential  men  of  his  day. 

In  the  preface  to  his  Village  Hymns,  Mr.  Nettleton  says  :  "  I  have 
obtained  permission  to  insert  a  few  of  the  originals  from  the  Hart- 
ford Selection.  These,  though  already  familiar  to  many,  will  yet 
be  consulted  with  feelings  of  new  interest  when  associated  with  the 
names  of  Strong  and  Steward."  There  are  eight  of  Dr.  Strong's 
hymns  in  this  collection  (1824),  taken  from  the  Hartford  Se- 
lection, 1799.  He  died  in  1816,  in  New  Haven.  He  passed  away 
on  Christmas  day,  after  a  short,  but  painful,  sickness.  It  may  well 
be  believed  that  the  loss  of  such  a  man  fell  like  a  blow  upon  New 
England,  and  that  in  1824  his  memory  was  still  green. 

The  style  of  the  good  doctor's  verse  is  modelled  on  Watts, 
Doddridge  and  Newton.  His  other  pieces  are  quite  forgotten, 
but  this  one  remains  to  attest  his  merit. 

Take  my  heart,  O  Father  !  take  it. — Anon.,  1849. 
This  hymn,  doubtless  of  New  England  Unitarian  origin,  is  in 
C.  A.  Bartol's  Hymns  for  the  Sanctuary,  1849,  and   is  "Anon.," 
also  in  Hymns  of  the  Spirit,  1864,  where  it  begins,    "  Take  my 
heart,  O  Father  !  mould  it. ' ' 

Take  me,  O  my  Father,  take  me. — Palmer. 

We  are  informed  by  the  author  that  this  piece  is  based  on  Luke 
*5  :  18,  and  was  written  in  1864.  Of  this  hymn  an  English  lady 
wrote  (1884)  to  Dr.  Palmer  in  a  most  affecting  way  : 

She  had  been  very  ill  ;  too  weak  to  speak  and  almost  to  think,  and 
during  those  weary  hours  these  lines  had  been  her  comfort  beyond  any 
other  verses  which  she  could  recall.  On  her  recovery  she  called  the  at- 
tention of  her  friends  to  the  hymn,  and,  learning  that  Dr.  Palmer's  resi- 
dence was  in  Albany  (though  in  fact  it  was  in  Newark,  N.  J.),  she  expressed 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  511 

her  gratitude  and  appreciation  for  the  service  he  had  rendered  her  by 
his  Christian  song.  He  had  received  the  letter  but  a  few  days  before  he 
communicated  these  facts  to  the  present  writer  during  an  extended  and 
delightful  interview. 

Take  my  life  and  let  it  be. — Havergal. 

This  is  Miss  Havergal's  well-known  and  deeply  suggestive 
"  Consecration  Hymn."  It  was  written  in  an  outburst  of  joy  that 
she  had  been  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  certain  dear  friends. 

It  appears  in  her  Poems,  p.  235,  and  the  date  in  her  Songs  0/ 
Grace  and  Glory  is  1873.  Her  own  account  of  its  composition  is 
given  in  a  letter  to  a  friend. 

"  Perhaps  you  will  be  interested  to  know  the  origin  of  the  consecration 
hymn,  'Take  My  Life.'  I  went  for  a  little  visit  of  five  days.  There 
were  ten  persons  in  the  house,  some  unconverted  and  long  prayed-for, 
some  converted  but  not  rejoicing  Christians.  He  gave  me  the  prayer, 
Lord,  give  me  all  in  this  house  !  And  He  just  did.  Before  I  left  the 
house  every  one  had  got  a  blessing.  The  last  night  of  my  visit  I  was 
too  happy  to  sleep,  and  passed  most  of  the  night  in  praise  and  renewal 
of  my  own  consecration,  and  these  little  couplets  formed  themselves  and 
chimed  in  my  heart,  one  after  another,  till  they  finished  with  '  Ever,  only, 
all,  for  Thee. '  ' ' 

"  Take  up  thy  cross,"  the  Saviour  said. — Everest. 
Rev.  Charles  William  Everest  was  born  at  East  Windsor,  Conn., 
May  27th,  1 8 14,  and  intended  to  become  an  editor,  but  finally 
entered  the  ministrj',  and  was  ordained  priest  in  1842.  His  educa- 
tion was  received  at  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  whence  he  was 
graduated  in  1838.  From  the  date  of  his  ordination  he  was  rector 
of  the  parish  of  Hampden,  near  New  Haven,  Conn.,  for  thirty- 
one  years.  During  thirty  years  he  also  maintained  a  school  which 
was  successful  and  important.  His  death  occurred  at  Waterbury, 
Conn.,  January  nth,  1877,  and  he  was  at  that  time  an  officer  in 
the  "  Society  for  the  Increase  of  the  Ministry."  The  hymn  was 
written  and  published  about  the  year  1833,  and  while  unusual  in 
American  collections  is  in  nearly  all  of  the  recent  English  books. 
It  found  its  way,  among  other  collections,  into  Hymns,  Ancient  and 
Modern,  and  L.  C.  Biggs,  in  English  Hymnology,  praises  it  as  "  a 
beautiful  American  hymn,"  and  states  that  it  was  first  published  in 

Visions  of  Death,  and  Other  Poems,  1833.  There  are  five  stanzas, 
which   are   printed  in  the  notes  to  the  Free  Church  Hymn-Book, 

1882. 


512  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Teach  me  the  measure  of  my  days. — Watts. 
This  version  of  Ps.  39,  Second  Part,  C.  M.,  vv.  4-7,  is  in 
six  stanzas.  No  one  has  called  attention  to  the  close  resemblance 
between  two  stanzas  of  this  (1 719)  and  two  of  the  version  by  Miss 
Anne  Steele  (1760).  While  the  plagiarism  is  unconscious  and 
natural,  it  is,  nevertheless,  very  real  : 

"  Almighty  Maker  of  my  frame, 

Teach  me  the  measure  of  my  days, 
Teach  me  to  know  how  frail  I  am, 
And  spend  the  remnant  to  thy  praise. 

"  My  days  are  shorter  than  a  span, 
A  little  point  my  life  appears  ; 
How  frail  at  best  is  dying  man  ! 

How  vain  are  all  his  hopes  and  fears  !" 

The  Psalm  reads  :  "  Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  Che  meas- 
ure of  my  days,  what  it  is  ;  that  I  may  know  how  frail  I  am.  Behold, 
thou  hast  made  my  days  as  a  handbreadth  ;  and  mine  age  is  as  nothing 
before  thee,"  etc. 

Teach  me  to  do  the  thing  that  pleaseth  thee. — Monsell. 
This  is  taken  from  J.  S.  B.  Wlqtis&X  $>  Hymns  of  Love  a?id  Praise, 
p.  92.     The  text  is,  Ps.  143  :  10,  and  it  has  four  stanzas. 

Tell  it  out  among  the  nations. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
Mr.  Sankey,  who  composed  the  tune  for  this  hymn,  relates  that 
the  verses  were  written  by  Miss  Havergal  while  lying  very  ill  in 
Wales.  She  heard  the  church  bells  ringing,  and,  not  being  able 
to  attend  divine  worship,  she  occupied  herself  by  preparing  the 
hymn  as  an  expression  of  her  hope  and  desire.  The  words — and 
the  tune  also — suggest  the  chiming  of  the  bells.  The  date  was 
1872. 

Tell  me  whom  my  soul  doth  love. — Wolcott. 

The  date  of  this  hymn  is  given  to  us  by  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Wol- 
cott as  February  6th,  1870.  "  As  printed  in  Spiritual  Songs"  he 
writes,  "  the  apostrophe  ('  Shepherd's  ')  makes  it  refer  to  the 
chief  Shepherd.  I  designed  simply  a  paraphrase  of  Cant.  1  :  8 — 
'  shepherds'  tents.'  "     The  title  is  "  Shulamith." 

We  may  add  here  that  "  Christ  for  the  world  we  sing,"  was  written 
Feb.  17th,  1869,  and  nas  been  adopted  by  Yankton  College,  Dakota,  as 
the  hymn  with    which    each    term   opens.      "  Goodly  were  thy  tents,  O 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  513 

Israel,"  bears  the  date  May  31st,  1881,  and  is  called  a   "  Home   Mission- 
ary Hymn." 

Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand. — Alford. 
This  hymn  was  written  about  the  year  1866  (Miss  Havergalsays 
1867),  and  has  a  peculiar  interest  in  view  of  Dean  Alford's  lovely 
private  life.  Upon  his  tomb  was  carved  the  inscription,  "  Dever- 
sorium  viatoris  proficientis  Hierosolymam' '  ["  The  inn  of  a  pilgrim 
journeying  to  Jerusalem"].  The  hymn  receives  Dr.  Schaff's  em- 
phatic commendation  in  the  S chaff- Her zog  Cyclopcedia  (art.  Alford), 
and  no  one  can  read  it  without  feeling  the  thrill  of  its  fervor. 
Most  appropriately,  it  was  the  song  chosen  for  the  final  services  in 
the  churchyard  at  the  dean's  funeral. 

The  atoning  work  is  done. — Kelly. 
This  is  based  on  Heb.  10  :  21,  and  is  in  four  stanzas,  in  Thomas 
Kelly's  edition  of  1806. 

Tender  Shepherd,  thou  hast  stilled.  — Winkworth,  tr. 

Miss  Winkworth  has  rendered  this  hymn  from  Johann  Wilhelm 
Meinholdin  her  Lyra  Germanica  (Second  Series,  1858).  Her  ver- 
sion begins,  "  Gentle  Shepherd,  thou  hast  stilled,"  etc. — another 
instance  of  the  manner  in  which  the  labor  of  the  hymnologist  is 
made  difficult  by  an  altered  first  line.  The  German  words  begin  : 
1 '  Guler  Hirt,  du  hast  gestillet. ' '  Meinhold  was  born  at  Netzelkau, 
in  the  island  of  Usedom,  February  27th,  1797. 

He  studied  theology  at  Greifswalde  ;  was  rector  at  Usedom  and 
elsewhere  in  Pomerania,  and  in  1844  "  undertook  the  parish  of 
Rehwinkel,  near  Stargard."  He  opposed  the  revolution  of '48, 
and,  being  inclined  to  Romanism,  he  resigned  his  parish  in  1850. 
After  that  date  he  resided  in  Charlottenburg  until  his  death, 
November  30th,  1851.  He  wrote  a  religious  epic  poem,  Otto  of 
Pomerania;  and  his  miscellaneous  pieces  were  published  in  two 
volumes.       His  novels,  the  Amber  Witch  and  Sidonia,  are  notable. 

The  translator,  Miss  Catherine  Winkworth,  who  died  in  1878, 
was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Winkworth,  of  Alderley  Edge,  near 
Manchester,  England,  and  was  born  in  London,  September  13th, 
1829.  Her  contributions  to  hymnology  are  included  in  Lyra 
Germanica,  first  series,  1855,  and  second,  1858  ;  and  in  her 
Christian  Singers  of  Germany,  1869 — a  very  exhaustive  and  popular 


514  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

work.     On  Lyra  Germam'ca  Pastor  Kiibler  wrote  a  volume  of  ex- 
cellent annotations  which  is  now  quite  rare. 

The  Church  has  waited  long-. — Bonar. 
The  Anglicans  have  taken  this  hymn  of  Dr.  Bonar  into  full  com- 
munion.    It  is  styled   by  them  an   "Advent  Hymn,"  and  was 
written  in  1844  and  published  in  1856. 

The  Church's  one  foundation. — Stone. 
This  is  Rev.  S.  J.  Stone's  best  hymn,  and  first  appeared  in  1865 
in  his  Lyra  Fidelium,  a  series  of  twelve  hymns  upon  the  Apostles' 
Creed.     This  was  set  to  the  phrase,  ' '  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church." 

The  Comforter  has  come. — Anon.,  1858. 

This  hymn  is  No.  504  of  Dr.  Hastings's  Church  Melodies  (1858), 
where  it  is  a  C.  M. :  "  The  Holy  Comforter  has  come."  The  first 
line  of  each  stanza  is  now  shortened  by  two  syllables. 

The  dawn  of  God's  new  Sabbath. — Cross. 
For  a  long  time  in  the  various  British  collections  there  was  at- 
tached to  this  hymn  the  name  of  "  Ada  Cambridge.  "  It  was  the 
maiden  name  of  the  authoress,  by  which  she  was  better  known  than 
by  her  married  name.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Henry  Cambridge, 
and  was  born  at  St.  Germains,  Norfolkshire,  England,  November 
21st,  1844.  Her  Hymns  on  the  Holy  Communion  were  published  in 
1866,  with  a  preface  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Baynes  ;  and,  besides  this  vol- 
ume, she  has  issued  Hymns  on  the  Litany,  and  a  novel  called  The 
Two  Surplices.  In  1869  she  married  Rev.  George  Frederick  Cross, 
of  Coleraine,  Victoria,  Australia.  Her  husband  was  ordained  in 
1871,  and  in  1877  became  the  incumbent  of  that  parish  on  the 
other  side  of  the  world,  and  has  since  resided  there. 

The  day  is  gently  sinking  to  a  close. — C.  Wordsworth. 
Bishop  Wordsworth's  hymns  are  generally  to  be  credited  to  the 
Holy>  Year,  1862. 

The  present  piece  recalls  the  fine  painting  by  Paul  Delaroche — the 
vision  of  Christ  walking  upon  the  sea.  By  a  graceful  and  most  sugges- 
tive method  of  interpretation  the  distant  figure  moves  in  a  glory  of  its 
own  light,  indistinct,  undefined,  and  yet  inspiringly  beautiful  and  coming 
nearer  with  comfort  out  of  the  storm. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  515 

The  day  is  past  and  gone.  — Leland. 

John  Leland  was  born  at  Grafton,  Mass.,  May  14th,  1754,  and 
was  an  eminent  and  active  Baptist  clergyman  in  Virginia  from 
1775  to  I79°-  He  subsequently  resided  in  Massachusetts  and 
New  York.  His  autobiography  is  the  principal  source  of  informa- 
tion respecting  his  personal  history.  It  was  published  in  1845, 
and  contained  some  of  his  other  writings.  He  composed  other 
hymns,  none  of  which  are  now  in  use.  This  autobiography  shows 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  force,  and  one  who  aided 
in  the  election  of  James  Madison  over  Patrick  Henry  at  the  time 
of  the  Virginia  Convention. 

Elder  Leland  is  described  as  being  "  tall,  muscular,  and  commanding. 
Age  had  slightly  bent  him  in  later  years,  but  that  added  to  his  patriarchal 
venerableness.  He  had  a  noble  head,  a  high,  expanded  and  slightly  re- 
treating forehead,  a  nose  a  little  aquiline,  and  a  bright,  beautiful,  spark- 
ling, blue  eye,  which  eighty-seven  years  had  not  dimmed.  The  expression 
of  his  eye,  especially  in  the  pulpit,  was  electrical.  In  his  manners  and 
personal  intercourse  he  was  plain,  courteous,  and  dignified.  He  was 
bland  and  kind  to  all.  No  man  could  approach  him  with  a  rude  famili- 
arity." 

He  was  a  man  of  ready  wit  and  almost  boundless  eccentricity 
— except   in    prayer,    when    he   was    always  devout  and  solemn. 

Sprague's  Annals,  Vol.  VI.,  contains  a  notice  of  him.  He  died 
at  North  Adams,  Mass.,  January  14th,  1841.  There  is  an  Am- 
brosian  simplicity  about  this  hymn  which  suggests  at  once  a  pure 
and  unaffected  piety,  like  that  of  the  early  Church.  The  piece  is 
really  classic  in  its  unpretending  beauty.  We  are  bound  to  add, 
however,  that  Leland' s  other  hymns,  as  given  in  Dossey 's  Choice, 
1833,  are  not  equal  to  this. 

A  recent  number  of  the  Century  Magazine  (September,  1885, 
p.  772)  contains  a  beautiful  incident  in  which  this  hymn  has  its  part. 
The  lady  records  in  her  diary  of  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  (June  5th, 
1863)  that  their  house  was  finally  struck  by  a  shell.  "  The  can- 
dles," she  continues,  "were  useless  in  the  dense  smoke,  and  it 
was  many  minutes  before  we  could  see.  Then  we  found  the 
entire  side  of  the  room  torn  out.  The  soldiers  who  had  rushed 
in  said  :  '  This  is  an  eighty- pound  Parrott. '  It  had  entered 
through  the  front,  burst  on  the  pallet-bed,  which  was  in  tatters  ; 
the  toilet-service  and  everything  else  in  the  room  smashed.  The 
soldiers  assisted  H —  to  board  up  the  break  with  planks  to  keep 


516  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

out  prowlers,  and  we  went  to  bed  in  the  cellar  as  usual.  This 
morning  the  yard  is  partially  ploughed  by  a  couple  that  fell  there 
in  the  night.  I  think  this  house,  so  large  and  prominent  from  the 
river,  is  perhaps  taken  for  headquarters  and  specially  shelled.  Ks> 
we  descend  at  night  to  the  lower  regions,  I  think  of  the  evening 
hymn  that  grandmother  taught  me  when  a  child  : 
'  Lord,  keep  us  safe  this  night, 

Secure  from  all  our  fears  ; 
May  angels  guard  us  while  we  sleep, 

Till  morning  light  appears.' 

Surely,  if  there  are  heavenly  guardians  we  need  them  now." 

The  day,  O  Lord,  is  spent. — Neale. 
We  have  here  one  of  Dr.  John  Mason  Neale' s  most  beautiful 
original  hymns  (written  1842)  from  his  Hymns  for  Children  (three 
series  ;   1844  and  later).       "  No  mediaeval  research,   no  wander- 
ing among  the  strange  ordinances  and  phantasies  of  the  Eastern 
Church,  ever  drew  John  Mason  Neale  away  from  the  pure,  simple 
faith  in  his  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ."      So  writes  Archdeacon  Prescott, 
and  one  who  reads  this  hymn  can  well  believe  it.      If  any  com- 
parison is  desired  between  this  and  any  similar  production   we 
may  properly  place  beside  it  the  lovely  lyric  of  John  Cennick  : 
"  When,  O  dear  Jesus,  when  shall  I 
Behold  thee  all  serene 
Blest  in  perpetual  Sabbath  day 
Without  a  veil  between  ?" 

This  hymn  of  Dr.  Neale' s  is  so  perfectly  finished  in  every  word 
and  phrase  that  not  one  syllable  has  been  altered  since  it  was  first 
printed.  Dr.  Beman,  with  his  rare  good  taste,  selected  it  years 
ago  for  his  Church  Psalmist,  and  it  stands  in  Lyra  Britannica  al- 
most alone,  as  an  original  production  of  its  author.  It  seems  to 
have  been  among  the  earliest  of  Dr.  Neale's  compositions,  and  its 
concluding  doxology  is  worth  quotation,  for  the  present  one  is 
by  another  hand. 

"  From  men  below  the  skies, 
And  all  the  heavenly  host, 
To  God  the  Father  praise  arise — 
The  Son  and  Holy  Ghost." 

Dr.  Beman  omitted  this — and,  as  it  would  seem,  with  good 
reason,  for  it  falls  far  short  of  the  other  stanzas. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  517 

The  day  is  past  and  over. — Neale,  tr. 
This  is  the  rrfr  r)jj.tpav  dieXSaov  of  St.  Anatolius,  first  sung 
in  450  a.  d.      It  is  a  great  favorite  in  the  Greek  isles.     To  Chios 
and  Mitylene  it  is  what  Bishop  Ken's  hymn  is  to  us. 

The  day  of  praise  is  done. — Ellerton. 

Sometimes  this  is  written,  "  Our  day  of  praise  is  done."  The 
date  is   1867. 

An  appropriate  comment  on  this  hymn  is  found  in  Alphonse 
Karr'  s  A  Tour  Round  My  Garden  ; 

..."  The  sun  is  about  to  set  ;  the  white  blossom  of  the  water-lily- 
gathers  its  petals  together  and  shuts  up  closely.  The  birds  have  ceased 
to  sing,  and  quarrel  for  the  snuggest  places  under  the  leaves  ;  you  may 
see  the  colors  you  admired  in  the  morning  reappear  in  the  heavens  ;  but 
they  have  assumed  severer  and  deeper  shades.  The  rose-color  of  the 
morning  is  red  in  the  evening  ;  the  yellow  is  orange,  the  lilac  has  become 
violet  ;  the  globe  of  fire  descends  and  disappears  in  a  red  fog,  which 
looks  like  the  lighted  ashes  of  a  volcano.  The  trees  in  the  East,  in  their 
turn,  receive  the  adieu  and  last  look  of  the  sun,  as  the  trees  in  the  West 
received  his  good-morning  and  his  earliest  ray.  ...     It  is  night. 

"  But  the  night  has  its  birds,  its  flowers,  and  its  insects  which  sleep 
during  the  day  and  which  awake  while  the  others  sleep.  The  moon  is 
their  sun.  .  .  .  Night  is  the  time  in  which  trees  breathe  the  oxygen 
which  is  as  necessary  for  their  existence  as  it  is  for  ours.  In  the  day- 
time they  will  expire  and  return  to  the  air  much  more  of  it  than  they  have 
taken  ;  the  action  of  the  sun  decomposing  the  carbonic  acid  gas.  .  .  . 
This  .  .  .  explains  the  pleasure  we  experience  in  the  daytime  under 
trees,  a  happiness  which  is  not  to  be  attributed  merely  to  the  freshness 
and  shade.   .   .   . 

..."  Not  one  of  the  plants,  not  one  of  the  insects  of  which  I  have 
spoken  to  you  .  .  .  blossoms,  shows  itself,  shuts  up,  is  transformed,  or 
dies,  either  before  or  after  the  epoch,  the  day,  the  hour,  assigned  it." 

The  day  of  resurrection. — Neale,  tr. 
Dr.  Neale,  who  made  his  translation  in  1862,  calls  this  the 
"glorious  old  Hymn  of  Victory"  (avaffraaeoo^  rf^iepa).  It 
is  a  part  of  the  canon  for  Easter  of  St.  John  Damascene  (died, 
circa  780  a.d.),  and  the  circumstances  under  which  this  canon  is 
sung  are  described  by  the  translator  in  a  quotation  which  we  give 
in  full.      The  scene  is  at  Athens  : 

"As  midnight  approached,  the  archbishop,  with  his  priests,  accompanied 
by  the  king  and  queen,  left  the  church,  and  stationed  themselves  on  the 
platform,  which  was  raised  considerably  from  the  ground,  so  that  they 


518  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

were  distinctly  seen  by  the  people.  Every  one  now  remained  in  breath- 
less expectation,  holding  their  unlighted  tapers  in  readiness  when  the 
glad  moment  should  arrive,  while  the  priests  still  continued  murmuring 
their  melancholy  chant  in  a  low  half-whisper.  Suddenly  a  single  report 
of  a  cannon  announced  that  twelve  o'clock  had  struck,  and  that  Easter 
day  had  begun  ;  then  the  old  archbishop,  elevating  the  cross,  exclaimed  in 
a  loud,  exulting  tone  :  '  Christos  anesti  !  '  '  Christ  is  risen  !  '  and  in- 
stantly every  single  individual  of  all  that  host  took  up  the  cry,  and  the 
vast  multitude  broke  through  and  dispelled  forever  the  intense  and  mourn- 
ful silence  which  they  had  maintained  so  long,  with  one  spontaneous 
shout  of  indescribable  joy  and  triumph,  '  Christ  is  risen  ! '  '  Christ  is 
risen  !  '  At  the  same  moment  the  oppressive  darkness  was  succeeded  by 
a  blaze  of  light  from  thousands  of  tapers  which,  communicating  one  from 
another,  seemed  to  send  streams  of  fire  in  all  directions,  rendering  the 
minutest  objects  distinctly  visible,  and  casting  the  most  vivid  glow  on 
the  expressive  faces  full  of  exultation  of  the  rejoicing  crowd  ;  bands  of 
music  struck  up  their  gayest  strains  ;  the  roll  of  the  drum  through  the 
town,  and  further  on  the  pealing  of  the  cannon  announced  far  and  near 
these  '  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  ;  '  while  from  hill  and  plain,  from  the 
seashore  and  the  far  olive-grove,  rocket  after  rocket  ascending  to  the 
clear  sky,  answered  back  with  their  mute  eloquence,  that  Christ  is  risen 
indeed,  and  told  of  other  tongues  that  were  repeating  those  blessed  words, 
and  other  hearts  that  leap  for  joy  ;  everywhere  men  clasped  each  other's 
hands,  and  congratulated  one  another,  and  embraced  with  countenances 
beaming  with  delight  as  though  to  each  one  separately  some  wonderful 
happiness  had  been  proclaimed  ;  and  so  in  truth  it  was  ;  and  all  the  while, 
rising  above  the  mingling  of  many  sounds,  each  one  of  which  was  a  sound 
of  gladness,  the  aged  priests  were  distinctly  heard  chanting  forth  a  glori- 
ous old  hymn  of  victory  in  tones  so  loud  and  clear  that  they  seemed  to 
have  regained  their  youth  and  strength  to  tell  the  world  how  '  Christ  is 
risen  from  the  dead,  having  trampled  death  beneath  his  feet,  and  hence- 
forth they  that  are  in  the  tombs  have  everlasting  life.'  " 

St.  John  of  Damascus  (Damascenus)  is  described  by  Dr.  Neale 
as  the  "  last  of  the  fathers  of  the  Eastern  Church,  and  the  greatest 
of  her  poets." 

"  It  is  surprising,"  he  adds.  "  how  little  is  known  of  his  life.  That  he 
was  born  of  a  good  family  at  Damascus— that  he  made  great  progress  in 
philosophy— that  he  administered  some  charge  under  the  Caliph — that  he 
retired  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Sabas,  in  Palestine — that  he  was  the  most 
learned  and  eloquent  writer  with  which  the  Iconoclasts  had  to  contend 
— that  at  a  comparatively  late  period  of  life  he  was  ordained  priest  of  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem,  and  that  he  died  after  754  and  before  787,  seems  to 
comprise  all  that  has  reached  us  of  his  biography."  His  Arabic  title  of 
Ibn-Mansur  was  derived  from  his  father's  name  ;  at  least  so  says  As- 
seman.     It  is  uncertain  whether  he  is  the  same  as  John  Arklas,  an  eccle- 


ENGLISH  H  YMNS.  5  l 9 

siastical  poet  of  that  period.  His  hymns  are  for  Easter,  and  Ascension, 
and  the  feast  of  St.  Thomas.  And  Dr.  Neale  (an  "  advanced  "  Ritualist) 
rejoices  in  the  poet's  "  eloquent  defence  of  Icons"—"  Icons"  (from  elaov) 
being  nothing  more  nor  less  than  graven  and  molten  images. 

The  day  of  rest  once  more  comes  round.  —Kelly. 

This  hymn  of  Kelly's  dates  from  1806.  It  has  three  stanzas, 
and  is  based  on  Num.  10  :  2. 

Rabbi  Jehudah,  one  of  the  celebrated  doctors  of  the  Jewish  law,  was 
wont  to  call  his  pupils'  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Israelites  broke  the 
first  Sabbath,  and  therefore  God  suffered  them  to  go  into  captivity.  He 
would  point,  in  proof  of  this,  to  the  statement  that  the  people  went  out  to 
gather  manna  on  the  holy  day,  and  that  the  very  next  chapter  says, 
"  Then  came  Amalek  and  fought  with  Israel  in  Rephidim." 

The  gloomy  night  will  soon  be  past. — Tregelles. 
Samuel  Prideaux  Tregelles  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
biblical  scholars  of  the  century  ;  a  man  whose  sheer  ability  placed 
him  among  the  band  of  Revisers  of  the  New  Testament,  although 
his  ill  health  prevented  his  fulfilment  of  the  duties  thus  assigned 
to  him.  He  was  born  of  Quaker  parentage  at  Wodehouse  Place, 
Falmouth,  England,  January  20th,  1813.  He  received  his  early 
education  at  the  Falmouth  Grammar  School,  and  was  afterward 
employed  in  the  Neath  Abbey  Iron-Works  for  several  years  (1828- 
1834).  In  1836  he  became  a  private  tutor  in  Falmouth.  By  the 
time  that  he  was  twenty -five  he  had  developed  a  strong  inclination 
for  the  critical  study  of  the  New  Testament  text,  and  had  settled 
with  himself  that  this  was  to  be  his  life-work.  In  1838  he  issued 
the  first  specimens  of  his  labor  of  collation  and  comparison,  and 
in  1844  the  first  real  instalment  of  the  task  was  published.  His 
intention  was  to  construct  a  Greek  Testament  as  nearly  perfect  as 
possible,  and  derived  from  the  best  and  purest  sources.  The 
Apocalypse  was  the  beginning  of  this  series  of  texts,  and  in  pur- 
suance of  his  studies  Dr.  Tregelles  spent  much  time  and  made 
many  researches  among  ancient  manuscripts.  He  saw  at  Rome, 
but  was  not  allowed  to  collate,  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in  1845. 
Not  until  1857  did  his  work  assume  its  due  proportions,  and  in 
1 86 1  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis  while  supervising  the  issue  of 
Part  II.  In  1870  he  received  another  shock,  and  Part  VI.  did  not 
appear  until  1872.  This  closed  the  list  of  books,  but  the  Pro- 
legomena were  finally  sent  out  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Hort 


520  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  A.  W.  Streane,  in    1879.      On   tne  24th  of  April,  1875,  Dr. 
Tregelles  had  died  at  Plymouth. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  single  line  of  research  con- 
stituted the  sum  of  this  good  man's  life.  He  was  active  in  all 
benevolence;  and  in  1850  the  University  of  St.  Andrews  gave 
him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  He  also  published  a  number  of  works 
bearing  on  the  general  subject  of  his  studies,  and  it  can  be  safely 
said  that  modern  scholarship  owes  much  to  his  labors.  In  re- 
ligious connection  he  has  been  called  a  "  Plymouth  Brother," 
but,  although  he  sympathized  with  many  of  their  opinions,  he 
never  positively  allied  himself  with  them.  His  name  was  on  the 
civil  list  for  a  pension  of  £100  in  1863,  and  later  for  £200.  This 
would  indicate  that  his  love  of  critical  scholarship  did  not  leave 
him  time  to  care  for  money. 

The  God  of  Abraham  praise.  — Olivers. 

Thomas  Olivers  was  born  at  Tregonan,  a  village  in  Montgomery- 
shire, in  1725.  His  parents  died  when  he  was  but  four  years  of 
age,  and  his  youth  was  spent  without  much  oversight  from  his 
relative  and  guardian,  a  Mr.  Tudor,  who  was  a  farmer  in  the  same 
county.  At  eighteen  he  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  shoemaker, 
but  he  soon — as  he  confesses  in  his  A utobiography—  became  notori- 
ous for  wickedness  in  a  parish  where  "  sin  abounded." 

Among  the  best  evidences  of  his  renewed  heart  were  his  prompt 
payment  of  various  small  debts,  and  his  immediate  and  open 
avowal  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Mr.  Olivers  says  of  his  own  con- 
version, that  he  had  been  listening  to  a  sermon  preached  by 
Whitefield,  at  Bristol,  upon  the  text,  "Is  not  this  a  brand 
plucked  out  of  the  fire  ?" 

"  When  the  sermon  began,"  he  declares,  "  I  was  certainly  a  dreadful 
enemy  to  God  and  to  all  that  is  good  ;  and  one  of  the  most  profligate 
and  abandoned  young  men  living."  But  by  the  time  it  concluded  he  was 
a  different  person.  He  was  under  the  deepest  conviction  of  sin  and  de- 
sire for  righteousness.  He  fasted  and  prayed  until  his  knees  grew  stiff, 
and  he  was  lame  in  consequence  for  quite  a  length  of  time.  "  So  earnest 
was  I,"  he  says,  "  that  I  used  by  the  hour  together  to  wrestle  with  all  the 
might  of  my  body  and  soul,  till  I  almost  expected  to  die  on  the  spot." 

Mr.  Olivers  became  one  of  the  Wesleyan  travelling  preachers, 
and  labored  first  in  Cornwall  and  then  elsewhere  in  England  and 
Ireland.     He  travelled  fully  one  hundred  thousand  miles,  and  often 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  521 

encountered  great  opposition  and  persecution.  These  he  met  with 
patience  and  success,  and  finalty  ended  his  course  with  joy  in 
March,  1799,  in  the  city  of  London. 

Under  date  of  July  29th,  1805,  Henry  Martyn  writes  : 

"  I  was  much  engaged  at  intervals  in  learning  the  hymn,  '  The  God  of 
Abraham  praise  ;  '  as  often  as  I  could  use  the  language  of  it  with  any 
truth,  my  heart  was  a  little  at  ease.  There  was  something  peculiarly 
solemn  and  affecting  to  me  in  this  hymn,  and  particularly  at  this  time. 
The  truth  of  the  sentiments  I  knew  well  enough.  But,  alas  !  I  felt  that 
the  state  of  mind  expressed  in  it  was  above  mine  at  the  time,  and  I  felt 
loath  to  forsake  all  on  earth."     This  was  on  his  voyage  to  India. 

The  hymn  itself,  which  is  a  magnificent  lyric,  is  given  in  full 
in  Christophers'  Epworth  Singers.  Mr.  Olivers  had  been  listen- 
ing to  a  sermon  from  a  Jewish  rabbi  at  Westminster,  where  he  was 
visiting  his  friend,  John  Bakewell.  On  his  return  from  the  syna- 
gogue, where  he  had  also  heard  Dr.  Leoni  sing  an  old  Hebrew 
melody,  Mr.  Olivers  composed  these  stirring  words  to  the  tune. 
Montgomery  admired  this  hymn  greatly,  and  placed  it  above  any 
he  knew  for  majesty  and  elevation  of  thought.  There  have  been 
fully  thirty  editions  of  the  unabridged  hymn,  and  Dr.  Adam  Clark 
loved  it  and  taught  it  to  his  children,  one  of  whom  at  eighty  years 
of  age  could  still  recall  its  music  and  words. 

Richard  Pattison,  a  devoted  Methodist  missionary  in  the  West  Indies, 
said  :  "  Many  times,  in  storms  on  the  ocean,  or  crossing  from  one  island 
to  another  in  small  vessels,  I  have  held  by  a  rope,  and  sang  : 

1  The  watery  deep  I  pass, 
With  Jesus  in  my  view  ; 
And  through  the  howling  wilderness 
My  way  pursue  ;— ' 

and  I  have  felt  my  faith  in  God  wonderfully  strengthened." 

Another,  and  quite  an  affecting  incident,  in  connection  with  this  hymn, 
was  its  use  by  a  young  Jewess  who  had  but  lately  given  her  heart  to  the 
Saviour.  Her  baptism  enraged  her  father,  who  was  the  chief  of  his  syna- 
gogue, and  he  vowed  to  kill  her.  She  found  refuge  in  the  house  of  the 
minister  who  had  baptized  her,  "and  there,"  says  an  eye-witness,  who 
was  brought  to  Christ  by  the  scene,  "  I  saw  her,  in  the  hour  of  bitter- 
ness, when  the  reality  of  her  abandonment  by  the  house  of  her  fathers 
first  came  upon  her.  It  did  not  damp  her  joy  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  I 
shall  never  forget  the  scene  when  she  stood,  with  clasped  hands,  her  black, 
lustrous  eyes  upturned  to  heaven,  and  her  dark  but  expressive  face  lighted 
up,  and  lifting  up  her  voice  sang  snatches  of  what  she  had  already  learned 
to  call  her  own  hymn — 

1  The  God  of  Abraham  praise.'  " 


522  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

The  harvest  dawn  is  near.  — Burgess. 
Rev.  George  Burgess,  D. D.,  was  born  in  Providence.  R.  I., 
October  31st,  1809.  He  was  graduated  at  Brown  University  in 
that  city  in  1826,  and  after  a  brief  tutorship  went  abroad  and 
studied  for  two  years  at  Bonn,  Gottingen  and  Berlin.  On  his 
return  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
in  1834,  and  almost  immediately  became  the  rector  of  Christ 
church,  Hartford,  Conn.  From  this  position  he  was  elevated  to 
the  episcopate,  and  consecrated  Bishop  of  Maine,  October  31st, 
1847.  His  residence  in  Maine  was  Gardiner,  where  he  performed 
the  duties  of  rector  in  Christ  church  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  Bishop  Burgess  died  at  sea,  near  Hayti,  April  23d,  1866,  and 
was  buried  at  Gardiner,  Me.  His  writings  embrace  several  poems, 
and  the  Book  0/  Psalms  in  English  verse,  1840,  whence  this  piece 
is  taken. 

The  head  that  once  was  crowned  with  thorns. — Kelly. 
This  hymn  was  written  in   1820,  and  in  the  edition  of  that  year 
we  find  it,  in  six  stanzas,  based  on  Heb.  2  :  10. 

After  about  sixty  years'  experience  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  Mr. 
Kelly  was  asked  if  anything  that  he  had  seen  or  heard  had  changed  his 
opinions.  He  replied  :  "  What  pacified  the  conscience  then,  does  so 
now.  What  gave  hope  then,  does  so  now.  Other  foundation  can  no 
man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." 

The  heavens  declare  his  glory. — Conder. 

A  life  of  Josiah  Conder,  the  author  of  this  version  of  Ps.  19, 
was  prepared  by  his  immediate  relatives,  and  includes  much  of  his 
personal  correspondence.  It  is  from  this  source  that  we  have  taken 
our  information  as  to  the  dates  and  facts  of  his  career. 

Josiah  Conder  was  born  in  Falcon  Street,  Aldersgate,  London, 
September  17th,  1789,  the  fourth  son  and  sixth  child  of  Thomas 
Conder.  The  boy's  grandfather  was  Dr.  John  Conder,  a  noted 
Dissenting  clergyman.  Thomas  was  also  a  stanch  Nonconfor- 
mist, and  the  son  grew  up  in  the  ancestral  faith.  At  five  years  of 
age,  being  inoculated  for  small-pox,  the  disease  destroyed  the 
sight  of  his  right  eye.  Fearing  that  the  other  eye  would  be  lost 
the  boy  was  sent  by  his  parents  to  Hackney  to  be  treated  by 
electricity.  Here  his  physician  became  his  teacher,  and  carried 
him   through   the  fundamental  principles  of    French  and  Latin, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  523 

with  other  studies.     At  fifteen  he  was  qualified  to  enter  his  father's 
bookstore  as  an  assistant. 

In  this  new  position  he  employed  his  time  to  advantage  by  con- 
versing with  the  intelligent  people  who  visited  the  place.  This 
soon  led  to  a  pronounced  interest  in  literature,  and  in  18 10  we 
find  him,  with  Ann  and  Jane  Taylor,  and  Eliza  Thomas  (after- 
ward his  wife),  and  some  more  aspirants  for  fame,  joined  in  a 
volume  of  composite  verse  called  The  Associate  Minstrels.  Unlike 
many  similar  ventures,  this  book  was  of  sufficient  merit  to  secure 
a  second  edition,  in  18 12. 

The  year  181 2  is  also  commemorated  in  the  career  of  Mr.  Con- 
der  by  his  contribution  of  three  hymns  to  the  collection  of  Dr. 
Col  Iyer,  one  of  them  being  a  version  of  the  23d  Psalm.  Two 
years  later  the  young  writer  obtained  the  control  of  the  Eclectic 
Review,  which  threw  him  into  close  relations  with  a  number  of  the 
best  literary  people  of  the  day.  He  was  thenceforth  constantly 
occupied  in  literary  pursuits  upon  his  own  account.  He  published 
and  prepared  many  works,  mostly  on  religious  topics,  the  titles  of 
which  are  given  at  length  by  the  biographers. 

The  Patriot  newspaper  was  also  one  of  his  undertakings,  started 
by  him  in  1832,  in  connection  with  Mr.  J.  M.  Hare  ;  and  to  this 
journal  Mr.  Conder  gave  his  business  attention  and  personal 
thought  until  his  death.  Never  entirely  out  of  the  embarrassments 
of  pecuniary  struggle,  he  still  maintained  a  hopeful  and  trustful 
spirit.  And  there  is  no  doubt  that  his  hymns  are  dear  to  Chris- 
tians because  of  the  echoes  of  their  own  conflicts  which  they  find 
in  these  verses. 

Mr.  Conder  collected  his  poems,  including  all  his  hymns,  in  a 
volume  which  was  nearly  ready  for  the  press  at  the  time  of  his 
decease.  It  supersedes  all  previous  publications,  and  is  entitled 
Hymns  of  Praise.  The  author  died  at  St.  John's  Wood,  London, 
December  27th,  1855  ;  and  his  book,  already  complete  under  his 
revision,  was  issued  posthumously  in  1856.  Nor  must  we  forget 
that  Mr.  Conder's  Congregational  Hymn-Book,  1836,  has  long 
been  recognized  among  standard  collections  of  hymns. 

The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  Lord  ! — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  gives    us    in  these  verses    his  rendering    of    Ps.  19, 
L.  M. ,  "  The  Books  of  Nature  and  of  Scripture  Compared  ;  or, 


524  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  Glory  and  Success  of  the  Gospel."  There  are  six  stanzas  to 
the  hymn. 

Dr.  Watts  had  no  experience  of  the  later  discoveries,  but  he 
anticipated  the  outburst  of  enthusiasm  in  the  pages  of  Lockyer's 
Elements  of  Astronomy  : 

"  What  wondrous  coloring  must  be  met  with  in  the  planets  lit  up  by 
these  glorious  suns,  one  sun  setting,  say  in  clearest  green,  another  rising 
in  purple,  or  yellow,  or  crimson  ;  at  times  two  suns  at  once  mingling 
their  variously  colored  beams  !" 

There  is  a  group  in  the  Southern  Cross  composed  of  over  one 
hundred  stars  of  the  most  effective  shades  of  color,  only  seven  of 
them,  however,  exceeding  the  tenth  magnitude.  Two  are  red, 
two  are  green,  three  are  pale  green  and  one  is  greenish  blue. 

Mr.  Ballou  tells  us,  in  his  Due  West,  of  a  remarkable  sermon 

preached  by  "  Bishop  F ,  of  Massachusetts,"  on  the  deck  of 

the  steamer  "Kashgar,"  in  the  Arabian  Sea  :  "  He  stood  on  the 
quarter-deck,  bareheaded,  his  snow-white  hair  crowning  a  brow 
radiant  with  intellect,  while  the  attentive  passengers  were  seated 
around,  and  over  his  head  glowed  the  wondrous  orbs  of  which 
he  discoursed." 

Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  the  Astronomical  Discourses  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Chalmers  were  among  the  earliest  monuments  of  his  great 
eloquence — such  power  have  the  stars  to 

"  Burn  and  brand 
His  nothingness  into  man." 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  here. — Spurgeon. 
Rev.  Charles  Haddon  Spurgeon  was  born  at  Kelvedon,  Essex, 
June  19th,  1834,  and  after  receiving  some  education  at  Colchester, 
became  usher  in  a  school  at  Newmarket.  He  declined  to  study 
for  the  ministry  as  an  Independent,  and  joined  the  late  Dr.  Robert 
Hall's  Baptist  congregation  (which  had  formerly  been  Robert 
Robinson's)  at  Cambridge.  This  resulted  in  his  making  a  tour 
as  village  preacher  and  tract-distributer,  and  his  first  sermon  was 
delivered  at  Teversham,  near  Cambridge.  He  was  known  as  the 
"Boy  Preacher,"  and  was  presently  invited  to  settle  at  Water- 
beach.  At  the  early  age  of  seventeen  he  thus  had  charge  of  a  con- 
gregation, and  almost  immediately  became  famous.  His  meeting- 
house was  crowded,  and  soon  he  was  urged  to  accept  the  chapel 
formerly  in   charge   of  Dr.  Rippon,  in  New  Park  Street,  South- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  525 

wark,  London.  In  1853  he  made  his  advent  in  the  metropolis, 
and  within  two  years  his  people  were  enlarging  their  place  of  wor- 
ship. For  four  months  he  occupied  Exeter  Hall  during  the  re- 
pairs, and  that,  too,  was  crowded.  The  enlarged  chapel  also  proved 
insufficient,  and  Surrey  Music  Hall  was  engaged.  But  as  a  very 
sad  accident  and  panic  occurred  in  it  in  1856,  the  great  "  Taber- 
nacle" was  built  in  Newington,  and  opened  in  1861.  Since  that 
date  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  ranked  among  the  foremost  preachers  of 
the  world,  handling  his  immense  audiences  with  remarkable 
executive  power,  and  publishing  hundreds  of  sermons  and  other 
writings.  He  has  conducted  a  Preachers'  College,  and  is  the  re- 
sponsible editor  of  the  Sword  and  Trowel  and  compiler  of  The 
Treasury  of  David,  an  exhaustive  work  on  the  Psalms.  He  also 
prepared  a  hymn-book  in  1866,  to  which  he  contributed  fourteen 
psalms  and  ten  hymns. 

The  King  of  love  my  Shepherd  is. — Baker. 
Two  lines  of  this  hymn  were  the  last  words  of  its  author,  Rev. 
Sir  H.  W.  Baker,  just  before  his  death  : 

"  And  on  his  shoulder  gently  laid, 
And  home,  rejoicing,  brought  me." 

The  date  of  the  piece  is  1868,  and  the  topic  is  evidently  the  23d 
Psalm. 

The  Lord  descended' from  above. — Sternhold. 

From  Sternhold' s  version  of  Ps.  18  this  hymn  is  taken,  com- 
mencing with  the  ninth  stanza.  It  is  related  of  the  learned  Scaliger 
— whether  father  or  son  is  not  stated — that  he  declared  he  would 
prefer  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  second  stanza  of  this  hymn 
["  On  Cherub  and  on  Cherubim  "]  than  to  have  written  any  of  his 
own  works.  The  elder  Scaliger  was  born  1484,  and  died  1558. 
The  younger  was  born  1540,  and  died  1609.  Sternhold  com- 
posed the  version  somewhere  about  1549. 

Thomas  Sternhold  was  Groom  of  the  Robes  to  Henry  VIII. 
and  to  Edward  VI.  He  was  born  in  the  neighborhood  of  1 500, 
and  died  in  the  month  of  August,  1549.  He  is  said  to  have  versi- 
fied fifty-one  Psalms,  and  Hopkins  fourteen — the  fuller  particulars 
can  be  found  under  "All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell." 
Thomas  Campbell,  who  did  not  enjoy  anything  that  had  the  least 
particle  of  roughness  (but  who  did  not  hesitate  to  filch  from  rough 


526  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Vaughan)  has  some  disparaging  remarks  on  the  Sternhold  and 
Hopkins  psalms.  Warton,  in  his  History  of  English  Poetry,  dis- 
cusses them  freely.  No  reader  of  the  delightful  Richard  Harris 
Barham  will  forget  his  irreverent  four-line  foot-note  in  the  Ingoldsby 
Legends  : 

"  My  friend,  Mr.  Hood, 
In  his  comical  mood, 
Would  have  probably  styled  the  good  Knight  and  his  Lady — 
Him  '  Stern-old  and  Hop-kins,'  and  her  '  Tete  and  Braidy. '  " 

But,  after  all  the  belittling  and  the  ridicule,  they  are  by  no  means 
to  be  despised  altogether.      This  version  is  far  preferable  to  that 
used  as  recently  as  1861  by  the  Church  of  Scotland  : 
"  He  also  bowed  down  the  heav'ns 
and  thence  he  did  descend  ; 
And  thickest  clouds  of  darkness  did 
under  his  feet  attend. 

"  And  he  upon  a  cherub  rode, 
and  thereon  he  did  fly  : 
Yea,  on  the  swift  wings  of  the  wind 
his  flight  was  from  on  high." 

The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  no  want  shall  I  know.  — Montgomery. 
In  the  Original  Hymns  this  is  No.  40,  "  The  Lord  the  Good 
Shepherd. — Ps.   23."     It  has  four  stanzas,  and  comes  from  the 
Songs  of  Zion,  1822. 

One  of  John  Wesley's  associates,  named  Samuel  Bradburn,  was  much 
esteemed  as  a  good  preacher  and  an  excellent  man.  At  a  time  when  he 
was  in  straitened  circumstances,  Mr.  Wesley  sent  him  a  five-pound  note, 
with  the  following  letter  :  "  Dear  Sammy, — '  Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do 
good  ;  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed.' 
Yours  affectionately,  John  Wesley."  The  reply  was  prompt  :  "  Rev.  and 
Dear  Sir, — I  have  often  been  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  passage  of 
Scripture  quoted  in  your  letter,  but  I  must  confess  that  I  nevei  saw  such 
useful  expository  notes  on  it  before.  I  am,  reverend  and  dear  sir,  your 
obedient  and  grateful  servant,  S.  Bradburn." 

The  Lord  is  risen  indeed. — Kelly. 
This  is  No.  12  of  Thomas  Kelly's  third  edition  (1809),  and  is 
based  on  Luke  24  :  34.  It  has  eight  stanzas,  which  are  reprinted 
in  full  in  Mr.  Foxcroft's  Resurgit,  1879.  Miss  Havergal — with 
whom  Kelly  is  a  prime  favorite  owing  to  his  singable  verses,  and 
who  has  reinstated  him  in  popular  esteem — gives  the  date  of  this 
hymn  as  1804. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  527 

The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns. — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  169,  Book  II.,  "The  Divine  Perfections."      It 
has  four  stanzas. 

Dr.  Watts  wrote  three  pieces  with  this  first  line  : 

"  The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns  ! — 
Let  all  the  nations  fear." 

"  The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns, 
His  throne  is  built  on  high." 

"  The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns 
And  royal  state  maintains." 

This  is  the  second  of  the  three.     The  first,  as  he  originally  wrote 
it,  is,  "  The  God  Jehovah  reigns." 

The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare. — Addison. 

Mr.  Courthope,  in  the  English  Men  of  Letters  series,  says  : 

"  Though  the  eighteenth  century  had  little  of  that  feeling  for  natural 
beauty  which  distinguishes  our  own,  a  man  of  Addison's  imagination 
could  hardly  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  character  of  the  scenery  in  which 
his  childhood  was  passed.  No  one  who  has  travelled  on  a  summer's  day 
across  Salisbury  Plain,  with  its  vast  canopy  of  sky  and  its  open  tracts  of 
undulating  downland  relieved  by  no  shadows  except  such  as  are  thrown 
by  the  passing  cloud,  the  grazing  sheep,  and  the  great  circle  of  Stone- 
henge,  will  forget  the  delightful  sense  of  refreshment  and  repose  produced 
by  descent  into  the  valley  of  the  Avon.  The  sounds  of  human  life  rising 
from  the  villages  after  the  long  solitude  of  the  plain,  the  shade  of  the  deep 
woods,  the  coolness  of  the  river,  like  all  the  streams  rising  in  the  chalk, 
clear  and  peaceful,  are  equally  delicious  to  the  sense  and  to  the  imagina- 
tion. It  was  doubtless  the  recollection  of  these  scenes  that  inspired  Addi- 
son in  his  paraphrase  of  the  twenty-third  Psalrn  : 

*  The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare, 
And  feed  me  with  a  shepherd's  care.'  " 

The  father  of  Joseph  Addison  was  Launcelot  Addison,  rector  of 
Milston,  near  Amesbury,  in  Wiltshire,  England,  and  afterward  the 
Dean  of  Lichfield.  The  lad  was  born  May  1st,  1672,  and  grew 
up  under  his  father's  intense  Episcopacy  and  bitter  hatred  to  all 
things  Puritan.  So  strong  was  the  feeling  in  this  prejudiced  per- 
son's breast  that,  when  he  was  at  Oxford  under  the  "  Visitation,'' 
he  had  expressed  it  in  a  way  to  make  his  longer  tarrying  at  that 
seat  of  learning  quite  impossible.  For  a  time  he  then  acted  as 
tutor,  next  as  chaplain  at  Dunkirk  after  the  Restoration,  and 
finally  at  Tangier.      Since  "  times  go  by  turns  "  he  was  then  re- 


528  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

called  and  given  the  living  of  Milston,  which  was  worth  £120  a 
year,  and  here  his  son  was  born.  Addison's  mother  was  the  sister 
of  the  bishop  of  Bristol,  William  Gulston,  and  the  atmosphere  in 
which  the  future  poet  and  essayist  grew  up  was  consequently  fairly 
congenial. 

He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  became  an  excellent  classical 
scholar,  and  eventually  took  rank  as  the  finest  prose  writer  of  his 
generation.  After  holding  certain  Government  offices  and  marry- 
ing Charlotte,  Countess  of  Warwick,  he  was  promoted  to  be  an 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  in  171 7,  under  Sunderland,  his  old 
friend.  His  business  qualities  in  this  position  have  been  severely 
criticised — Pope,  for  instance,  declaring  that  Addison  was  incapable 
of  "  giving  out  a  common  order, "  from  the  fact  of  his  "  endeavor- 
ing to  word  it  too  finely,"  and  saying  in  addition,  that  our  author 
11  had  too  beautiful  an  imagination  to  make  a  man  of  business." 
Addison's  autograph  dispatches  are  the  best  disclaimers  to  be 
offered  against  this  misstatement. 

The  friendship  of  Addison  and  Sir  Richard  Steele  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  famous  Spectator,  whose  essays  were  the  true 
original  of  the  modern  "editorial,"  and  they  might  safely  be 
employed  as  a  model  for  some  editorials  even  as  recently  as  this 
present  year  of  grace,  1886. 

In  personal  character  Addison  was  also  much  esteemed.  It  is 
quite  untrue — and  we  have  good  Bishop  Berkeley's  testimony  to 
it — that  his  life  was  shortened  by  excessive  drinking.  In  point  of 
fact  his  mortal  and  insatiable  enemies  were  asthma  and  dropsy, 
which  carried  him  off  between  them— like  Sarpedon  in  the  "  Iliad  " 
— at  only  forty-seven  years  of  age.  He  died  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1 71 9,  at  Holland  House,  and  his  earthly  remains  lay  in  state  in 
that  Jerusalem  Chamber  of  Westminster  Abbey  where  the  Revisers 
of  the  Bible  so  lately  sat  during  their  prolonged  labors.  The 
single  authentic  anecdote  as  to  his  dying  moments  comes  from  the 
poet  Young,  who  affirmed  that  Addison  sent  for  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick, and  said  to  him  :  "  See  in  what  peace  a  Christian  can  die  I" 
Tickell,  a  lesser  star  in  the  poetic  firmament,  shone  upon  his 
funeral  with  an  elegy  which  has  no  illumination  for  us,  except  a 
sort  of  glowworm  light  shed  upon  the  ceremonies  which  occurred. 

There  is  no  longer  any  real  controversy  as  to  the  authorship  of 
the  piece  before  us  ;  but,  having  personally  and  fully  examined 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


529 


the  claims  of  Andrew  Marvell,  it  may  not  be  amiss  if  we  briefly 
enumerate  the  doubts  and  their  discomfiture. 

Addison's  five  hymns  are  reprinted  in  his  Works,  edited  by  Richard 
Hurd,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  in  1811.  In  his  preface  the  bishop 
states  that  Addison  confided  the  task  to  him  and  that  he  has  collected 
whatever  his  author  had  composed.  This  is  the  primd  facie  evidence  for 
the  authenticity  of  the  pieces.  As  they  stand  in  the  Spectator,  the  num- 
bers and  hymns  are  as  follows  : 

44I-— The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare. 
453.— When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God. 
465- — The  spacious  firmament  on  high. 
489.— How  are  thy  servants  blest,  O  Lord. 
513.— When  rising  from  the  bed  of  death. 

The  lord  bishop  gives  all  these  to  Addison  without  debate. 

If  we  inquire  what  portions  of  the  Spectator  are  really  marked  with 
Addison's  authorship  beyond  peradventure,  we  shall  learn  that  he  signed 
his  papers  either  C,  L.,  I.,  or  O.— being  the  letters  of  that  Muse's  name. 

The  laborious  Dr.  Nathan  Drake  has  estimated  that  Addison  wrote  two 
hundred  and  seventy-four  of  the  series,  and  Steele  two  hundred  and  forty, 
while  the  remainder  were  divided  among  eighteen  known  and  many  un- 
known contributors.  There  are  fifty-three  anonymous  essays  which  are 
not  traceable  at  all.  Hence  we  are  led  to  infer  that  the  mere  fact  of  any- 
thing being  in  the  Spectator  carries  no  absolute  presumption  of  its  author- 
ship, and  this  even  when  the  paper  bears  a  definite  initial. 

Addison,  it  must  be  added,  never  positively  claimed  the  hymns,  yet  he 
really  did  so  by  implication,  as  his  language  proves.  The  apparent  ex- 
ception is  the  hymn,  "  When  rising  from  the  bed  of  death,"  which  Addi- 
son says  was  communicated  to  him  by  "  that  excellent  man  in  holy  orders 
whom  I  have  mentioned  more  than  once  as  one  of  that  society  who  assists 
me  in  my  speculations."  But  when  Dr.  Watts,  in  No.  461,  offers  him  a 
psalm  and  a  letter,  he  prints  both  in  such  a  manner  as  to  separate  himself 
from  any  doubt  upon  the  authorship.  And,  following  that  letter,  Addison 
clears  up  the  little  literary  mystery  by  these  words  :  "  It  is  no  small  sat- 
isfaction to  have  given  occasion  to  ingenious  men  to  employ  their  thoughts 
upon  sacred  subjects  from  the  approbation  of  such  pieces  of  poetry  as 
they  have  seen  in  my  Saturdays'  papers.  /  shall  never  publish  verse  on 
that  day  btit  what  is  written  by  the  same  hand  [our  italics],  yet  I  shall  not 
accompany  those  writings  with  eulogiums,  but  leave  them  to  speak  for 
themselves."  Now  all  these  five  numbers  belong  on  a  Saturday.  Either 
then  Addison  wrote  them  all,  or  he  wrote  none  of  them. 

The  positive  charge  was  made  by  Captain  Edward  Thompson  in  his  life 
of  Andrew  Marvell  [London,  1776,  3  vols.  4to],  that  he  has  found  in 
Marveil's  handwriting,  and  among  his  authentic  poems,  the  following 
pieces,  in  a  certain  manuscript  volume  of  about  the  year  1670: 

1.  "  When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God." 

2.  "  When  Israel  freed  from  Pharaoh's  hand." 

3.  ''  The  spacious  firmament  on  high." 


53©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Captain  Thompson  then  charges  Addison  with  appropriating  I  and  3, 
and  Tickell  (not  Watts)  with  having  seized  the  other.  Unfortunately,  the 
ballad  of  "  William  and  Margaret" — the  undoubted  composition  of  Mal- 
let— is  in  that  same  book  !  The  result  has  been  that  Captain  Thompson's 
dates  and  charges  have  both  been  disproved.  Andrew  Marvell,  the 
author  of  the  "  Emigrant  in  the  Bermudas,"  was  born  in  1620,  and  died 
in  1678.  The  Spectator' s  hymns  date  from  1712.  There  is  but  one  single 
point  remaining  to  be  noticed.  It  is  the  spelling  of  the  verses  attributed 
to  Marvell  where  "  equall,"  "  mann,"  "  ledd,"  "  gratefull,"  "  joyfull," 
and  "  tasts"  are  forms  which  are  too  ignorantly  antiquated  to  belong 
with  the  rest  of  the  orthography,  and  which  indicate  either  a  contempo- 
rary, but  uncultured  hand,  or  else  a  very  clumsy  and  impudent  style  of  lit- 
erary forgery.  Marvell  was  altogether  too  capable  and  honorable  a  man 
for  his  memory  to  need  any  dubious  laurels.  The  legitimate  inference  is 
that  Captain  Thompson  did  not  distinguish  in  his  "  MS.  volume"  between 
the  poems  written  by  Marvell's  "  own  hand,"  and  those  others  engrossed 
"  by  his  order" — which  probably  means  that  they  were  copied  in  later  by 
some  one  who  had  no  idea  of  the  rapt  gaze  with  which  the  coming  biog- 
rapher would  scan  them  ! 

The  Lord  my  Shepherd  is. — Watts. 

Psalm  23,  S.  M.,  in  six  stanzas,  according  to  the  version  of  Dr. 

Watts. 

The  Lord  of  glory  is  my  light. — Watts. 

This  is  Dr.  Watts' s  rendering  of  Ps.  27,  First  Part,  C.  M.  (vv. 
1-6).  There  are  five  stanzas,  and  the  title  is,  "  The  Church  is  our 
Delight  and  Safety." 

The  Lord,  our  God,  is  full  of  might. — White. 

Henry  Kirke  White  bears  an  honored  name  among  the  early 
dead  of  the  English  poets.  In  any  work  of  general  biography  the 
account  of  his  life  can  be  found.  Yet  he  deserves  a  notice,  on 
the  side  of  hymnology,  different  from  that  which  he  receives  in  a 
merely  literary  point  of  view. 

Born  at  Nottingham,  England  (March  21st,  1785),  the  son  of 
a  butcher,  there  are  many  particulars  of  his  origin  and  premature 
death  which  remind  us  of  John  Keats.  D.  M.  Moir,  who  is  one 
of  the  finest  critics  of  English  poetry  that  we  possess,  says  of  him  : 
"  No  such  permanent  temple  of  fame  as  that  which  Kirke  White 
has  reared  was  ever  built  on  sand.  He  possessed  the  poetical 
temperament  in  a  higher  measure  than  any  other  English  poet  who 
has  prematurely  died,  except  Chatterton,  Keats,  and,  perhaps, 
Michael  Bruce."      His  poems  were  published  in   1803,  and  he 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  531 

died  while  a  student  at  Cambridge,  in  1806.  Thus  he  was  cut  off 
at  a  time  by  far  too  soon  for  us  to  estimate  his  powers,  and  the 
constant  progress  toward  excellence  in  all  that  he  did  revealed 
much  of  what  might  have  been  reasonably  expected  from  him  in 
later  and  maturer  years.  The  lines  "To  an  Early  Primrose," 
and  to  the  "  Herb  Rosemary,"  and  the  "  Shipwrecked  Solitary's 
Song  to  the  Night,"  are  in  evidence  before  us  ;  and  the  unfinished 
poem,  "Time,"  together  with  the  "Churchyard  Song  of  the 
Consumptives,"  will  only  strengthen  the  impression. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  Southey  and  Coleridge  should  have  ad- 
mired his  posthumous  verses  when  they  came  to  examine  the 
papers  which  were  put  in  their  hands.  Southey — who  is  at  his 
best  in  this  sort  of  literary  labor—prefaced  the  Remains  with  a 
sympathetic  essay,  which  went  a  long  way  to  establish  the  fame  of 
the  dead  man.  Even  Byron  forbore  to  strike  Kirke  White,  when 
he  satirized  nearly  every  other  contemporary. 

The  parents  of  the  poet  were  not  indifferent  to  his  talents.  He 
received  as  good  an  education  as  the  place  afforded,  and  his 
mother,  desiring  to  do  even  better  by  him,  opened  a  young  ladies' 
school,  which  gave  her  the  means  to  supply  him  with  more  advan- 
tages. It  is  true  that  during  the  temporary  failure  of  some  of 
these  efforts  the  lad  worked  for  awhile  at  a  stocking-loom,  and 
was  engaged  in  such  uncongenial  labor  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 
But  this  was  not  through  any  lack,  on  his  parents'  part,  of  a  de- 
sire to  see  him  abundantly  well  educated.  Possibly  the  very  re- 
verse is  true  ;  and,  if  he  had  not  been  so  stimulated  and  encour- 
aged, his  mortal  career  might  have  been  both  happier  and  longer. 

From  the  stocking-loom  he  entered  the  office  of  Messrs.  Cold- 
ham  &  Enfield,  in  Nottingham,  and  thus  commenced  the  study 
of  law.  Here  he  soon  acquired  a  great  deal  of  information  ; 
dabbled  in  chemistry,  astronomy  and  electricity  ;  practised  him- 
self in  drawing  and  music  ;  and  attacked  the  Latin,  Greek,  Italian, 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  languages  ;  keeping  up  meanwhile  a  dili- 
gent study  of  law.  The  youthful  Crichton  also  developed  a  taste 
for  mechanics  and  literature,  and  lectured,  we  are  told,  when 
only  fifteen,  "  for  two  hours  and  three-quarters,  extempore,  on 
1  Genius.'  " 

From  the  first  this  marvellous  versatility  of  mind  was  as  ap- 
parent in  poetry  as  in  any  other  pursuit,  and  presently  this  and 


532  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

his  piety  became  his  most  marked  characteristics.  His  associates 
were  nearly  all  Deists  or  infidels.  One  of  them,  by  the  name  of 
Robert  Almond,  being  converted,  had  several  talks  with  White, 
in  which  the  poet  was  convinced  of  the  truths  of  religion,  and  soon 
afterward  made  an  open  profession  of  his  faith.  How  frank  and 
simple  this  religion  always  was  we  may  learn  from  an  anecdote 
preserved  with  respect  to  his  hymn,  "  The  Hiding- Place, "  which 
commences,  "  Awake,  sweet  harp  of  Judah,  wake  !"  It  is  related 
that  he  sung  this  to  his  companions  while  rowing  on  the  Trent, 
and  that  he  composed  and  added  at  that  time  the  final  stanza, 
"  Then  pure,  immortal,  sinless,  freed,"  etc. 

Not  long  after  his  conversion  he  determined  to  study  for  the 
ministry,  and  his  education  was  undertaken  by  such  men  as  the 
Rev.  Charles  Simeon  and  the  missionary,  Henry  Martyn.  They 
were  interested  in  the  brilliant  young  man,  and  procured  for  him 
the  means  needful  to  secure  him  a  course  of  instruction  at  Cam- 
bridge. He  is  therefore  on  the  record  as  a  "  sizar  "*  at  St.  John's 
College,  October,  1805.  He  was  in  the  first  rank  at  the  next 
examination,  and  also  at  the  principal  examination  of  the  year  fol- 
lowing. But  consumption  had  now  set  in,  produced  and  encour- 
aged by  his  application  to  his  studies,  and  he  died,  on  Sunday, 
October  19th,  1806. 

Among  the  posthumous  papers  placed  in  the  hands  of  his  liter- 
ary executors  was  one  which  contained  what  is  perhaps  his  last 
hymn.  It  is  written  on  the  back  of  a  mathematical  exercise,  and 
begins,  "  Much  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe."  Dr.  Collyer  and  Miss 
Maitland  have  severally  revised  this  ;  and  Miss  Maitland's  ver- 
sion, "  Oft  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe,"  is  in  frequent  use.  His 
hymns  (ten  in  number)  appeared  in  Collyer's  Collection,  181 2. 

Thus  passed  away  this  gifted  and  pious  man.  It  was  to  him 
that  Byron,  in  his  Etiglish  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers,  applied  the 
simile  of  the  "struck  eagle  stretched  upon  the  plain,"  whose 
feather  "  winged  the  shaft  that  quivered  in  his  heart."  Employed 
by  Moore  and  Waller  as  well  as  by  himself — and  as  old  as  the 
Greek  anthology — the  figure  was  never  more  fittingly  used  than 
by  the  reckless  lord  in  reference  to  the  consumptive  student. 
Here,  indeed,  "  Science'  self  destroyed  her  noblest  son." 


*  A  student  admitted  to  the  lowest  rank  with  respect  to  expenses,  and  performing,  like 
the  Oxford  servitor,  certain  duties  in  connection  with  the  college. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  533 

The  Lord's  my  Shepherd,  I'll  not  want. — Rous. 

Francis  Rous,  or  Rouse,  was  born,  in  1579,  at  Halton,  in 
Cornwall,  where  he  inherited  Halton  Hall,  near  the  banks  of  the 
Tamar.  His  education  was  received  at  Broadgate  Hall,  now  Pem- 
broke College,  Oxford.  He  then  studied  law,  and  was  a  Member 
of  Parliament  under  Charles  I.,  and  afterward  sat  for  Devonshire, 
in  1653  ;  and  for  Cornwall,  in  1656.  He  had  previously,  in 
1643,  been  Provost  of  Eton.  He  had  a  place  in  the  House  of 
Lords  in  1657,  and  was  one  of  Oliver  Cromwell's  Privy  Council. 
What  Cromwell  thought  of  him  can  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
he  appointed  him  as  one  of  the  "  triers  of  clerical  candidates"; 
and  that  he,  although  a  layman,  was  chosen  to  be  a  member  of 
the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines.  The  sessions  of  this  body 
continued  from  1643  to  1652,  and  the  House  of  Commons  pre- 
sented to  it  a  recommendation  of  Rous' s  version  of  the  Psalms  as 
early  as  November  20th  of  the  year  1643.  This  was  adopted, 
and  the  book  was  published  in  1646.  In  1649  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  approved  it,  and  this  is  the  version 
which  has  been  in  use  there  ever  since.  On  this  side  of  the  water 
the  Reformed  and  United  Presbyterian  bodies  still  employ  it.  It 
has  a  rude  vigor  of  its  own,  and  is  not  altogether  destitute  of  merit, 
though  it  has  been  severely  censured  for  its  prosaic  and  ungraceful 
verses.  The  version  of  Ps.  23  is  universally  accepted — and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  Tamar  affected  it 
and  that  Sir  William  Muir  of  Rowallan  caused  its  present  shape. 

Rous  did  not  escape  the  tongue  and  pen  of  opposition  in  his 
lifetime.  Anthony  a'  Wood  speaks  in  this  disrespectful  manner  of 
him  :  "  This  person,  who  was  usually  stiled  by  the  loyal  party 
the  old  illiterate  Jew  of  Eaton,  and  another  Proteus,  hath  divers 
things  (especially  of  divinity)  extant,  wherein  much  enthusiastic 
canting  is  used." 

Our  author's  complete  works  were  issued  in  1657,  the  year  be- 
fore his  death.  The  folio  including  them  is  now  rare  enough  for 
Dr.  Allibone  to  say  to  the  lover  of  rare  books  :  "  Secure  this  vol- 
ume. " 

The  mercies  of  my  God  and  King.  — Lyte. 

There  is  a  difference  of  but  one  letter  between  "  chance  "  and 
"change."  But  in  that  difference  lies  the  distinction  between 
Fate  and  Providence.      God's  word  is  not  swerved  from  its  intelli- 


534    .  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

gent  movement  by  blind  destiny  ;  nor  turned  into  a  new  course 
by  mere  novelty.  It  was  the  fashion  to  make  the  Greek  temples 
as  like  to  groves  as  possible,  that  among  their  columns — perma- 
nent and  multitudinous — one  might  have  all  the  blessings  of  the 
forest  and  all  the  peace  of  the  shrine.  And  to  the  Christian  God's 
wings  are  above,  God's  everlasting  arms  are  beneath,  and  columnar 
providences  sustain  the  one  because  they  are  founded  upon  the 
other.  No  wonder,  then,  that  we  are  praying  in  this  song  for  the 
spread  of  the  "  templed  Gospel  "  !     The  date  is  1834. 

The  morning  light  is  breaking. — S.  F.  Smith. 
Dr.  Smith  places  the  date  of  this  composition  in  1832,  and  says 
of  it  that  it 

"  has  been  a  great  favorite  at  missionary  gatherings,  and  I  have  myself 
heard  it  sung  in  five  or  six  different  languages  in  Europe  and  Asia.  It  is 
a  favorite  with  the  Burmans,  Karens,  and  Telegus  in  Asia,  from  whose 
lips  I  have  heard  it  repeatedly."  He  also  speaks  of  having  heard  it  "  in 
Europe,  especially  among  the  Portuguese  Protestants  in  their  own  coun- 
try, as  also  in  Brazil,  in  South  America."  Few  hymn-writers  could  say 
that  God  had  so  used  their  hymns  ;  and  fewer  still  could  hear  their  own 
songs  returning  in  other  languages  to  them.  That  Dr.  Smith  has  done  so 
is  almost  if  not  quite  unique  in  hymnology.  We  have  ourselves  heard 
the  hymn  sung  in  its  Siamese  form. 

The  place  which  God  alone  reveals. — Newton. 
In  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  III.,  No.  102,  we  find  this  piece. 
It  has  no  title,  but  there  is  a  reference  at  the  word  ' '  feels  ' '  to 
Phil.  4  :  7.  There  are  two  four-line  stanzas,  and  the  little  hymn 
is  intended  as  a  doxology.  Dr.  Robinson,  in  Laudes  Domini,  has 
also  added  the  "  doxology  in  Long  Metre  "  from  Bishop  Ken. 

The  people  of  the  Lord. — Kelly. 
A  hymn  with  a  similar  first  line  by  Richard  Burnham,    1796 
(alt.'),  must  not  be   mistaken  for  this.      The  present  hymn  is  in 
Thomas  Kelly's  fifth  edition,  1820,  but  not  in  the  third,  1809. 

The  radiant  morn  hath  passed  away. — Thring. 
In  Hymns  Ancient  and  Modern,  1861,  this  is  No.  19.  Rev. 
Godfrey  Thring  is  stated  by  Archdeacon  Prescott  to  be  the  rector 
of  Alford  with  Hornblotton,  Somersetshire,  and  prebendary  of 
Wells.  He  was  born  at  Alford,  in  England,  March  25th,  1823, 
and  is  the  successor  of  his  father  in  the  rectory,  1858.      He  was 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  535 

educated  at  Shrewsbury  School,  and  at  Balliol  College,  Oxford, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1845.  His  Church  of  England  Hymn- 
Book,  1880  (with  new  edition,  1882),  is  highly  praised.  The 
earliest  publication  of  his  hymns  seems  to  date  from  1862.  Forty 
of  these  hymns  he  issued  in  a  volume  in  1866. 

The  roseate  hues  of  early  dawn. — C.  F.  Alexander. 

The  present  piece  first  appeared  in  1853  in  the  (S.P.C.K.) 
Psalms  and  Hymns/or  Public  Worship.  Later  it  was  recast,  made 
into  an  evening  hymn  in  1858,  and  appeared  in  Mrs.  Alexander's 
Legend  of  the  Golden  Prayer,  1859. 

The  Sabbath-day  has  reached  its  close. — C.  Elliott. 

The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1839. 

That  is  a  beautiful  tradition  which  tells  us  how  old  Matthias  von  den 
Gheyn  (1721-1785)  used  to  play  the  chimes  of  Louvain  on  Sunday  after- 
noons. The  aged  man,  wearing  his  three-cornered  hat  and  carrying  a 
heavy  stick,  with  a  great  knob  on  its  top,  would  come  into  the  Grande 
Place— the  people  all  greeting  him  and  making  way  for  him.  Presently 
they  would  see  him  entering  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  and  in  a  few  moments 
the  clear  music  of  the  bells  would  be  heard  sounding  far  across  the  sunset 
fields,  and  echoing  and  re-echoing  through  the  angles  of  the  town.  It 
was  like  heaven's  own  melody,  and  for  forty  years  it  was  heard  every 
holy  day,  calming  and  resting  the  listeners. 

The  sands  of  time  are  sinking. — Cousin. 

This  entire  poem — for  it  is  one— is  to  be  found  in  nearly  all 
current  collections  of  religious  poetry.     There  are  nineteen  stanzas. 

Mrs.  Anne  Ross  (Cundell)  Cousin,  daughter  of  David  Ross 
Cundell,  M.D.,  of  Leith,  married  Rev.  William  Cousin,  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  at  Melrose.  This  hymn  was 
first  published  in  1857  in  the  Christian  Treasury.  The  pathetic 
interest  of  it  arises  from  the  story  which  it  tells,  and  which  is  one 
of  the  memorable  events  in  Scottish  history. 

Fox's  great  Book  of  Martyrs  does  not  come  down  to  Samuel  Ruther- 
ford's period  (1600-61),  or  it  would,  perhaps,  have  recorded  his  persecu- 
tions ;  though  his  threatened  fate  was  averted  by  his  death  in  prison. 
He  was  born  about  1600,  at  Nisbet,  Roxburghshire,  Scotland,  and  died 
at  St.  Andrews,  March  20th,  1661.  He  received  the  degree  of  M.A., 
at  Edinburgh,  1621  ;  became  Professor  of  Humanity  ;  ceased  from  this 
office  in  1625  ;  studied  theology,  and  was  settled  at  Anworth,  1627.  He 
was  an  able  and  impressive  preacher,  and  Dean  Stanley  calls  him  "  the 
true  saint  of  the  covenant."     His  theological  services  were  great.     In 


536  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

view  of  his  defence  of  Calvinistic  doctrine,  he  was  invited  to  the  Chair  of 
Theology  at  Utrecht.  "  On  the  27th  of  July,  1636,  he  was  cited  before  the 
High  Commission  Court  to  answer  for  his  nonconformity  to  the  acts  of 
Episcopacy  and  his  work  against  the  Arminians."  This  cost  him  his  posi- 
tion at  Anworth,  and  he  was  banished  to  Aberdeen.  The  Covenanters 
being  successful,  he  returned  to  Anworth  in  1638,  and  in  1639  was  made 
professor  at  St.  Andrews.  In  1643  he  was  a  Scotch  commissioner  to  the 
Westminster  Assembly,  and  served  four  years,  during  which  time  he 
wrote  The  Due  Right  of  Presbytery ;  The  Trial  and  Triumph  of  Faith, 
and  a  very  famous  pamphlet  called  Lex  Rex.  This  last  was  burned 
under  his  windows  in  St.  Andrews,  after  the  Restoration  (in  1660),  by 
order  of  the  Committee  of  Estates.  It  was  written  by  way  of  reply  to 
the  Bishop  of  Ross. 

The  Restoration  brought  him  into  disgrace  and  peril.  He  was  deprived 
of  his  offices,  and  attainted  of  high  treason  before  Parliament.  But  while 
the  citation  was  pending  there  was  a  more  imperative  citation  served.  In 
his  answer  to  the  demand  for  his  presence,  he  wrote  :  "  I  am  summoned 
before  a  higher  Judge  and  judicatory  :  that  first  summons  I  behove  to 
answer  ;  and,  ere  a  few  days  arrive,  I  shall  be  where  few  kings  and  great 
folks  come." 

Rutherford's  Familiar  Letters  and  the  Trial  and  Triumph  of 
Faith  are  well  known  and  much  read,  even  now.  Rev.  Dr.  An- 
drew Bonar,  1851,  and  Rev.  W.  P.  Breed,  D.D.,  1865,  have 
made  special  studies  of  his  life  and  writings  ;  and  he  is  mentioned 
in  Stanley's  Church  of  Scotland,  1872,  and  in  Mitchell's  Westmin- 
ster Assembly,  1883. 

As  an  example  of  Rutherford's  pure  spiritual  piety,  we  quote  an 
expression  which  Bickersteth,  in  his  Christian  Student  (2d  ed., 
1829,  p.  96)  has  thought  worthy  of  citation  : 

"  Christ  makes  us  most  like  himself  in  his  own  essential  portraiture 
and  image  in  sanctifying  us  ;  justification  does  but  make  us  happy,  which 
is  to  be  like  the  angels  only.  Neither  is  it  such  a  misery  to  lie  a  con- 
demned man  and  under  unforgiven  guiltiness,  as  to  serve  sin  and  work 
the  works  of  the  devil,  and,  therefore,  I  think,  sanctification  cannot  be 
bought ;  it  is  above  price.  God  be  thanked  forever  that  Christ  was  a 
told  down  price  for  sanctification." 

The  Saviour  !  oh,  what  endless  charms. — Steele. 
Miss  Anne  Steele — whom  the  older  hymn-books  consistently 
call  Mrs.  Steele — was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Steele, 
the  pastor  of  a  Baptist  church  at  Broughton,  Hampshire,  England. 
The  date  of  her  birth  is  settled  by  weight  of  authority  as  the  year 
1 71 6.     Dr.  Rogers — a  very  accurate  hymnologist,  and  one  who 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  537 

is  closely  followed  in  this  instance  by  such  careful  annotators  as 
W.  F.  Stevenson  and  Dr.  C.  L.  Hutchins — places  it  in  171 7. 
But  Belcher,  Miller,  Bird  and  Hatfield  adopt  1716,  and  this — al- 
though the  statement  is  not  capable  of  complete  demonstration — 
seems  to  carry  the  best  authority  with  it.  Dr.  Rogers  has  prob- 
ably erred— as  he  does  in  another  case,  where  he  says  that  Kirke 
White  died  in  his  21st,  instead  of  226.  year— and  by  this  slight  slip 
he  has  pulled  into  the  little  crevasse  the  other  two  men  who  had 
tied  on  to  his  guide-rope. 

Miss  Steele  early  displayed  great  love  for  poetry  and  some  skill 
in  composing  it.  At  fourteen  she  united  with  her  father's  church, 
and  under  the  date  of  November  29th,  1757,  her  father's  diary  has 
this  entry  : 

"This  day  Nanny  sent  part  of  her  composition  to  London  to  be 
printed.  I  entreat  a  gracious  God,  who  enabled  and  stirred  her  up  to 
such  a  work,  to  direct  in  it  and  bless  it  for  the  good  of  many.  ...  I 
pray  God  to  make  it  useful,  and  keep  her  humble." 

Mr.  Steele's  uncle  and  predecessor  at  Broughton  was  highly 
commended  by  Bishop  Burnet,  who  told  one  of  his  clergy  that  he 
"must  preach  better  than  Henry  Steele"  if  he  would  prevent 
his  congregation  from  going  over  to  the  Dissenters. 

Miss  Steele  was  an  invalid,  owing  to  an  injury  received  in  child- 
hood, and  she  always  suffered  from  pain  and  enforced  confinement 
to  her  room,  and  sometimes  was  actually  helpless  in  her  bed. 
The  death  of  her  father,  September  10th,  1769,  had  much  to  do 
with  her  nervous  prostration.  Her  lover  also — a  Mr.  Elscourt— 
was  drowned,  while  bathing  in  the  river,  not  long  before  the  day 
set  for  the  wedding.  He  was  a  man  of  promise  and  ability,  and 
his  loss  saddened  the  remainder  of  her  life.  But  her  Christian 
trust  never  faltered.  It  may  be  objected  to  her  hymns  that  they 
are  occasionally  like  the  songs  of  the  daughters  of  Huzzab,  who 
went  "  tabering  on  their  breasts"  with  dove-like  lamentation  ;  but 
these  hymns  cannot  be  spared  from  our  modern  collections.  They 
are  in  the  books  used  by  every  denomination  of  Christians. 

We  find  them  in  their  earliest  published  shape  in  the  Collection 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Caleb  Evans,  of  Bristol,  in  whose  fifth  edition,  1786, 
they  are  distinguished  by  the  letter  T.  for  "  Theodosia"—  the  sig- 
nature under  which  her  Poems  were  published  in  two  volumes, 
1760.     That  original  edition  is  now  before  us,  and  confirms  what 


538  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

has  been  said  about  the  somewhat  melancholy  and  affectionate 
tone  of  her  address  to  the  Saviour.  But  it  also  reveals  how  very 
slight,  after  all,  have  been  the  amendments  in  the  verses  them- 
selves. The  changes  have  consisted  rather  in  the  elision  of  stanzas 
than  in  the  alteration  of  language — though  it  is  but  fair  to  add 
that  the  language  does  not  altogether  escape  the  critic's  pen. 

Miss  Steele  died  in  November,  1778,  and  among  her  last  words 
was  the  triumphant  Scripture,  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth." 

The  Saviour  kindly  calls. — Onderdonk. 

This  appears  to  be  a  recasting  of  the  hymn,  "  See  Israel's  gentle 
Shepherd  stands."  One  is  CM.,  and  the  other  is  S.M.  But 
Doddridge's  hymn  has  unquestionably  furnished  the  original  of 
this,  which  is  attributed  to  Bishop  H.  U.  Onderdonk. 

The  shadows  of  the  evening  hours. — Procter. 

Miss  Adelaide  Ann  Procter,  the  author  of  "  The  Lost  Chord," 
was  the  daughter  of  the  poet,  Bryan  Waller  Procter  (Barry  Corn- 
wall), and  is  the  "  golden-tressed  Adelaide"  of  one  of  her  father's 
finest  poems.  She  inherited  genius  of  a  high  order,  and  her  poems 
are  not  unworthy  to  rank,  in  some  cases,  with  those  of  Mrs.  Brown- 
ing and  Christina  Rossetti.  One  of  her  contributions  to  Household 
Words  attracted  the  favorable  notice  of  Charles  Dickens,  the  editor, 
who  was  her  father's  intimate  friend.  She  had  sent  it  anonymous- 
ly, and  the  pleasant  little  mystification  is  told  in  the  Life  of 
Dickens.  It  seems  that  she  feared  an  acceptance  of  her  produc- 
tions on  the  ground  of  personal  acquaintance.  She  continued  to 
write  for  this  and  other  periodicals  during  her  brief  but  bright 
career. 

Miss  Procter  was  born  in  Bedford  Square,  London,  October 
30th,  1825.  Her  Legends  and  Lyrics,  1858,  met  with  instant  and 
permanent  favor,  and  this  book  can  be  readily  procured  in  any 
large  bookstore  to-day.  In  1851  she  became  a  convert  to  the  doc- 
trines and  practices  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  She  was  sin- 
cerely devout,  and  her  zeal  outran  all  prudence,  and  disregarded 
times  and  seasons,  health  and  weather.  In  fact,  her  "  flushed 
earnestness  "  caused  her  death,  in  London,  February  2d,  1864. 

The  fine  article  by  Dickens  in  the  Aila?itic  Monthly  for  Decem- 
ber, 1865,  supersedes  any  need  of  further  notice  here. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  539 

The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war. — Heber. 
The  date  is  1827,  and  this  hymn  was  written  for  St.  Stephen's 
Day.  It  may  be  noted  appropriately  here  that  the  bishop's  first 
publication  of  hymns  was  in  1812,  and  that  in  1827  his  original 
design  of  furnishing  pieces  for  the  Church  Year  was  posthumously 
carried  out,  with  additions  from  Jeremy  Taylor,  Addison,  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott,  Dean  Milman,  Whately  and  others.  His  own  composi- 
tions are  fifty-seven  in  number. 

The  spacious  firmament  on  high.  — Addison. 

This  is  Joseph  Addison's  version  of  Ps.  19  :  1-4,  which  ap- 
peared in  No.  465  of  The  Spectator,  August  23d,  171 2.  Its 
authorship  has  been  in  dispute,  and  Watts,  Tickell  and  Marvell 
have  been  proposed  as  proper  claimants,  but  we  have  examined 
the  point  fully  elsewhere,  and  need  not  delay  upon  it  here.  This 
piece  certainly  was  not  doubted  to  be  by  Addison  when  Caleb 
Evans  made  it  the  first  hymn  in  his  Collection,  with  the  signature 
"A." 

Mr.  Christophers  (in  Hymn  Writers  and  their  Hymns)  has  beau- 
tifully described  the  cathedral-close  at  Lichfield  where  Addison 
often  wandered  as  a  boy  : 

"  It  was  evening  when,  for  the  first  time,  we  entered  that  reverend  in- 
closure.  The  sun  had  gone  down,  and  it  was  our  time  of  preparation  for 
the  Sabbath.  Where  could  such  an  hour  be  more  solemnly  kept  than 
amidst  the  associations  which,  seen  and  unseen,  gathered  beneath  the 
shadows  of  so  venerable  a  sanctuary  ?  The  outer  world  was  growing 
dim,  but  everything  that  was  visible  offered  an  agreeable  introduction  to 
the  invisible.  Among  the  whisperings  which  came  to  the  ear  of  fancy,  as 
we  paced  up  and  down  that  noble  avenue  on  the  north  side  of  the  church, 
known  as  'the  Dean's  walk,'  there  came  many  remarkable  names 
which,  as  they  touched  us  in  succession,  called  up  some  deep  thinking 
about  the  present  life  and  action  of  those  who  once  enjoyed  the  shade  of 
these  same  trees,  and  figured  familiarly  in  these  same  sequestered  dwell- 
ings. On  this  scene  the  last  century  had  witnessed  some  curious  inter- 
lacings  of  character.  The  sober  and  the  frolicsome,  the  comic  and  the 
tragic,  the  sacred  and  the  profane,  had  strangely  mingled  and  manoeuvred 
here  at  times.  Many  a  day  had  seen  Addison,  as  a  schoolboy,  passing 
to  and  fro  through  the  deanery  garden. 

"  There  the  wit  and  imagination  of  Farquhar  were  stimulated  to  im- 
mortalize the  dishonors  of  his  licentious  age  ;  there  the  Bishop's  Regis- 
trar, Gilbert  Walmsley,  saved  his  own  name  from  oblivion,  by  acting 
the  patron  to   David  Garrick.     At  the  end  of  the  walk  the  eye  could 


54©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

wander  over  the  parapet  of  the  close,  and  command  the  beautiful  valley 
where  Samuel  Johnson  used  to  wander  in  early  life.  The  mysteries  of 
nightfall  were  beginning  to  shroud  it  here  and  there  ;  but  Stow  Hill 
was  standing  in  clear  outline  against  the  sky,  in  affectionate  watchful- 
ness over  its  still  waters.  There,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  was  the  old 
tower  of  St.  Chad's  Church,  where  tradition  says  :  '  Ovin  heard  the 
angels  sing  at  St.  Chad's  obit.'  We  lingered  long  watching  the  bright- 
ening reflections  of  the  stars  in  Stow  Pool,  and  musing  on  the  possibility 
of  angels  taking  a  part  in  the  anthem  at  a  saint's  burial,  until  our  ^ar 
caught  a  sweet,  thrilling  harmony  coming  up  seemingly  from  the  recesses 
of  the  cathedral  crypt,  and  floating  tremulously  along  the  dark  aisles 
above.  Was  it  the  music  of  angels  ?  It  might  rather  be  the  voice  of 
choristers  tuning  themselves  for  the  morrow's  psalmody.  But  it  touched 
one's  very  soul,  and  called  up  the  voice  of  a  psalm  from  within.  Just 
then  the  rising  moon  threw  up  her  light  from  the  horizon,  and  gave  the 
last  inspiring  touch.  The  spirit  of  Addison  himself  might  be  there  join- 
ing us  in  his  own  inimitable  psalm — 

'  The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 

With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 

Their  great  Original  proclaim.'  " 

The  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  Word. — Cowper. 

This  is  the  true  transcript  of  the  poet's  experience.  From 
December  7th,  1763,  to  the  middle  of  July,  1764,  Cowper's  feel- 
ings may  be  summed  up  under  two  heads,  "  conviction  of  sin  and 
despair  of  mercy."  He  had  attempted  his  own  life  in  November, 
1762,  by  hanging  himself  to  the  bed-frame  with  a  strong  garter. 
The  iron  of  the  frame  twice  gave  way,  and  then  he  secured  the 
noose  to  the  angle  of  the  door,  pushed  away  the  chair  on  which 
he  stood,  and  for  a  time  lost  all  consciousness.  Returning  life 
came  with  a  sensation  like  a  flash  of  lightning  striking  through 
his  whole  body.  He  had  fallen  in  consequence  of  the  breaking 
of  the  cord,  and  was  thus  mercifully  preserved  from  death.  From 
this  period  he  was  in  the  deepest  distress.  He  imagined  newspaper 
libels  where  there  were  none,  and  was  confident  that  he  had  com- 
mitted the  unpardonable  sin. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1764,  he  took  up  a  Bible  that  he  had 
found  lying  on  a  bench  in  the  garden  and  opened  it  to  what  hap- 
pened to  be  the  eleventh  chapter  of  John.  He  was  profoundly 
moved  by  the  words,  and  resolutely  seating  himself,  he  began  to 
turn  the  pages  with  a  deliberate  purpose  to  find  peace  and  rest. 
The  very  first  verse  he  encountered  was  Rom.  3:25.     Immedi- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  541 

ately  on  reading  these  words  we  have  his  own  testimony  that  the 
truth  broke  in  upon  him  ;  and,  to  quote  his  actual  language,  he 
"  received  strength  to  believe,  and  the  full  beams  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  shone  upon  him.  "  "Ina  moment,"  he  says,  "  I 
believed  and  I  received  the  Gospel."  Thus  in  William  Cowper's 
heart,  as  in  St.  Paul's,  God  caused  the  light  to  shine  out  of  dark- 
ness. From  that  moment  when  the  world  of  darkness  shone 
"  with  beams  of  heavenly  day"  poor  Cowper,  in  spite  of  all  phys- 
ical and  mental  hindrances,  aspired  to  pursue  the  steps  of  him  he 
loved,  and  desired  to  behold  the  glory  which  should  break  upon 
his  view  "  in  brighter  worlds  above." 

It  would  be  easy  to  add  to  this  instance  of  the  "  Spirit  breathing  upon 
the  Word  "  several  notable  examples  of  distinguished  Christians  whose 
eyes  were  opened  in  such  a  manner.  The  case  of  Augustine  is  well  known. 
That  of  Hilary — written  at  length  in  "  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers  and 
their  Hymns" — is  not  so  well  known.  That  of  Hedley  Vicars  is  scarcely 
known  at  all.  In  the  month  of  November,  185 1,  Captain  Vicars  was  idly 
turning  the  leaves  of  a  Bible  when  his  eye  fell  upon  the  verse,  "  The 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  He  closed  the 
book,  and  said  :  "  If  this  be  true  for  me,  henceforth  I  will  live,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  as  a  man  should  live  who  has  been  washed  in  the  blood  of 
Christ."     And  he  dido 

Good  George  Herbert  was  right : 

"  A  verse  may  find  him  who  a  sermon  flies, 
And  turn  delight  into  a  sacrifice." 

The  Spirit  in  our  hearts. — Onderdonk. 
Rev.  Henry  Ustick  Onderdonk,  D.D.,  was  the  second  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  March 
16th,  1789;  graduated  at  Columbia  College  in  1805  ;  and  received 
the  degree  of  M.  D.  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Having  re- 
turned to  America  and  practised  for  a  short  time,  he  gave  up  his 
profession  and  studied  theology  under  the  direction  of  Bishop 
Hobart.  He  was  ordained  deacon,  December  8th,  1815  ;  and 
priest,  April  nth,  18 16 — in  both  instances  by  Bishop  Hobart. 
After  a  missionary  work  in  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  he  became  rector 
of  St.  Ann's  Church,  Brooklyn,  1820,  and  thence  was  elevated  to 
be  the  Assistant  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  October  25th,  1827,  with 
Bishop  White.  He  became  sole  bishop  in  1836,  at  Bishop 
White's  death  ;  but,  in  1844,  owing  to  some  dissatisfaction,  he 
sent  his  resignation  to  the  House  of  Bishops.     It  was  accepted, 


542  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

but  he  was  at  the  same  time  presented  for  trial  on  the  ground  of 
intemperance,  and  was  suspended  from  all  sacerdotal  functions. 
In  1856,  however,  he  was  restored  to  his  office  and  to  the  minis- 
try. He  died  in  Philadelphia,  December  6th,  1858.  His  hymns 
in  the  American  Prayer-Book  Collection  were  nine  in  number,  viz., 
Nos.  14,  105,  106,  109,  131,  195,  203,  208  and  211.  He  versi- 
fied also  (in  the  same  Collection)  Psalms  16,  2^,  and  59. 

He  must  not  be  confused  with  Benjamin  T.  Onderdonk,  bishop 
of  the  diocese  of  New  York,  although  their  dates  and  circum- 
stances were  very  similar.  Henry  Ustick  Onderdonk,  the  author 
of  the  present  hymn  (written  in  1826)  was  born  in  New  York, 
March,  1789,  and  died  in  Philadelphia,  December  6th,  1858. 
The  other  was  born  in  New  York  in  1791,  and  there  died,  April 
30th,  1 86 1.  The  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania  was  suspended  from 
his  Episcopate  in  1844,  and  was  restored  in  1856.  The  Bishop 
of  New  York — strangely  enough — was  also  suspended,  in  1845  ; 
but,  in  spite  of  the  protestations  of  his  friends  and  his  own  asser- 
tions of  innocence,  was  never  restored  at  all.  The  one  came  into 
full  exercise  of  the  bishop's  office  in  Pennsylvania  in  1836,  the 
other  in  New  York  in  1830. 

This  hymn  has  been  accepted  by  the  various  denominations  of 
Christian  believers.  It  is  evidently  founded  on  the  invitation  in 
Rev.  22  :  17,  which  is  undoubtedly  an  ancient  hymn  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Church. 

To  Bishop  Onderdonk  has  been  also  attributed  the  hymn, 
"The  gentle  Saviour  calls."  But  this  is  by  Doddridge,  and  is 
No.  198  in  his  Collected  Hymns,  and  a  modification  of  it.  "  The 
Saviour  kindly  calls,"  is  probably  from  another  hymn  by  Dod- 
dridge, and  may  have  been  made  by  Dr.  Onderdonk.  The  hymn, 
"  On  Zion  and  on  Lebanon,"  is,  beyond  question,  by  the  bishop. 

The  sun  is  sinking  fast. — Caswall,  tr. 

Rev.  L.  C.  Biggs,  in  his  Annotations  to  Hymns,  Ancient  and 
Modern,  says  that : 

"  Every  effort  has  been  made  to  discover  the  original  of  this  hymn,  but  in 
vain.  It  was,  the  translator  believes,  in  the  possession  of  one  of  the 
former  members  of  the  Edgbaston  Oratory,  contained  in  a  small  book  of 
devotions.  It  can  scarcely  be  older  than  the  eighteenth  century."  At  its 
side  he  gives  a  Latin  version  :  "  Sol  prceceps  rapitur,  proximo,  nox  abest" 
which  has  been  made  from  the  English  words.     Mr.  Caswall,  however, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  543 

states  that  this  first  line  is  the  same  as  that  in  the  original,  and  that  he 
found  the  beautiful  little  piece  in  "  a  printed  foreign  collection  belonging 
to  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Darnell."  Unfortunately  he  forgot  to  take  the  name 
of  the  book,  and  now  not  even  Mr.  Darnell  can  recover  it. 

The  present  writer — with  every  facility  at  his  command  in  the 
way  of  an  exhaustive  index  of  the  Latin  hymns,  which  he  has 
recently  prepared — has  also  been  unable  to  detect  its  whereabouts. 
The  full  form  of  the  English  version  is  given  herewith,  and  will 
intensify  our  regret  at  the  loss  of  the  original  : 

"  The  sun  is  sinking  fast,  "  So  now  beneath  His  eye 

The  daylight  dies  ;  Would  calmly  rest, 

Let  love  awake  and  pay  Without  a  wish  or  thought 

Her  evening  sacrifice.  Abiding  in  the  breast. 

"  As  Christ  upon  the  cross  Save  that  His  will  be  done 

His  head  inclined,  Whate'er  betide  ; 

And  to  His  Father's  hands  Dead  to  herself,  and  dead 

His  parting  soul  resigned,  In  Him  to  all  beside. 

"  So  now,  herself  my  soul  "  Thus  would  I  live  :  yet  now 

Would  wholly  give  Not  I,  but  He 

Into  His  sacred  charge,  In  all  His  power  and  love 

In  Whom  all  spirits  live.  Henceforth  alive  in  me. 

"  One  sacred  Trinity  ! 
One  Lord  Divine  ! 
May  I  be  ever  His, 
And  He  for  ever  mine." 

The  swift  declining  day. — Doddridge. 
This  hymn  contains  six  stanzas,  two  of  which  afford  a  capital 
example  of  the  inequality  of  Doddridge's  verse.    Our  present  piece, 
in   current  use,  is  so  smoothly  and  strongly  fine  that  it  is  well 
worth  this  annotation  : 

V.  1. — Unchanged. 

2. — Doddridge  has  "  instantaneous  [!]  night." 
3. — "  His  Word  blots  out  the  Sun 
In  its  meridian  Blaze  ; 
And  cuts  from  smiling  vigorous  Youth 
The  Remnant  of  its  Days. 
4. — "  On  the  dark  Mountain's  Brow 

Your  Feet  shall  quickly  slide  ; 
And  from  its  dreadful  Summit  dash 
Your  momentary  Pride." 
5. — Unchanged. 

6. — "  Through  all  the  horrid  Gloom"  is  Doddridge's  line. 
The  hymn  has  thus  been  saved  by  a  judicious  excision  and  two 
judicious  changes,  and  is  to  day  what  we  find  it,  an  harmonious 
and  beautiful  evening  song. 


544  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

The  strife  is  o'er,  the  battle  won. — Pott,  tr. 
The  date    of   this  hymn  is  i860.      It  is  a   translation  of   the 
"  Finita  jam   sunt  prcetia,"   the  original    of   which  is   given  by 
L.  C.  Biggs  in  his  Annotations  to  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern. 

Thee  we  adore,  Eternal  Name. — Watts. 
In  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymns  this  is  Book  II.,  No.  55  :   "  Frail  Life 
and  Succeeding  Eternity."     It  has  seven  stanzas. 

"  The  Rev.  George  Bellamy  fell  a  victim  to  fever  in  Demerara.  Dur- 
ing his  severe  sufferings,  while  a  colored  servant  was  bathing  his  head 
with  vinegar,  he  solemnly  exclaimed  : 

4  Thee  we  adore,  Eternal  name, 
And  humbly  own  to  Thee, 
How  feeble  is  our  mortal  frame, 
What  dying  worms  we  be.' 

The  faith  of  the  poor  black  servant  was  manifested  in  the  reply,  '  Massa 
no  'fraid  ;  dis  sickness  for  de  glory  of  God.'  " 

Thee  will  I  love,  my  strength,  my  tower. — J.  Wesley,  ir. 

This  is  John  Wesley's  rendering  of  the  hymn  of  "  Angelus 
Silesius,"  and  is  "  a  very  beautiful  and  faithful  translation,  which 
omits  only  one  verse  of  the  original." 

This  nom-de-guerre  of  "Angelus  Silesius"  was  adopted  by 
Johann  Scheffler.  He  chose  "  Angelus  ' '  because  of  Johannes  de 
Angel  is,  a  Spanish  mystic  of  the  sixteenth  century,  who  wrote  a 
poem  on  the  triumph  of  love.  "  Silesius,"  he  added,  because  he 
was  himself  born  in  Breslau,  Silesia  (in  1624). 

Scheffler  was  a  mystic  of  the  school  of  Jacob  Bohme,  and  was 
reared  in  that  nursery  of  mysticism,  Silesia.  Here  Valentine 
Weigel  (d.  1588)  had  opposed  all  Church  forms;  and  here,  at 
Gorlitz,  up  to  1624,  lived  Bohme.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  Vaughan 
[Hours  with  the  Mystics,  II.,  5)  does  not  admire  Scheffler,  since 
he  calls  him  the  "virulent,  faggotty-minded  pervert,  Scheffler." 
He  denies  that  Scheffler  is  Silesius,  and  we  must  set  his  authority 
(in  i860)  against  that  of  Kiibler  (in  1865),  if  we  prefer  to  believe 
that  he  is  correct.  It  is  no  part  of  the  present  work  to  decide  ab- 
struse controversies— only  to  announce  and  to  sum  up  the  facts 
as  stated  by  competent  scholars.  In  the  Schaff-Hcrzog  (1884,  art. 
Scheffler)  we  apparently  reach  a  definite  conclusion.  The  account 
agrees  with  that  of  Kiibler,  and  the  violent  antipathies  and  strug- 
gles of  Scheffler,  after  he  seceded  from  Bohme' s  followers  and  be- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  545 

came  a  Jesuit,  tally  with  all  the  severe  things  uttered  by  Vaughan. 
No  two  persons  could  be  more  diverse  than  "  Angelus  Silesius  " 
with  his  sentimental  contemplations,  and  the  monk  of  St.  Matthias 
in  Breslau  who  penned  those  bitter  controversial  tracts  against  the 
Lutherans. 

Scheffler  at  first  studied  medicine  in  Strasburg,  Leyden,  Padua 
and  Breslau.  At  Padua  he  became  acquainted  with  Bohme's  writ- 
ings. In  1649  ne  was  appointed  physician  to  Duke  Sylvius 
Nimrod,  of  Wurtemburg-Oels.  There  he  began  to  be  dissatisfied 
with  Lutheranism,  and  in  1653  entered  the  Church  of  Rome,  hav- 
ing always  admired  Tauler  and  Thomas  a  Kempis.  Next  he  was 
physician  to  the  German  Emperor,  Ferdinand  III.,  but  soon  took 
actual  priest's  orders  (1661)  in  the  Jesuit  monastery  above  men- 
tioned.    Here  he  died,  July  9th,  1677. 

Of  the  hymns  which  he  wrote,  a  number  were  printed  at  Breslau  in 
1657.  The  edition  of  1668  contained  two  hundred  and  six,  most  of  which 
were  composed  before  his  departure  into  the  Church  of  Rome.  These 
various  pieces  are  to  be  found  in  his  Cherubinische  Wandersmann,  em- 
bracing his  minor  poems,  and  in  his  Geistliche  Hirtenlieder  ("Spiritual 
Flock-Songs" — a  collection  of  hymns). 

The  Cherubic  Wanderer  is  full  of  Emersonianisms — if  we  may  coin  a 
word.     For  example  : 

11  God  in  my  nature  is  involved, 
As  I  in  the  divine  ; 
I  help  to  make  his  being  up, 
As  much  as  he  does  mine." 
Or  this  : 

"  I  am  as  rich  as  God  ;  no  grain  of  dust 

That  is  not  mine,  too  :  share  with  me  he  must." 

We  need  not  wonder  that  this  high-flown  self-assumption  carried  him 
to  the  door  of  a  Jesuit  convent.  It  is  in  the  very  key  of  much  that  passes 
with  Romanist  theology  for  heavenly  rapture,  and  delight  in  God. 
Vaughan  quotes  Thomas  Fuller  here,  who  says  aptly  that  expressions  like 
these  "  do  knock  at  the  door  of  blasphemy,  though  not  always  with  intent 
to  enter  thereat."     In  short,  it  is  a  thinly-disguised  pantheism. 

Our  present  hymn  is  the  "  Ich  will  dich  lieben,  meine  Starke." 
Other  hymns  of  Scheffler  in  modern  use  are  : 

"  Nothing  fair  on  earth  I  see." 

"  Thou  holiest  Love,  whom  most  I  love." 

"  Loving  shepherd,  kind  and  true." 

"  Most  high  and  holy  Trinity." 

"  O  Love  who  formedst  me  to  wear." 

"  Now  take  my  heart,  and  all  that  is  in  me." 

"  Great  High-Priest  who  deign'dst  to  be." 


546  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

We  are  indebted  to  "  the  pietists  of  Halle,"  and  especially  to 
Freylinghausen  for  the  use  of  these  hymns  by  the  Evangelical 
Church.  Albert  Knapp  says  of  them  :  "  From  whencesoever  they 
may  come,  they  are  an  unfading  ornament  to  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Erdmann  Neumeister  said:  "  Papcsus  hie  Angelus,  sed 
bonus' — "this  Angelus  is  a  Papist,  but  a  good  one."  George 
MacDonald  has  rendered  several  of  them  in  Scribner' 's  Monthly and 
other  publications. 

"  The  late  Richard  Cobden,  one  of  the  foremost  advocates  of  free  trade, 
and  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Anti-Corn-Law  League,  .  .  .  was 
greatly  aided  in  his  political  career  by  his  sincere  and  unobtrusive  piety, 
and  at  the  end  of  his  most  useful  and  valued  life  and  labors  he  consoled 
his  own  heart  and  delighted  his  beloved  friends  by  repeating  the  first 
verse  of  this  hymn  by  Angelus  : 

'  Thee  will  I  love,  my  strength,  my  tower  ; 

Thee  will  I  love,  my  joy,  my  crown  ; 
Thee  will  I  love  with  all  my  power, 

In  all  Thy  works,  and  Thee  alone  : 
Thee  will  I  love,  till  the  pure  fire 
Fills  my  whole  soul  with  chaste  desire.'" 

There  is  a  blessed  home. — Baker. 
Perhaps  this  is  the  original  of  the  hymn,  in  the  Malagasy  hymn- 
book,  which  the  martyrs  of  Madagascar  sang  at  Favavohitva. 

"There,"  says  the  account,  by  one  of  the  native  Christians  (1847), 
"  they  burned  them,  fixed  between  split  bars.  And  there  was  a  rainbow 
in  the  heavens  at  the  time,  close  to  the  place  of  burning.  And  while 
burning  they  sang  the  hymn, 

1  There  is  a  blessed  land, 
Making  most  happy  ; 
Never  shall  rest  depart, 
Nor  cause  of  trouble  come.1 

That  was  the  hymn  they  sang  while  they  were  in  the  fire.  And  they 
prayed,  saying  :  '  Lord,  receive  our  spirits  !  Thy  love  to  us  has  or- 
dained this  for  us.  And  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge  !  '  Thus  they 
prayed  as  long  as  they  had  any  life.  Then  they  died,  but  softly,  gently. 
Indeed,  gently  was  the  going  forth  of  their  life,  and  astonished  were  all 
the  people." 

The  entire  hymn  by  Rev.  Sir  Henry  Williams  Baker  is  in  four 
stanzas,  and  has  been  done  into  Latin  by  Lord  Lyttleton.  The 
date  may  be  regarded  as  1861. 

There  is  a  book,  who  runs  may  read. — Keble. 
This  is  a  part  of  Rev.   John   Keble' s   poem   for   Septuagesima 
Sunday  in  the  Christian  Year.     "  How  beautifully  he  interweaves 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  547 

nature  and  grace,  the  visible  and  the  invisible,  in  his  hymn  for 
Septuagesima  Sunday  f '  So  exclaims  Christophers,  with  an  enthu- 
siasm which  all  can  appreciate. 

A  heathen  once  said  to  Rabbi  Meir  :  "  How  can  your  God,  whose 
majesty,  you  say,  fills  the  universe,  speak  from  between  the  two  staves 
of  the  Ark  of  the  Sanctuary  ?"  Then  the  Rabbi  held  up  a  large  and  a 
small  mirror  to  the  man's  gaze  ;  in  each  of  them  his  person  was  reflected. 
"  Now,"  said  the  sage,  "in  each  mirror  your  body  corresponds  to  the 
size  of  the  glass  ;  and  should  the  same  be  impossible  to  God  ?  The  world 
is  his  large  mirror,  and  the  Sanctuary  is  his  small  one." 

There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood. — Cowper. 
Dr.  Dashiell,  in  his  Pastor  s  Recollections,  tells  an  affecting  story 
of  the  power  of  this  hymn  upon  the  heart  of  a  sceptic. 

He  had  been  called  to  visit  a  family  where  the  little  child  had  just  died. 
He  found   the   father  a  man  of  violent  prejudices  against  religion,  and 
especially  against  clergymen,  owing  to  the  unworthy  conduct  of  a  former 
ministerial  friend.     Persevering  in  his  efforts  to  secure  an  influence  with 
this  very  unpromising  person,  Dr.  Dashiell  relates  that  the  first  point  of 
contact  was  this  hymn.     His  early  associations  had  endeared  it  to  him, 
and  he  had  never  ceased  to  admire  and  love  it  in  spite  of  his  infidel  opin- 
ions.    After  a  considerable  length  of  time,  the  sceptic  met  with  a  severe 
injury — his  arm  being  drawn  into  machinery  and  crushed  so  that  amputa- 
tion was  necessary.    It  was  at  first  very  doubtful  if  the  patient  would  rally, 
but  finally  he  was  heard  to  murmur  something,  and  as  Dr.  Dashiell  bent 
over  him  to  catch  the  words,  he  distinctly  caught  the  language  of  the  stanza : 
M  The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day, 
And  there  may  I,  though  vile  as  he, 
Wash  all  my  sins  away." 
It  was  a  confession  of  faith  upon  what  seemed — though  providentially 
it  was  not — the  very  edge  of  death. 

Cowper  did  not  write  this  stanza  as  it  appears  above,  and  as  we 
usually  sing  and  say  it.      His  words  in  the  Olney  Hymns  are  : 

"  And  there  have  I,  as  vile  as  he, 
Washed  all  my  sins  away." 

In  the  Olney  Hymns  Cowper' s  hymn  stands  very  much  in  its 
modern  shape.  It  is  No.  79  of  Book  I.,  and  is  based  on  Zech. 
13  :  1.  The  concluding  two  stanzas  (the  sixth  and  seventh)  are 
notably  fine  : 

"  Lord,  I  believe  thou  hast  prepar'd 
(Unworthy  though  I  be) 
For  me  a  blood-bought  free  reward, 
A  golden  harp  for  me  ! 


548  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  'Tis  strung,  and  tun'd,  for  endless  years, 
And  form'd  by  power  divine  ; 
To  sound  in  God  the  Father's  ears 
No  other  name  but  thine." 

Mrs.  Oliphant,  who  has  doubtless  been  prejudiced  for  some 
cause  or  other,  calmly  puts  this  hymn  aside.  She  writes  that  it 
11  still  finds  a  place  amid  the  familiar  utterances  of  piety  ;  but  we 
cannot  think  [it]  is  often  used  by  any  congregation  of  worshipping 
people  in  these  days"(!). 

On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Ray  Palmer,  in  his  Voices  of  Joy  and 
Gladness,  has  the  following  excellent  remarks  on  the  hymn  : 

"  Take  as  an  example  that  favorite  hymn  of  Cowper's, 

1  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood.' 

This  has  been  pronounced,  by  some,  gross  and  repulsive  in  its  concep- 
tion and  language,  or,  to  say  the  very  least,  highly  objectionable  in  point 
of  taste. 

"  Such  criticism  seems  to  us  superficial.  It  takes  the  words  as  if  they 
were  intended  to  be  a  literal  prosaic  statement.  It  forgets  that  what 
they  express  is  not  only  poetry,  but  the  poetry  of  intense  and  impassioned 
feeling,  which  naturally  embodies  itself  in  the  boldest  metaphors.  The 
inner  sense  of  the  soul,  when  its  deepest  affections  are  moved,  infallibly 
takes  these  metaphors  in  their  true  significance,  while  a  cold  critic  of 
the  letter  misses  that  significance  entirely.  He  merely  demonstrates  his 
own  lack  of  the  spiritual  sympathies  of  which,  for  fervent  Christian 
hearts,  the  hymn  referred  to  is  an  admirable  expression." 

In  1824  this  matter  also  troubled  Montgomery. 

"  I  entirely  rewrote,"  he  says,  "  the   first  verse  of  that  favorite  hymn, 

commencing  : 

'  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood.' 

The  words  are  objectionable  as  representing  a  fountain  being  Jilled,  in- 
stead of  springing  up  ;  I  think  my  version  is  unexceptionable  : 

'  From  Calvary's  cross  a  fountain  flows. 
Of  water  and  of  blood  ; 
More  healing  than  Bethesda's  pool, 
Or  famed  Siloam's  flood.'  " 

But  the  Church  has  decided  against  Mr.  Montgomery's  verses.  They 
are  "  faultily  faultless,  icily  regular" — and  "  splendidly  null  "! 

When  Dr.  Mason  Good  was  dying  he  frequently  quoted  this 
hymn,  and  especially  seemed  to  dwell  upon  the  line,  "  E'er  since 
by  faith  I  saw  the  stream,"  etc.  "All  the  promises,  "he  re- 
marked, with  emphasis,  ' '  are  yea  and  amen,  in  Christ  Jesus. ' ' 
In  response  to  his  friend  who  quoted  to  him  the  text,  "  Behold 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  549 

the  Lamb  of  God,"  he  said,  "  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world, ' '  and  so  expired. 

"Catherine  Harris  was  a  foundling  residing  near  the  city  of  Canter- 
bury. At  the  age  of  twelve,  through  exposure,  she  became  consumptive. 
When  her  pastor  visited  her,  he  expressed  a  hope  that  she  found  comfort 
by  reading  the  Bible.  She  replied  that  nothing  else  would  now  give  her 
comfort,  excepting  that  one  hymn  she  loved  so  much,  4  There  is  a  fountain 
filled  with  blood.'  She  said  death  had  lost  its  sting,  and  the  morning 
afterward  she  entered  into  rest." 

"  During  the  last  revival  in  Ireland,  Belfast  had  a  large  share  in  its 
blessing.  Soon  after  it  began,  the  curate  of  the  parish  visited  one  of  the 
factories  in  which  two  hundred  girls  were  employed.  On  his  entering  the 
building  with  the  manager,  a  young  woman  near  the  door,  seeing  her 
minister,  began  to  sing  with  a  very  sweet  voice,  '  There  is  a  fountain 
filled  with  blood,'  to  the  touching  and  well-known  tune.  The  girl  next  to 
her  took  it  up,  and  so  onward  it  ran  down  the  mill,  till  all  the  girls  joined 
with  deep  and  heartfelt  fervency.  Great  as  was  the  noise  of  the  looms, 
the  tender  and  subduing  voice  of  praise  rose  above  the  din  and  clatter  of 
the  machinery.  They  wanted  no  books  to  sing  through  that  hymn  ;  it  was 
well  known  to  nearly  all  there.  The  manager,  a  Manchester  man 
and  an  infidel,  and  ever  on  the  watch  to  make  ridicule  of  religion, 
was  so  completely  overcome  by  that  outburst  of  psalmody  that  he 
ran  out  of  the  mill.  Meeting  the  curate  afterward,  he  said  :  '  I  was 
never  so  hard  put  to  it  as  this  morning  ;  it  nearly  broke  me  down.' 
How  the  author,  Cowper,  would  have  been  cheered  to  have  heard  that 
chorus." 

14  Lieutenant  G ,  an  officer  of  the  Union  Army,  having  received  his 

death-wound  in  a  gallant  charge  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  was  visited 
iu  the  hospital  tent  by  the  chaplain,  who  inquired  how  he  felt.  He  said 
he  had  always  been  cheerful,  and  was  now  ready  to  meet  God  in  peace. 
He  thus  proceeded  :  '  Chaplain,  I  was  once  passing  through  the  streets  of 
New  York  one  Sunday,  and  heard  singing.  I  went  in  and  saw  a  com- 
pany of  poor  people.  They  were  singing,  '*  There  is  a  fountain  filled 
with  blood."  I  was  overpowered  with  the  impression  the  hymn  made 
upon  me,  and  I  gave  my  heart  to  God.  Since  then  I  have  loved  Jesus, 
and  I  love  Him  now.'  That  was  his  last  speech.  As  the  chaplain  listened, 
the  voice  faltered,  and  the  minister  said:  'Trust  Jesus.'  The  officer 
whispered,  '  I  do  trust  Jesus,' and  then  expired." 

"  What  have  you  done  which  makes  your  heart  or  your  life  appear  so 
heinously  sinful  ?"  asked  a  minister  of  an  amiable  moralist.  "  I  hate 
God,  and  I  know  it.  I  hate  Christians,  and  I  know  it.  I  hate  my  own 
being.  Oh,  that  I  had  never  been  born  !"  and  she  left  the  room  in  an 
agony  of  feeling. 

A  few  minutes  later,  while  walking  the  adjoining  room  in  great  distress 
her  eye  lighted  on  a  copy  of  Village  Hymns  which  lay  on  the  sideboard. 


55°  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

She  eagerly  caught  it  up,  and  at  the  first  page  to  which  she  opened  she 
read  these  words  : 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

As  she  finished  this  verse  she  dropped  the  book  and  exclaimed  :  "  I  have 
found  my  Saviour  !  This  is  the  Saviour  I  need  ;  a  precious  Saviour." 
Her  enmity  to  God  was  gone  and  her  burden  was  removed. 

There  is  a  happy  land. — Young. 

This  hymn  was  composed  by  Andrew  Young  in  1838.  A  resi- 
dent of  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  born  in  1807,  he  is  commemo- 
rated by  Dr.  Rogers  as  a  teacher  and  the  son  of  a  teacher.  His 
father,  David  Young,  was  one  of  the  most  successful  teachers  in 
Edinburgh  for  fully  half  a  century  of  active  service.  In  1830,  Mr. 
Andrew  Young,  then  a  graduate  of  the  University,  was  chosen  by 
the  Town  Council  to  the  Head  Mastership  of  the  Niddry  Street 
School,  where  he  remained  for  eleven  years.  In  1840  he  assumed 
the  Head  Mastership  of  Madras  College,  in  the  University  of  St. 
Andrews,  and  held  this  post  for  thirteen  years.  He  then  retired 
from  active  duty  and  resided  in  Edinburgh. 

The  hymn  has  obtained  a  new  lease  of  public  favor  owing  to 
the  tune  written  for  it,  in  1864,  by  Samuel  Sebastian  Wesley. 

There  is  a  land  immortal. — MacKellar. 

Mr.  Thomas  MacKellar  is  a  Presbyterian  elder  of  Germantown, 
Philadelphia,  and  we  have  been  favored  by  him  with  the  particulars 
of  his  history,  in  response  to  our  request.  He  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  August  12th,  181 2  ;  his  grandfather  an  elder  of  the 
old  Kirk  of  Scotland  and  his  mother  a  descendant  of  a  Huguenot 
family.  As  a  child  he  was  able  to  read  at  so  early  an  age  that  he 
cannot  now  recall  the  time  when  this  was  not  natural  and  easy  to 
him.  But  his  education  was  seriously  obstructed  by  his  father's 
financial  embarrassments. 

Brought  up  on  Venn  and  Doddridge  and  Bunyan,  he  was  im- 
bued with  the  principles  and  fancies  of  these  devout  instructors 
until  the  Holy  War  really  seemed  to  enter  his  blood,  and  he  has 
lived  his  useful  life  with  this  inspiration  always  quickening  him  to 
watchfulness  and  zeal.  Of  poetry  he  only  imbibed  a  little  from 
Cowper,  but  the  Bible  was,  first  and  last,  his  chief  delight. 

Mr.    MacKellar  before  he  was  fourteen   became  a  compositor, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


55* 


and  worked  at  the  case  in  the  printing-office  of  a  weekly  paper  in 
New  York.  Thence  he  passed  into  the  establishment  of  the  Har- 
pers, where  -he  continued  for  several  years.  By  degrees  he  was 
promoted  there  until  he  attained  the  dignity  of  proof  reader. 
During  the  greater  part  of  this  time  he  was  writing  verses  as  he 
found  opportunity.  It  was  a  hard  life  for  him  ;  he  had  much  of 
the  support  of  the  family  on  his  shoulders  and  little  relaxation. 
As  to  property,  he  had,  of  course,  nothing— though  there  was  an 
inheritance  in  the  family  which  seemed  likely  to  come  to  a  large 
amount.  But  the  youth  had  the  sense  to  follow  the  advice  of  an 
old  Quaker  lawyer  :  "  Thomas,  I  hear  thee  is  an  industrious  lad. 
Stick  to  work  and  thee  will  make  a  fortune  before  thee  will  get 
this  one/'  He  has  certainly  done  so,  and  he  is  now,  and  has  been 
for  many  years,  the  head  of  the  great  type-founding  firm  of  Mac- 
Kellar,  Smiths  &  Jordan,  in  Philadelphia. 

It  was  in  1833  that  Mr.  MacKellar  went  to  Philadelphia  to  live. 
He  took  the  post  of  proof-reader  and  foreman  in  L.  Johnson's 
stereotype  foundry.  For  twelve  years  he  worked  faithfully  for  his 
employers,  and  was  allowed  to  purchase  a  small  interest  in  the 
concern.  It  is  this  same  business  of  which  he  is  now  the  senior 
partner,  and  which  is  probably  as  extensive  as  any  in  the  world. 

In  fact,  Mr.  MacKellar 's  business  prosperity  and  his  religious 
earnestness  began  together.  For  in  1834  he  united  with  the  old 
Pine  Street  church,  and  finally  became  an  elder  in  its  congrega- 
tion. Since  that  date  he  has  been  constantly  in  the  service  of  the 
Church  in  an  official  capacity — being  elected  to  the  same  duties 
in  German  town  on  his  removal  thither. 

For  a  long  while  nothing  of  religious  verse  came  from  his  pen. 
In  1845,  however,  he  began  to  compose  hymns,  and  the  one  be- 
fore us  was  the  first  of  a  long  and  excellent  series.  He  shall  tell 
the  story  in  his  own  language  : 

"  One  evening  (I  almost  always  wrote,  after  a  hard  day's  work  in  the 
foundry,  on  ideas  suggested  during  the  day  or  while  walking  homeward  to 
dinner)— while  writing  a  piece  for  my  friend,  J.  C.  Neal  [author  of  Char- 
coal Sketches'],  a  fancy  suddenly  struck  me  of  a  religious  nature.  I  laid 
aside  the  work  in  hand  and  pursuing  the  new  idea,  I  at  once  produced 
the  hymn,  '  There  is  a  land  immortal,'  and  sent  it  to  the  editor,  who  re- 
ferred to  it  as  a  religious  poem  from  '  Tarn,'  my  assumed  name,  under 
which  I  had  already  acquired  considerable  notoriety.  This  was  in  1845. 
It  was  widely  copied,  and  was  afterward  inserted  in  a  volume  published 


552  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

by  me.  The  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  years  after,  published  it  as 
a  production  of  '  Barry  Cornwall.'  This  error  was  afterward  corrected, 
but  it  misled  Rev.  Dr.  C.  S.  Robinson,  who  inserted  it  in  his  Spiritual 
Songs,  giving  the  authorship  to  '  Barry  Cornwall.'  He  gave  my  name  in 
after  editions." 

Mr.  Neal's  paper  was  the  Gazelle,  and  to  this  and  other  period- 
icals Mr.  MacKellar  regularly  contributed.  His  published  works 
are  :  Droppings  from  Ihe  Hear  I ;  Lines  for  the  Genlle  and  Loving  j 
Tarn's  Fortnight  Rambles  ;  Rhymes  Atween  Tunes  j  and  Hymns  and 
a  few  Metrical  Psalms  (1883).  Beside  this  he  is  the  successful 
author  of  a  book  known  to  nearly  every  member  of  the  craft  of 
stick  and  galley  as  the  American  Printer.  Its  publication  has 
netted  $15,000  to  Mr.  MacKellar's  firm,  and  it  is  still  in  print  and 
sells  well. 

It  is  fitting  that  we  conclude  these  notes  with  Mr.  MacKellar's 
closing  words,  sad  though  they  seem  : 

"  I  was  married  in  1834,  and  have  had  ten  children — all  good  and  God- 
loving.  My  wife  died  fourteen  years  ago.  Five  of  our  children  are  with 
her  in  Paradise — having  done  good  work  here  to  God's  glory — and  five 
are  with  me  on  earth,  still  witnessing  for  Christ." 

There  is  a  singular  and  entirely  undesigned  coincidence  between 
this  hymn  and  Henry  Vaughan's  beautiful  lyric,  "  Peace." 

"  My  soul,  there  is  a  countrie 

Afar  beyond  the  stars, 
Where  stands  a  winged  sentrie 

All  skilfull  in  the  wars. 
There,  above  noise  and  danger, 

Sweet  peace  sits  crown'd  with  smiles, 
And  one  born  in  a  manger 

Commands  the  beauteous  files. 
He  is  thy  gracious  friend 

And  (O  my  soul  !  awake) 
Did  in  pure  love  descend, 

To  die  here  for  thy  sake. 
If  thou  can'st  get  but  thither, 

There  growes  the  flovvre  of  peace, 
The  rose  that  cannot  wither, 

Thy  fortresse,  and  thye  ease, 
Leave,  then,  thy  foolish  ranges  ; 

For  none  can  thee  secure 
But  One,  who  never  changes, 

Thy  God,  thy  Life,  thy  Cure." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  553 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight.  — Watts. 

This  is  Hymn  66,  of  Book  II.,  "A  Prospect  of  Heaven  Makes 
Death  Easy."  It  has  six  stanzas,  and  is  one  of  Dr.  Watts' s  ear- 
liest hymns.  It  was  written  at  Southampton  when  he  was  about 
twenty-one  or  twenty-two  years  of  age.  The  suggestion  of  its 
exquisite  beauty  came,  we  are  told,  from  the  view  across  Southamp- 
ton water— the  "  narrow  sea  "  with  its  "  swelling  flood,"  beyond 
which  lie  the  "sweet  fields"  and  "living  green"  of  the  New 
Forest.  Perhaps,  as  has  been  hinted  by  one  hymnologist,  Charles 
Wesley  borrowed  this  thought  of  the  "  narrow  sea"  of  death  in 
some  of  his  own  pieces. 

There  is  a  name  I  love. — F.  Whitfield. 

This  hymn  was  written  in  1855  by  Rev.  Frederick  Whitfield, 

B.A. 

There  is  a  safe  and  secret  place. — Lyte. 

There  is  a  painting  by  Landseer  called  "The  Sanctuary." 
The  deer  are  gathered  by  deep,  clear  waters,  peacefully  lying  in  a 
Highland  glen.  Around  are  the  great  rocks  and  the  herd  are 
cropping  the  abundant  pasture  or  resting  at  ease.  There  is  no 
trouble  in  the  air  and  no  lack  of  any  supply.  Thus  it  is  with 
God's  bounty  :  "  green  pastures,"  "  still  waters,"  "  munitions  of 
rocks, "  "  none  to  molest  or  to  make  afraid. ' ' 

Lyte  was  doubtless  thinking,  too,  of  that  God  "  under  whose 
wings  we  have  come  to  trust  "  ;  and  of  the  entire  91st  Psalm  of 
David  the  king. 

There  is  a  spot  of  consecrated  ground.— C.  Elliott. 
Miss  Havergal  placed  this,  in  ten  stanzas,  in  Songs  of  Grace  and 
Glory,  1875.      Its  date  is  1839. 

There  is  an  eye  that  never  sleeps.  — Wallace. 
Rev.  John  Aikman  Wallace  was  the  son  of  James  Wallace,  a 
gun-maker  in  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  born,  January  19th,  1802. 
The  present  hymn  appeared  in  the  Scottish  Christian  Herald  for 
some  date  in  1839.  Its  author  was  then  a  minister  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland,  settled  at  Hawick  ;  and  yet  neither  this  com- 
position of  his  nor  anything  else  that  he  wrote  finds  a  place  in  the 
new  Free  Church  Hymn-Book,  1882.  He  died  at  Trinity,  near 
Edinburgh,  February  9th,  1870. 


554  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

One  stanza  of  this  really  fine  and  strong  hymn  has  a  pathetic 
association  in  the  mind  of  the  present  writer  with  an  incident  in 
Mr.  Edward  Pierrepont's  book,  From  Fifth  Avenue  to  Alaska  (New 
York,  1884).      Wallace  wrote  : 

"  But  there's  a  power  which  man  can  wield 
When  mortal  aid  is  vain, 
That  eye,  that  arm,  that  love  to  reach, 
That  listening  ear  to  gain." 

The  author  of  the  account  quoted  below,  a  young  man  of  the 
most  brilliant  promise  and  already  of  high  attainments,  died  at 
Rome,  Italy,  as  Charge  d' Affaires,  April  16th,  1885  ;  and  his  ex- 
perience illuminates  these  words. 

In  the  course  of  a  hunting  expedition  through  the  Hoodoo 
Mountains  in  Wyoming  Territory,  Mr.  Pierrepont  became  lost. 
He  was  alone  and  without  food,  fire  or  shelter,  in  the  midst  of  a 
driving  snow-storm — a  position  to  dismay  the  most  experienced 
mountaineer. 

"  The  snow-flakes,"  he  says,  "  at  this  moment  became  thicker  than 
ever.  Round  and  round  we  wheeled.  My  hands  became  nearly  too 
numb  to  guide  the  horse,  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  should  never  reach  the 
place  of  descent.  We  could  hardly  see  twenty  feet  ahead  ;  all  sides  looked 
perpendicular  ;  and,  although  up  at  this  great  altitude  not  a  glimpse  could 
1  catch  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  bare  ridge  was  about  one  mile 
in  circumference,  and  my  former  horse-tracks  had  long  ago  been  obliter- 
ated. At  last  I  recognized  a  curiously  twisted  fir,  and  saw  that  I  had 
been  merely  making  a  circle. 

"  In  despair,  knowing  that  at  this  altitude  without  fire  the  morning 
would  find  me  frozen,  strangely  there  came  to  my  mind  these  words  of 
Tennyson  ; 

4  More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of ; ' 

and  I  earnestly  prayed  that  for  one  moment  the  storm  might  abate,  and 
allow  me  a  glimpse  of  where  I  was. 

"  Hardly  had  I  uttered  the  words  when  one  of  the  most  striking  inci- 
dents of  my  life  took  place.  It  may  have  been  a  mere  coincidence,  but 
I  was  so  impressed  with  the  occurrence  that  I  could  but  feel  that  the  act, 
which  the  memory  of  Tennyson's  lines  prompted,  had  something  to  do 
with  the  phenomenon  which  so  quickly  followed.  Suddenly  the  wind 
lulled  ;  the  snow  ceased  falling  ;  the  heavy  shrouds  of  mist  which  hung 
over  the  valley  and  mountain-tops  lifted  ;  and  low  in  the  West  the  de- 
clining sun,  having  but  brief  time  of  light,  shone  brightly.  The  huge,  lone 
ranges,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  sparkled  in  their  new  white  robes  ; 
and  the  winding  stream  near  which  the  old  camp  lay  seemed  but  a  mile 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  555 

distant.  Even  the  tired  old  horse  raised  his  head  as  if  encouraged  with 
new  life.  I  soon  found  the  hitherto  hidden  descent,  and  quickly  gained 
the  lower  ridge,  the  gradual  slope  of  which  I  knew  would  bring  me  back 
to  camp. 

"  For  full  thirty  minutes  the  sky  remained  clear,  with  the  exception  of 
large  fleecy  clouds  driving  across  its  face  ;  then,  as  suddenly,  the  wind 
swept  through  the  valleys,  and  all  became  dark  and  threatening  as 
before." 

There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful  rest. — Tappan. 

To  his  Gems  of  Sacred  Poetry,  i860,  Mr.  William  B.  Tappan 
appends  the  following  interesting  note  which  completely  revises  the 
statements  of  hymnologists,  and  fixes  the  date  of  this  hymn. 

He  says  that  it  "  was  written  by  me,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  summer  of 
1818,  for  the  Franklin  Gazette,  edited  by  Richard  Bache,  Esq.,  and  was 
introduced  by  him  to  the  public  in  terms  sufficiently  flattering  to  a  young 
man  who  then  certainly  lacked  confidence  in  himself.  The  piece  was 
republished  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  in  various  newspapers  and 
magazines,  and  was  also  extensively  circulated  in  my  own  native  land, 
where  it  has  found  a  place  in  several  hymn  and  music  books.  It  was 
published  in  my  first  volume  of  Poems,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1819,  and  soon 
after  was  set  to  music  by  A.  P.  Heinrich,  Esq.,  in  the  same  city."  "  I 
have  said  this  much,"  he  continues,  "  because  the  hymn  has  been  claimed 
by  several  writers  in  both  hemispheres,  and  has  appeared  with  various 
names  and  signatures  affixed." 

The  Rev.  William  Bingham  Tappan  was  born  at  Beverley, 
Mass.,  October  29th,  1794.  In  1815  he  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
and  after  teaching  awhile  in  Somerville,  N.  J.,  he  entered  the 
service  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union.  This,  according 
to  Dr.  Allibone,  was  in  1826,  but  Miller  makes  it  1822.  The 
former  date — from  Dr.  Allibone's  residence  and  facilities  for 
knowledge — is  doubtless  correct.  He  remained  with  that  society 
for  the  rest  of  his  life,  becoming,  however;  an  Evangelist  in  the 
Congregational  Ministry  in  1841.  He  died  at  West  Needham, 
Mass.,  June  18th,  1849.  His  large  volume  of  Sacred  Poetry, 
now  before  the  present  writer,  does  not  produce  the  impression 
that  Mr.  Tappan  was  by  any  means  a  great  poet,  or  even  a  success- 
ful hymn-writer,  beyond  a  very  few  productions.  These  are  : 
"  There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful  rest." 
"  Wake  !  isles  of  the  South,  your  redemption  is  near." 
[Written,  1819,  on  the  occasion  of  the  departure  of  the  first  missionaries  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  really  prophetic  of  the  results  that  followed.] 

and 

"  'Tis  midnight,  and  on  Olive's  brow." 


556  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

There  is  no  night  in  heaven. — Knollis. 
Francis  Minden  Knollis,  of  Fitzhead,  Taunton,  was  a  graduate 
of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  in  1837  ;  and  took  his  M.A.  degree 
in  1840.  He  proceeded  by  regular  steps,  being  noted  as  deacon 
in  1838,  priest  in  1839,  Bachelor  of  Divinity  in  1850,  and  Doctor 
of  Divinity  in  1851.  He  was  the  incumbent  of  Fitzhead,  diocese 
of  Bath  and  Wells,  from  1856 — and  the  gross  income  of  this  posi- 
tion was  £90  !  He  was,  however,  domestic  chaplain  to  Lord  Rib- 
blesdale  ;  and  in  1839  was  a  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College.  He 
had  been  (1841)  rector  of  Congerstone,  Leicestershire,  and  his 
death  occurred  in  1863.  Dr.  Knollis  published  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  pamphlets,  sermons  and  brief  treatises.  His  hymns  are 
contained  in  A  Garland  for  the  School  j  or,  Sacred  Verses  for  Sun- 
day Scholars,  1854  ;  A  Wreath  for  the  Altar;  and  Lays  for  the 
Sanctuary,  and  Other  Poems  (2d  ed.  1867).  This  latter  volume 
was  "  compiled  by  G.  Stevenson  de  M.  Rutherford,  and  published 
in  London  by  Elizabeth  Good."  The  present  piece  (which  is  in 
the  Free  Church  Hymn-Book,  in  five  stanzas)  was  contributed  by 
Knollis  to  Rutherford's  Collection. 

There's  a  wideness  in  God's  mercy. — Faber. 
This  hymn   is  taken  from  Faber' s  poem  entitled   "  Come  to 
Jesus, ' '  which  is  in  thirteen  stanzas. 

There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay.  — Miss  Clephane. 

The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1868.  The  writer  was  Miss  Elizabeth 
G  Clephane,  of  Melrose,  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
It  first  appeared  in  the  Family  Treasury,  edited  by  Dr.  Arnot. 
Thence  it  drifted  into  the  Christian  Age,  a  London  religious  jour- 
nal, where  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Ira  D.  Sankey.  The 
tune  to  which  it  is  inseparably  joined  formed  itself  in  his  mind 
during  a  conference  held  on  the  subject  of  "  The  Good  Shepherd." 
He  sang  it,  before  it  was  written  down,  May  16th,  1874,  at  a 
gospel  meeting  in  the  Free  Assembly  Hall,  Edinburgh.  Miss 
Clephane  was  born  in  the  year  1830  and  died  (as  we  learn)  in  1869. 
She  is  the  author  also  of  "Beneath  the  cross  of  Jesus. " 

One  of  the  most  thrilling  incidents  connected  with  its  use  is  the 
effect  its  distant  singing  produced  on  the  heart  of  an  impenitent 
man.     Clear  and  sweet  the  song  rose  up  ;   "  I  go  to  the  desert  to 


ENGLISH  H  YMNS.  .  557 

find  my  sheep. ' '     And   the  man   on  the  hillside  heard  and  was 
saved. 

They  who  seek  the  throne  of  grace.  — Holden,  alt. 

Oliver  Holden — an  almost  mythical  figure  in  American  psal- 
mody— was  bom  at  Shirley,  Mass.,  September  18th,  1765.  We 
venture  to  repeat  something  of  what  was  said  under  "  All  hail  the 
power  of  Jesus'  name,"  in  order  to  make  the  present  annotation 
more  complete.  We  are  indebted  for  much  of  our  information  to 
Mr.  Hubert  P.  Main. 

Holden  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  then  became  a  teacher  of 
psalmody  and  publisher  of  music,  at  Charlestown,  Mass.  The  list 
of  his  publications  is  as  follows  : 

1792. —  The  American  Harmony,  which  he  compiled  and  edited. 

1793. —  The  Union  Harmony,  2  vols.,  Boston. 

1795. — Massachusetts  Compiler,  with  Gram  and  Holyoke,  Boston. 

1 800.  — Music  on  Dea th~  of  Georg e  Washington . 

1795-1803. —  The  Worcester  Collection,  four  editions. 

1800  (about). — Plain  Psalmody. 

1802  (about). — Charlestown  Collection. 

He  is  said  also  to  have  published  a  volume  of  poetry  containing 
some  original  hymns,  in  which  this  may  have  a  place,  though  the 
book  is  inaccessible  and  the  fact  cannot  be  verified.  Mr.  Main, 
who  has  most  of  the  volumes  named  above,  has  found  it  impossible 
to  identify  this  hymn,  but  has  others  in  his  own  handwriting.  The 
present  piece  is  said  to  be  signed  with  an  "  H."  and  to  commence 
"  All  those  who  seek  a  throne  of  grace." 

"  By  the  sick-bed  of  Rabia  stood  two  holy  men.  One  of  them  said  : 
4  The  prayers  of  that  man  are  not  sincere,  who  refuses  to  bear  the  chasten- 
ing strokes  of  the  Lord.'  The  other  went  beyond  him,  saying  :  '  He  is 
not  sincere  who  does  not  rejoice  in  them.'  Rabia,  detecting  something 
of  self  in  that  very  joy,  surpassed  them  both  as  she  added  :  '  He  is  not 
sincere  who  does  not,  beholding  his  Lord,  become  totally  unconscious  of 
them.'  The  Mohammedan  Lives  of  the  Saints  records  that,  on  another 
occasion,  when  questioned  concerning  the  cause  of  a  severe  illness,  she 
replied  :  '  I  suffered  myself  to  think  on  the  delights  of  Paradise,  and 
therefore  my  Lord  hath  punished  me.'  She  was  heard  to  exclaim  :  '  What 
is  the  Kaaba  to  me  ?     I  need  God  only.'  " 

Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love.  — Doddridge. 
In  the  diary  of  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring,  under  date  of  May  25th, 
185 1,  there  is  an  entry  which  is  interesting.     Evidently  this  excel- 
lent man  had  been  pressed  by  some  serious  affliction  ;  for  he  says 


558  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

that  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  opened  his  piano  to  sing  since  it 
occurred. 

"  '  I  felt,'  he  writes,  '  that  while  all  God's  works  praise  him,  my  voice 
also  should  be  vocal  with  his  praise.  How  beautiful  is  this  green  earth 
on  a  Sabbath  day  !  '  Yet  he  seems  to  have  thought  his  joys  ought  to  be 
in  some  measure  subdued,  and  he  adds,  as  he  sings  on  in  his  quiet  way  : 
'  I  could  only  give  utterance  to  the  words  : 

"  Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love, 
But  there's  a  nobler  rest  above."  '  " 

This  is  Dr.  Doddridge' s  ' '  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  !  hear  our  vows, ' ' 
found  in  full  in  Sir  Roundell  Palmer's  Book  of  Praise,  p.  335. 
In  many  of  the  modern  collections  the  hymn  is  made  to  begin,  as 
it  does  here,  with  the  second  stanza,  and  this  omission  of  the  first 
is  the  only  noticeable  alteration  which  has  taken  place.  It  was 
composed,  January  2d,  1737,  to  be  sung  after  a  sermon  on  Heb. 

4  :  9- 

Thine  for  ever  !   God  of  love. — Maude. 

Mrs.  Mary  Fawler  Maude  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  Joseph  Maude, 
and  the  daughter  of  Mr.  George  Henry  Hooper,  of  Stanmore, 
Middlesex.  Her  husband — to  whom  she  was  married  in  1841  — 
is  vicar  of  Chirk,  which  lies  between  Ruabon  and  Oswestry,  North 
Wales.  He  is  an  honorary  canon  of  St.  Asaph's.  The  lady  in- 
formed Mr.  Miller  that  this  hymn — which  has  been  generally 
adopted — was  first  printed  in  her  Twelve  Letters  on  Confirmation, 
1848.  It  was  composed  for  a  confirmation  class  at  Newport,  Isle 
of  Wight,  and  was  earliest  used  in  the  collection  of  Bishop  William 
Walsham  How,  then  rector  of  Whittington,  Shropshire,  1864. 
Mrs.  Maude's  Memorials  of  Past  Years  appeared  in  1852.  She 
has  written  many  other  pieces,  but  none  have  had  the  favor  which 
this  has  enjoyed. 

Thine  holy  day's  returning. — Palmer. 
This  hymn  is  based  on  Ps.  84  :  10  ;  was  written  in  1834  ;  and, 
so  far  as  Dr.  Palmer  recalls  (though  the  fact  has  been  questioned), 
was  one  of  the  little  "  batch  of  hymns  "  given  by  him  to  Lowell 
Mason  not  long  after  that  date. 

This  child  we  dedicate  to  thee. — Gilman. 
This   ' '  Hymn  for  Baptism  ' '  is  from   the   pen  of  a  Unitarian 
clergyman,  Rev.  Samuel  Gilman,  D.D.,  born,  Gloucester,  Mass., 
February   16th,    1791  ;    educated  at  the   Academy   in    Atkinson, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  559 

N.  H.,  and  afterward  a  clerk  in  the  Essex  Bank,  Salem.  In  181 1  he 
was  graduated  with  honor  at  Harvard  College  ;  was  tutor  in 
mathematics  for  two  years  ;  studied  theology  with  Drs.  Ware  and 
Kirkland,  and  was  then  ordained,  December  1st,  18 19,  as  pastor 
of  the  Unitarian  Society,  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  Dr.  Gilman  con- 
tinued at  this  post  until  February  9th,  1858,  when  he  died  at 
Kingston,  Mass.,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  son-in-law,  Rev.  C.  J. 
Bowen.  His  death  was  regarded  in  Charleston  as  a  public 
calamity. 

He  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  current  periodicals,  and  will 
be  remembered  by  the  Memoirs  of  a  New  England  Village  Choir, 
which  are  included  in  his  Contributions  to  Literature  (1856).  Scat- 
tered through  his  writings  are  many  hymns. 

Dr.  Putnam  says  that  the  present  hymn  is  a  translation  from 
the  German,  with  two  stanzas  omitted,  but  the  original  is  not 
named.  It  suggests  C.  F.  Neander's  "  Du  wiesest,  Jesu"  etc.,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  second  double  stanza  : 

"  Dir  sei  auch  dieses  Kind  befohlen  ! 

Du  nimmst  es  auf,  dein  Wort  ist  wahr, "  etc. 

Think  gently  of  the  erring. — Fletcher. 
This  hymn  appears  in  Adams  and  Chapin's  (Universalist)  Hymns 
for   Christian  Devotion,    1846,    and   bears   the  name    of    "  Miss 
Fletcher."      It   is   therefore  probable   that  she   was  an  American 
writer. 

This  God  is  the  God  we  adore.  — Hart. 

In  Harf  s  Hymns,  1759  (2d  ed.,  1762)  this  is  No.  73.  It  has 
seven  double  stanzas  and  commences,  "  No  prophet,  no  dreamer 
of  dreams."  The  usual  two-stanza  hymn,  with  the  above  first 
line,  has  been  formed  from  this  longer  piece  by  taking  the  last 
stanza  and  dividing  it.  The  title  of  the  original  hymn  is,  "  If  there 
arise  among  you  a  Prophet,  or  a  Dreamer  of  Dreams,  etc. — Deut. 
13  :  1,"  etc. 

The  morning  and  evening  hymns  from  the  Christian  Year  were  read 
to  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  just  before  his  death.  "Very  beautiful,"  he 
said,  "  but  I  want  nothing  but  sleep."  On  the  other  hand,  he  said  of  the 
repetition  or  reading  of  Scripture  truths  and  promises  :  "  That  keeps  me 
awake,  as  my  mind  anticipates  every  word."  "  'Tis  Jesus  the  first  and 
the  last,"  was  repeated  to  him,  and  he  responded  :  "  Whose  Spirit  shall 
guide  me  safe  home." 


560  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

This  is  my  body,  which  is  given  for  you. — C.  L.  Ford. 
• '  Charles  Lawrence  Ford, ' '  says  Dr.  Rogers,  in  Lyra  Brilannica, 
1867  (2d  ed.,  1868),  "  is  the  son  of  a  distinguished  artist  in  Bath. 
He  was  educated  at  Bath  and  is  B.A.  of  the  University  of  Lon- 
don. Six  hymns  from  his  pen  are  inserted  in  the  Lyra  Anglicana, 
edited  by  the  Rev.  Robert  H.  Baynes.  He  has  also  contributed 
to  Mr.  Baynes's  collection  of  English  Lyrics" 

This  is  not  my  place  of  resting. — Bonar. 
In  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  first  series,  1857,  this  hymn  ap- 
pears in  four  stanzas,  with  the  title  "  Rest  Yonder." 

This  is  the  day  of  light. — Ellerton. 
Rev.  John  Ellerton,  who  became  rector  of  Hinstock,  Shrop- 
shire, in  England,  1872,  is  the  author  of  this  hymn.  It  first  ap- 
peared in  Selection  of  Hymns  for  use  i?i  Chester  Cathedral,  1868. 
Mr.  Ellerton  was  born  in  London,  December  1 6th,  1826,  and  was 
educated  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  graduating  in  1849.  He 
then  entered  the  Episcopal  Church,  1850.  In  1883  he  was  rector 
of  Barnes,  Surrey,  England.  He  has  written  many  excellent 
hymns,  some  of  which  are  found  in  the  Nantwich  Choral  Book, 
1866  and  1867  ;  others  of  which  are  in  Hymns,  A?icient  and  Mod- 
ern, also  in  the  Church  Hymns,  and  in  the  Hymnal  Companion. 
His  Church  Hymns,  Annotated,  was  published  by  the  "  Society  for 
the  Promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge,"  London,  1881. 

This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath  made. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  affords  this  as   a   version  of  Ps.  118,  Fourth   Part, 
C.  M.  ;  vv.  24-26.     The  title  is,    "  Hosanna  :  the  Lord's  Day  ; 
or,  Christ's  Resurrection  and  our  Salvation."     It  has  five  stanzas. 

Thou  art  coming  !     At  thy  table. — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  is  in  Miss  Havergal's  Poems,  p.  53.      It  is  the  second  part 
of   "  Thou  art  coming,  O  my  Saviour  !"  which  the  author  dates 
in  1873. 

Thou  art  coming,  O  my  Saviour  ! — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  Advent   Hymn,   in  seven  stanzas,  is  in  Miss  Havergal's 
Poems,  p.  52.     We  have  just  given  the  other  part  of  this  hymn, 
and  the  date  is  1873. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  561 

Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not  deplore  thee.  — Heber. 
This  hymn  was  composed,  December,   18 18,  in  consequence  of 
the  death  of  Bishop  Heber' s  only  child,  at  the  age  of  six  months. 
When  she  died  he  wrote  : 

"  I  am  myself  more  cut  down  than  I  thought  I  should  be,  but  I  hope 
not  impatient.  I  do  not  forget  that  to  have  possessed  her  at  all,  and  to 
have  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  looking  at  her,  and  caressing  her,  for  six 
months,  was  God's  free  gift,  and  still  less  do  I  forget  that  He  who  has 
taken  her  will  at  length,  I  hope,  restore  her  to  us." 

Thou  art  gone  up  on  high. — Toke. 
Mr.  Miller  corresponded  with  Mrs.  Emma  (Leslie)  Toke,  and 
she  informed  him  that  she  had  "  never  published  anything  in  prose 
or  verse."  The  following  hymns  were  given  to  a  friend  "who 
was  collecting  for  the  Committee  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,  when  they  were  arranging  their  hymn-book, 
and  were  sent  anonymously."  In  this  collection  the  following 
pieces  by  Mrs.  Toke  appeared  : 

O  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  the  snares.     (1852.) 

O  Lord  !  in  all  our  trials  here.     (1852.) 

O  thou,  who  didst  with  love  untold.     (1852.) 

O  thou  to  whose  all-seeing  eye.     (1852.) 

Lord,  of  thy  mercy,  hear  our  cry.     (1852.) 

Glory  to  thee,  O  Lord.     (1853.) 

Thou  art  gone  up  on  high.     (185 1.) 

The  author  is  the  daughter  of  John  Leslie,  D.D.,  bishop  of 
Kilmore,  and  was  born  at  Holywood,  Belfast,  August  9th,  18 12. 
She  married  Rev.  Nicholas  Toke  of  Godington  Park,  Ashford, 
Kent,  in  1857.  Of  the  above  pieces  three  are  in  Lyra  Hibernica 
Sacra.  There  is  no  recognition  of  her  death  in  Anglican  Hym- 
nology,  1884,  but  she  is  currently  stated  to  have  died  in  1878. 
Lyra  Hibernica  does  not  mention  the  fact  in  1879. 

Thou  art  my  hiding-place,  O  Lord. — Raffles. 
Rev.  Thomas  Raffles  was  born  in  London,  May  17th,  1788. 
He  was  hopefully  converted  at  ten  years  of  age,  and  joined  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists  ;  but  afterward,  when  the  family  removed  to 
Peckham,  he  united  with  Rev.  W.  B.  Collyer's  Independent 
church.  Being  naturally  destined  for  the  ministry,  he  then  en- 
tered Homerton  College,  and  was  trained  under  Dr.  John  Pye 
Smith,  receiving  his  ordination,  June  2 2d,   1809,  as  pastor  of  an 


562  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Independent  (Congregational)  church  at  Hammersmith,  London. 
After  three  years'  profitable  labor  he  was  then  called  to  succeed 
the  eloquent  Thomas  Spencer  in  Great  George  Street  chapel,  Liver- 
pool. His  predecessor  had  been  drowned  in  the  Mersey,  August 
5th,  181 1,  and  Mr.  Raffles,  among  his  other  literary  work,  pre- 
pared an  account  of  his  life. 

The  choice  of  the  church  had  been  well  made.  Thomas  Raffles 
proved  an  excellent  pastor  and  a  very  attractive  preacher,  becom- 
ing, from  his  installation  in  181 2,  one  of  the  most  popular  divines 
in  the  city.  Not  only  that,  but  his  influence  extended  through 
England  and  was  felt  in  America.  For  fifty  years  he  held  this 
position  and  then  retired  on  a  pension,  February,  1862.  But  he 
did  not  long  survive  this  change  from  activity  to  ease,  and  he  died 
August  1 8th,  1863,  in  Liverpool.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  a  man  of  means,  through  his  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of 
James  Hargreaves,  and  who  died,  leaving  four  children,  May  1 7th, 

1843. 

In  181 2,  Dr.  Collyer  included  eight  of  Mr.  Raffles's  hymns  in 
his  Collection.  But  the  majority  of  his  pieces  were  written  subse- 
quently to  that  date.  He  himself  prepared  a  Supplement  to  Dr. 
Walls' 's  Psahns  and  Hyjnns,  1853  ;  and  for  many  years  wrote  a 
hymn  for  each  succeeding  New  Year's  Day. 

Of  other  hymns  which  he  composed  we  may  mention  : 
"  Lord,  like  the  publican  I  stand," 
[which  was  written  upon  its  evident  theme  at  "  Seacombe,  Oct.  4th,  1831."] 

"  High  in  yonder  realms  of  light," 

[which  is  found  in  Dr.  Collyer's  collection,  1812.] 

Thou  art  the  Way  :  to  thee  alone. — Doane. 
This  hymn  is  taken  from  Bishop  Doane's  Songs  by  the  Way, 
1824.      His   other  hymn,  "  Softly  now  the  light  of  day,"   also 
comes  from  this  volume. 

Thou,  from  whom  we  never  part. — Follen. 
Mrs.  Eliza  Lee  Follen,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  Cabot, 
was  born  in  Boston,  August  15th,  1787.  She  was  married,  1828, 
to  Professor  Charles  Follen,  whom  Dr.  Putnam  calls  the  "  emi- 
nent exiled  friend  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,"  and  who  had 
come  to  America  in  1825.  He  was  a  teacher  of  German  and  of 
Ecclesiastical  History  and  Ethics,  at  Cambridge  ;  and  the  pastor 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  563 

of  the  Unitarian  Society  at  East  Lexington.  He  was  lost  on  the 
"Lexington,"  which  was  burned,  January  13th,  1840,  in  Long 
Island  Sound. 

Mrs.  Follen  wrote  much  during  her  thirty  years  of  married  life, 
and  was  editor  of  the  Child s  Friend  from  1843  to  l85o.  She  died 
in  Brookline,  Mass.,  January  26th,  i860. 

None  of  her  hymns  are  in  S.  Longfellow's  and  S.  Johnson's 
Hymns  of  the  Spirit  The  Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith,  however, 
contains  nine  pieces,  but  not  the  present  hymn. 

Thou  God  of  glorious  majesty. — C.  Wesley. 
In  this  hymn  occurs  the  well-known  stanza,  ' '  Lo,  on  a  narrow 
neck  of  land,"  which  has  been  supposed  to  fix  the  place  and  cir- 
cumstances of  its  composition.  Some  hymnologists  do  not  con- 
sent to  Dr.  Belcher's  positive  statement  that  the  verses  were  written 
at  the  Land's  End,  Cornwall— a  dangerous  and  precipitous  prom- 
ontory pushing  out  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  English 
Channel,  and  with  scarcely  standing-room  upon  some  portions  of 
it.  We  are  able,  however,  to  assert  that  they  were  composed  not 
long  after  a  visit  to  that  region,  and  were  included  among  the 
Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems  (isted.,  1749;  2ded.,  1755  and  1756). 
Creamer  has  nothing  to  say  as  to  their  origin,  but  quotes  the  ap- 
proval of  Montgomery  and  the  three  lines  : 

"  Death  stands  between  eternity  and  time, 
With  open  jaws  on  such  a  narrow  bridge, 
That  none  can  pass,  but  must  become  his  prey." 
We  may  also  note  the  language  of  Addison  in  the  Spectator  (No. 
590)  :   "  Many  witty  authors   compare    the    present  time  to  an 
isthmus,  or  narrow  neck   of  land,  that  rises  in  the  midst  of  an 
ocean  immeasurably  diffused  on  either  side  of  it." 

The  hymn  has  six  stanzas  in  John  Wesley's  "  corrected  "Hymn- 
Book,  1779. 

Thou  grace  divine,  encircling  all.— Miss  Scudder. 

That  the  author,  of  two  of  our  finest  Christmas  hymns  should  be 
the  maternal  uncle  of  one  of  our  sweetest  singers  is  not  an  unfore- 
seen event.  But  when  one  says  that  Edmund  Hamilton  Sears  is 
the  uncle  and  Miss  Eliza  Scudder  the  niece,  the  statement  means 
more  than  at  first  appears. 

The  present  writer,  mousing  one  day  among  the  rubbish  of  an 


564  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

old  book-stall,  laid  his  hand  on  a  small,  neat  volume,  entitled 
Hymns  and  Sonnets,  by  E  S.  The  book  was  thin,  tastefully 
printed  in  Boston,  and  published  by  Lock  wood,  Brooks  &  Co., 
1880,  thus  being  of  a  comparatively  recent  date.  And  the  hymn 
which  heads  this  notice  was  so  admirable  in  every  way  that  the 
question  at  once  arose  :   "To  what  extent  is  this  writer  known  ?" 

It  was  not  hard  to  connect  the  verses  with  the  name  of  Miss 
Eliza  Scudder,  nor  to  ascertain,  when  once  her  hymns  were  differ- 
entiated from  the  mass,  that  she  had  obtained  four  places  in  Hymns 
of  the  Spirit.  Eight  of  her  pieces  are  in  the  Schaff-Gilman  Library 
of  Religious  Poetry,  in  which  volume  it  is  stated  that  the  lady's 
hymns  and  other  poetry  had  not  then  (1880)  been  collected.  So 
that  the  motif  "of  the  little  book  on  the  book-stall  is  easily  guessed. 

Miss  Eliza  Scudder  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  November  14th, 
182 1.  Her  various  poems  and  hymns  have  been  handed  about  in 
manuscript,  and  this  present  one  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  the 
eye  of  her  uncle,  Rev.  E.  H.  Sears.  He  included  it  in  his  M  Pict- 
ures of  the  Olden  Time,  as  shown  in  the  Fortunes  of  a  Family  of 
the  Pilgrims,"  1857.      The  hymn  itself  had  been  written  in  1852. 

Other  pieces  were  published  in  Mr.  Sears' s  Monthly  Religious 
Magazine,  and  gradually  found  their  way  into  one  hymn-book  after 
another.  The  little  collection  of  1880  is  rarer  than  it  seemed,  for 
it  was  printed  from  type,  and  the  edition  was  soon  exhausted. 

An  examination  of  Dr.  Putnam's  Singers  and  Songs  of  the 
Liberal  Faith  does  not  disclose  her  name,  for  the  excellent  reason 
that  while,  at  the  writing  of  this  hymn,  she  was  an  attendant  upon 
the  Unitarian  ministry,  she  has  for  something  like  fifteen  years  past 
been  a  communicant  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  The 
hymn  itself  bears  witness,  in  its  six  stanzas,  to  the  high  and  spiritual 
desire  of  one  worthy  to  be  classed  with  such  women  as  Madame 
Guyon,  Dora  Greenwell,  or  Christina  Rossetti. 

Miss  Scudder  has  lately  been  a  resident  of  Salem,  Mass.  We 
are  indebted  to  her  cousin,  Mr.  Horace  E.  Scudder,  for  several  of 
these  facts. 

The  hymns  which  bear  her  name  in  Hymns  of  the  Spirit,  1 864,  are  : 

"  I  cannot  find  thee  !  Still  on  restless  pinion." 
"  In  thee,  my  powers,  my  treasures,  live." 
"  Thou  grace  Divine,  encircling  all." 
"Thou  long  disowned,  reviled,  oppressed." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  565 

To  these  may  be  added  : 

"  Grant  us  thy  peace,  down  from  thy  heavens  falling." 

"  Life  of  our  life,  and  light  of  all  our  seeing." 

"  Gentle  friends  who  gather  here."    1872. 

"  The  day  is  done  ;  the  weary  day  of  thought  and  toil  is  past."     1874. 

"  From  past  regret  and  present  faithlessness." 

Thou  lovely  source  of  true  delight. — Steele. 
In  the  Poems  by  Tkeodosia,  1760,  this  is  entitled  "  Desiring  to 
Know  and  Love  Him  More,"  and  has  six  stanzas. 

Thou  only  Sovereign  of  my  heart. — Steele. 
In   the  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1760,  this  is  entitled  "  Life  and 
Safety  in  Christ  Alone. — John  6  :  68."     It  has  six  stanzas. 

Thou  very  present  aid.  — C.  Wesley. 
The  date  is  1749,  and  the  hymn  has  four  stanzas. 

Thou  who  roll'st  the  year  around. — Palmer. 
This  is  based  on  Ps.  65  :  11,  and  is  a  New  Year's  hymn,  1832. 
It  was  the  first  celebration  of  a  new  year  after  Dr.  Palmer's  mar- 
riage. 

Thou  !  whose  Almighty  word. — Marriott. 

The  author  was  Rev.  John  Marriott,  born  at  Cottesbach,  near 
Lutterworth,  England,  in  1780.  He  studied  at  Rugby;  entered 
Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  and  was  graduated  in  1802,  and 
then  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  1803.  After 
holding  the  living  of  Church  Lawford,  near  Rugby,  for  some 
years,  he  left  Warwickshire  owing  to  his  wife's  health  and  settled 
as  a  curate  at  Broad  Clyst,  in  Devonshire.  His  Sermons  (post- 
humously published,  1838)  are  good.  Mr.  Marriott  died  at  Broad 
Clyst,  March  31st,  1825,  and  this  hymn  (which  is  his  only  one) 
was  written  in  18 13. 

The  hymn  itself,  published,  18 16,  in  Dr.  Raines's  Collection,  is 
reprinted  in  Lyra  Britannica  from  the  author's  manuscript. 

Though  I  speak  with  angel  tongues. — Winkworth,  tr. 

This  hymn  is  made  from  that  which  begins,  ' '  Many  a  gift  did 
Christ  impart,"  which  is  the  hymn  for  Quinquagesima  Sunday  in 
the  first  series  of  Lyra  Germanica,  1855.  It  is  the  "  Unter  jenen 
grossen  Gii/ern"  of  Ernst  Lange. 

The  author  was  a  man  of  noble  and  powerful  intellect.     His 


566  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

inclination  was  in  the  direction  of  the  Halle  school  of  thinkers, 
but  he  never  regularly  affiliated  himself  with  them.  He  was  a 
native  of  Dantzig,  where  he  was  born  in  1650,  and  where  he  was 
honored  with  the  offices  of  magistrate  and  burgomaster.  His 
hymns  have  the  singular  incident  connected  with  them  that  they 
were  published  when  he  was  sixty-one  years  of  age.  On  attaining 
this  period  of  his  life  he  printed  sixty-one  hymns  and  dedicated 
them  to  a  friend  of  equal  age  with  himself.  His  design,  as  he 
explained,  was  to  celebrate  the  mercy  of  God,  who  had  spared 
them  both  during  the  past  year  from  the  ravages  of  a  pestilence 
which  had  devastated  the  town.  The  good  man  died  at  Dantzig 
in  1727. 

Our  hymn  is  based  on  1  Cor.  13  :  1-3,  13,  and  is  in  five 
stanzas,  to  which  Freylinghausen,  who  employed  it  in  his  collec- 
tion, added  the  sixth. 

Though  faint,  yet  pursuing.  — Anon. 
In  Laudes  Domini  this  hymn  is  credited  to  J.  N.  Darby,   the 
founder  of  the  "  Plymouth  Brethren. "      Mr.  Miller  says  positively 
that  Darby  denied  to  him  that  he  had  written  it. 

Though  now  the  nations  sit  beneath. — Bacon. 

Of  this  hymn  Professor  Bird  says  : 

"  It  is  based  on  a  piece  by  Sarah  Slinn,  preserved  in  Dobell's  famous 
Selection,  1806-10.  This  was  taken  into  the  Andover  tract  [prepared  by 
Dr.  Bacon,  at  Andover,  for  the  Society  of  Inquiry,  and  containing  about 
one  hundred  and  eight  pages],  stanzas  4  and  5  being  much  alteied,  and 
the  first  couplet  of  each  being  re-written." 

Over  one-third  of  it  finally  came  to  be  Dr.  Bacon's,  and  it  was 
mainly  owing  to  his  share  in  the  work  that  Nettleton  copied  the 
hymn  into  the  Village  Hymns.  It  was  copied  back  into  Church 
Psalmody  (1831),  and  there  Dr.  Bacon  found  it.  By  this  time 
Sarah  Slinn  was  nearly  eliminated,  and  Dr.  Bacon  revised  the 
piece  and  "  left  no  more  of  Slinn  than  the  faintest  touch  in  the 
third  and  last  lines."  Hence  the  hymn  is  called  his,  and  is  en- 
tered as  "  1823-33." 

Though  troubles  assail.  — Newton. 
This  hymn  was  written,  February,  1775,  and  appeared  in  the? 
Gospel  Magazine,    January,    1777.      It  is  included   in   the   Olnej 
Hymns,  1779,  where  it  is  Book  I.,  No.  7,  and  has  eight  stanzas. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  567 

"  My  course  of  study,"  Newton  once  said,  "  like  that  of  a  surgeon,  has 
principally  consisted  in  walking  the  hospital."  Hence  his  hymns  are 
always  practical.  "Much  depends,"  he  used  to  say,  "  on  the  way  we 
come  into  trouble — Paul  and  Jonah  were  both  in  a  storm,  but  in  very  dif- 
ferent circumstances." 

Though  sorrows  rise  and  dangers  roll. — Heber. 
We  can  profitably  compare  with  this  hymn  one  by  H.  Kirke 
White,  18 1 2,  whose  last  stanza  is  almost  sublime  : 

"  These  ashes,  too,  this  little  dust 
Our  Father's  care  shall  keep 
Till  the  last  angel  rise  and  break 
The  long  and  dreary  sleep." 

It  commences  :  "  Through  sorrow's  night  and  danger's  path." 

Through  all  the  changing  scenes  of  life. — Tate  and  Brady. 
This  is  "  Tate  and  Brady,"   and  not  Tate  alone.      It  is  their 
version  of  the  34th  Psalm,  and  is  dated  1696. 

Three  in  One,  and  One  in  Three.  — Rorison. 

This  hymn  was  originally  published,  with  others  of  his  composi- 
tion, by  Rev.  Gilbert  Rorison,  LL.D.,  in  a  collection  made  for 
his  congregation  at  Peterhead  in  1850.  Our  author  was  the  son 
of  John  Rorison,  merchant,  and  was  born  at  Glasgow,  February 
7th,  182 1.  He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and 
became  the  incumbent  of  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  church,  Peterhead, 
Aberdeenshire.  He  died  at  Bridge  of  Allan,  Scotland,  October 
nth,  1869.  Sir  David  Brewster  commended  his  Three  Barriers, 
published  in  1 861,  as  being  the  best  reply  to  Darwin  up  to  that 
date. 

The  hymn  with  which  this  author  has  enriched  the  worship  of 
the  Church  is  full  of  the  spirit  of  calm  and  fervent  devotion.  It  is 
a  direct  address  to  the  Godhead,  so  simple,  so  reverent,  so  genuine, 
that  it  commends  itself  to  the  sensibility  of  Christian  hearts  at  once. 
Such  things  have  to  be  sung,  not  said. 

It  is  not  possible  to  put  into  forms  of  colloquial  speech,"  says  Dr.  C. 
S.  Robinson,  "  the  sources  of  enjoyment  which  a  pardoned  believer 
knows  when  he  is  once  possessed  of  the  peace  which  passes  understand- 
ing ;  the  soul  like  a  bride  rests  in  a  love  it  cannot  explain,  when  the 
sweet  day  of  espousal  to  Christ  has  been  reached.  The  Christian  cannot 
be  alone,  for  a  happy  conscience,  like  a  bird  in  his  heart,  keeps  singing 
cheerily  to  give  him  company.     He  has  no  alarms,  no  suspicions.     Noth- 


568  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

ing  breaks  up  the  calm,  bright  serenity  of  his  trustful  repose  in  Christ 
Jesus.  '  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on 
thee  ;  because  he  trusteth  in  thee.'  Such  an  one  has  reached  the  final 
tranquillity  of  the  soul. 

1  Far,  far  beneath — the  noise  of  tempest  dieth, 
And  silver  waves  chime  ever  peacefully  ; 
And  no  rude  storm,  how  fierce  soe'er  it  fiieth, 
Disturbs  the  Sabbath  of  that  deeper  sea.'  " 

Through  the  day  thy  love  has  spared  us. — Kelly. 
This  hymn  was  written  in  1806.     It  is  based  on  Ps.  4  :  8,  and 
has  two  six-line  stanzas.      It  is  probably  the  best-known  of  all  of 
Thomas  Kelly's  hymns.      In  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  1853  the 
old  man,  then  eighty-four  years  of:  age,  says  : 

"  It  will  be  perceived  by  those  who  read  these  hymns  that  though  there 
is  an  interval  between  the  first  and  last  of  nearly  sixty  years,  both  speak 
of  the  same  great  truths,  and  in  the  same  way.  In  the  course  of  that 
long  period  the  author  has  seen  much  and  heard  much,  but  nothing  that 
he  has  seen  or  heard  has  made  the  least  change  in  his  mind,  that  he  is 
conscious  of,  as  to  the  grand  truths  of  the  Gospel."  Altogether  he  com- 
posed seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  hymns. 

Through  the  night  of  doubt  and  sorrow.  — Baring-Gould. 
This  is  from  the  Danish  of  Bernhardt  Severin  Ingemann,  born 
at  Thor  Kildstrup,  Island  of  Falster,  May  28th,  1789.  He  was  a 
professor  in  Zealand  from  1822  to  his  death,  in  1862.  His  works, 
collected  in  1851,  make  thirty-four  volumes,  many  of  which  are 
romances.  The  present  hymn  is  in  the  Schaff-Gilman  Library 
of  Religious  Poetry,  and  the  record  of  the  translator's  life  is  placed 
in  another  part  of  this  volume.  Seven  of  Ingemann's  hymns  are 
rendered  (rather  prosaically)  by  Gilbert  Tait  in  his  Hymns  of  Den- 
mark, 1868.  The  Danish  of  this  hymn  is  "  Igjennem  Nat  og 
Trcengsel,"  1825. 

Through  the  yesterday  of  ages.  — F.  R.  Havergal. 
This  is  found  in  Miss  Havergal' s  Poems,  p.  284,  with  the  title, 
"  Tried,  Precious,  Sure,"  and  a  reference  to  Heb.  13:8  and  Isa. 
28  :  16.      It  has  three  stanzas.      Songs  of  Grace  and  Glory,  1875, 
does  not  contain  this  piece. 

Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  me  on.  — Watts. 
There  are  six  stanzas  to  this  piece.     The  Scriptures  used  in  the 
preceding  discourse  are  Ps.  4  :  8  ;  Ps.  3  :  5,  6,  and  Ps.   143  :  8. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  569 

This  hymn,  like  many  others  of  Dr.  Watts' s,  is  written  to  accom- 
pany the  sermon.     In  the  collected  hymns  it  is  No.  80  of  Book  I. 

Thy  Father's  house  !  thine  own  bright  home  ! — Palmer. 
Dr.   Palmer  has  been  in  the  habit  of  repeating  various  appro- 
priate hymns  to  very  sick  or  dying  people.     This  is  a  favorite  with 
him  for  such  a  use,  and  he  has  found  it  give  comfort  on  many 
occasions.     It  is  based  on  John  14:2,  and  was  written  in  1864. 

We  take  this  opportunity  to  preserve  a  beautiful  little  anonymous 
hymn  from  the  Bible  Christians'  Collection  (fourth  edition,  London,  1875), 
and  which  is  unusual  to  American  eyes. 

ik  Is  it  a  thing  so  small,  "  O  could  I  thus  sink  down 

So  easy  to  comply,  To  everlasting  rest, 

When  summoned  by  the  sudden  call,  Without  a  lingering  sigh  or  groan. 

To  get  me  up  and  die  !  On  my  Redeemer's  breast ! 

"  For  those  who  humbly  keep  "  Jesus,  thy  blood  apply, 

The  faith  by  Christ  bestowed,  Thy  mind  and  Spirit  give  ; 

To  die  is  but  to  fall  asleep  Then  shall  I  get  me  up  and  die  ; 

In  the  soft  arms  of  God.  Then  shall  I  truly  live." 

Thy  home  is  with  the  humble,  Lord  ! — Faber. 
From  the  hymn,  "  Sweetness  in  Prayer,"  which  commences, 
"  Why  dost  thou  beat  so  quick,  my  heart  ?"  The  only  verbal 
change  is  in  the  substitution  of  "  rest  "for  "  nest  "  in  vv.  1  and  3  ; 
and  of  "  house"  for  "  nest"  in  v.  2.  For  "  the  simple  are  Thy 
rest"  there  is  the  important  alteration,  "The  simple  are  the 
best." 

Thy  life  was  given  for  me.  — F.  R.  Havergal. 

This  is  altered  from  "  I  gave  my  life  for  thee,"  which  had  such 
currency  in  the  Moody  and  Sankey  Gospel  Hymns.  The  manifest 
impropriety  of  singing  to  the  Saviour  His  own  supposed  words, 
needs  no  comment  to  justify  the  change  that  has  been  made  in 
the  verses.  The  author's  text  is  1  Sam.  12  :  24,  and  her  date  for 
the  hymn  is  1859.      It  has  six  stanzas. 

The  origin  of  the  hymn  suggests  that  story  of  Count  von  Zinzen- 
dorf,  the  founder  of  the  Moravians,  who  was  led  to  Christ  by  see- 
ing the  "  Ecce  Homo  "  picture  in  the  gallery  at  Diisseldorf.  It 
represented  the  Saviour  crowned  with  thorns,  and  over  it  were  the 
words,  "  All  this  have  I  done  for  thee.  What  doest  thou  for 
Me  ?"  The  hymn  itself  was  written  in  Germany  in  1859,  and  as 
Miss  Havergal  was  at  school  in  Diisseldorf,  and  afterward  visited  the 
place,  she  must  have  seen  the  same  picture  and  been  moved  by  it 


57©  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

as  was  that  other  hymn- writer,  whose  influence  had  been  so  great 
a  century  previous.  Miss  Havergal  herself  states  that  it  was  in- 
spired by  such  a  picture  with  such  an  inscription. 

An  evangelist  at  the  Oxford  Union  meeting,  August  29th  to  September 
7th,  1874,  related  this  incident  :  "  Behind  the  pulpit  where  I  was  preach- 
ing in  the  chapel  of  the  Faith  Houses  of  Dorothea  Trudel,  at  Mannedorf, 
Switzerland,  I  saw  a  large  figure  representing  our  Lord  upon  the  cross, 
crowned  with  thorns.  Much  as  I  deplored  this  object,  I  learned  a  lesson 
from  what  was  beneath  it.  '  Ich,'  the  German  word  for  I,  was  inscribed 
in  large  letters,  but  through  it  was  a  deep  cancelling  mark,  and  it  was 
substituted  by  '  ER  '  or  HE.  May  we  all  beneath  the  cross  learn  the 
lesson  of  the  cancelled  '  I '  ! "  (Gal  2  :  20). 

Thy  way,  not  mine,  O  Lord. — Bonar. 
This  is  taken  from  Dr.  Bonar's  Hyrnns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  First 
Series,  1857,  where  it  has  seven  stanzas.      It  first  appeared  in  1856. 

Thy  way,  O  Lord,  is  in  the  sea. — Fawcett. 
A  decided  alteration  of  this  hymn,  and  one  not  for  the  better, 
is  the  piece,  "  Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,"  which  appears  in  the 
Methodist  Hymnal.  The  original  form  by  John  Fawcett  comes 
from  his  Hymns,  1782.  The  reference  is  to  Ps.  77  :  19  and 
1  Cor.  13  .-9.  Mr.  Nutter  charges  the  alterations  to  the  account 
of  Dr.  James  Floy,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Methodist  Hymn- 
Book  of  1849.  The  changes  are  in  metre,  from  C.  M.  to  S.  M.  ; 
and  in  person,  from  first  person  singular  to  first  person  plural — 
and  the  dignity  is  gone  besides  ! 

Thy  works,  not  mine,  O  Christ.  — Bonar. 
This  hymn  is  taken  from  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  First  Series, 
1857.     The  title  is,    "The  Sinbearer,"  and  the  text,   Isa.  3  :  5. 
It  has  ten  stanzas. 

"  Till  he  come"  :  oh,  let  the  words. — E.  H.  Bickersteth. 

This  is  a  hymn  found  in  From  Year  to  Year  (p.  66)  for  the 
Thursday  before  Easter,  for  which  the  lessons  are  Hos.  13  :  1-15  ; 
Hos.  14  ;  John  17  and  13  ;  1  Cor.  11  :  17  ;  Luke  23  :  1-50. 
The  hymn  is  based  on  1  Cor.  n  :  26.  It  has  four  six-line 
stanzas,  and  was  written  in  1861. 

Time,  thou  speedest  on  but  slowly. — Winkworth,  ir. 
This  is  rendered  by  Miss  Winkworth  from  the  "  Welt  lebwohl, 
ich  bin  dein  mude"  of  Johann  Georg  Albinus—  or  Albini — who  was 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  571 

born  March  6th,  1624,  the  son  of  a  clergyman  in  Saxony.  He 
wrote  this  hymn  perhaps  about  the  time  when,  in  1653,  be  became 
head  master  of  the  Cathedral  School  in  Naumberg.  In  1657  we 
find  him  the  minister  of  St.  Othmar's,  in  that  town,  afflicted  and 
distressed — "  fightings  without  and  fears  within."  Perhaps  it  was 
nearer  to  1657  than  to  1653  that  this  "  World,  farewell  !  of  thee 
I'm  tired"  was  written.  Miss  Winkworth's  date  is  1652,  but, 
for  the  reasons  indicated  above,  we  incline  to  refer  the  hymn  to  a 
later  period. 

Albinus  is  credited  with  the  authorship  of  only  four  hymns,  of 
which  "  World,  farewell  !  of  thee  I'm  tired"  ("  Welt  lehvuhl," 
etc.),  "  Not  in  anger  smite  us,  Lord  "  ("  Strafmich  nichl  in  deinem 
Zorn"),  and  "Hark!  a  voice  saith,  All  are  mortal"  ("Alle 
Menschen  miissen  sterberi'),  are  well  known  to  German  hymnolo- 
gists.  He  died,  after  all  his  trials,  in  a  peaceful  and  hopeful  frame 
of  mind,  May  25th,  1679.  His  tombstone  in  St.  Othmar's  church 
bears  the  inscription  : 

"  Cum  viveret,  moriebatur, 

Et  nunc  cum  mortuus  vivit, 

Quia  sciebat,  quod  vita  sit  mortis 

Et  mors  vitae  introitus." 

It  was  written   in   allusion   to   his  hymns,  and  may  be  rendered 

thus  : 

While  he  yet  lived  his  life  was  flying  ; 

And  now,  when  dead,  he  still  doth  live  : 
Because  he  knew  that  living  to  dying — 

As  death  to  life — a  door  can  give. 

The  hymn  "  Alle  Menschen"  was  prepared  and  printed  June 
1st,  1652,  for  the  burial  of  his  friend,  Paul  von  Henssberg,  in 
Leipzig,  and  was  sung  on  that  occasion.  It  has  been  translated 
by  Professor  Mills  in  his  Sacred  Lyrics  from  the  German. 

'Tis  by  the  faith  of  joys  to  come. — Watts. 
The  present  piece  is  found  in  Dr.  Watts' s  hymns  as  Hymn  129, 
of  Book  II.,  "  We  Walk  by  Faith,  not  by  Sight."     It  has  four 
stanzas. 

Whoever  has  examined  the  antennae  of  insects  has  observed  a  sense, 
different  from  sight,  with  which  they  are  supplied.  "  They  exhibit," 
says  Hartwig,  "  a  wonderful  diversity  of  form  ;  now  drawn  out  into  a 
thread,  and  now  ending  in  a  knob — now  pectinated  like  a  comb,  and  now 
expanding  like  a  fan.     We  find  them  smooth  or  hairy,  simple  or  divided 


572  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

into  branches,  projecting  or  recurved — sometimes  short,  sometimes  of  a 
length  surpassing  the  body.  When  the  insect  is  in  motion  they  are 
stretched  out  and  expanded  to  their  fullest  extent,  but  by  many  species 
they  are  immediately  retracted  on  the  occurrence  of  any  loud  or  sudden 
noiSe_and  then  there  is  in  many  cases  a  channel  or  groove  ready  to  re- 
ceive, to  hide  and  to  protect  them  against  many  injuries."  Strange  to 
say,  the  uses  of  these  antennae  "  are  not  yet  fully  ascertained."  But 
the  analogy  between  this  peculiar  sense  and  that  faith  which  supplies  the 
want  of  sight  is  too  apparent  to  require  any  expansion  here. 

"  'Tis  finished  I" — so  the  Saviour  cried.— S.  Stennett. 

In  his  last  moments  it  is  stated  that  Dr.  Stennett  was  given  a 
throat  gargle  compounded  of  vinegar  and  other  ingredients.  He 
quoted  the  Scripture,  "  And  in  his  thirst  they  gave  him  vinegar  to 
drink,"  and  added  :  "  When  I  reflect  upon  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
I  am  ready  to  ask,  What  have  I  been  thinking  of  all  my  life  ? 
What  he  did  and  suffered  are  now  my  only  support." 

This  hymn  is  Stennett' s  in  part,  not  entirely.  He  wrote  the 
first  and  last  stanzas.  In  Rippori s  Selection,  1787,  it  has  six 
stanzas  ;  and  the  second  and  fourth  are  placed  (as  if  spoken  by 
the  Saviour)  in  the  first  person.    This,  doubtless,  caused  the  change. 

'Tis  midnight,  and  on  Olive's  brow. — W.  B.  Tappan. 
In  Mr.  Tappan's  Gems  of  Sacred  Poetry  this  is  the  closing  poem 
of  the  devotional  series.     It  has  four  stanzas.     The  only  changes 
are  : 

First  stanza. — Immanuel  wrestles. — E'en  the  disciple  that  he  loved. 
Fourth  stanza. — From  the  heavenly  plains. 

The  title  is  "  Gethsemane,"  and  the  date  is  1822. 

'Tis  God  the  Spirit  leads. — Beddome. 
The  present  hymn  really  commences,  ' '  That  we  might  walk  with 
God,"  and  is  found  entire  in  Songs  of  the  Spirit  (p.  122).  The 
second  stanza,  which  begins  our  hymn,  is,  "He  by  his  Spirit 
leads,"  etc.  It  is  not  in  Rippori  s  Selection,  but  Hymn  210,  in 
the  collection  appended  to  the  American  Episcopalian  Prayer- 
Book,  contains  two  stanzas,  one  somewhat  altered  and  the  other 
verbatim  from  this  piece.  It  begins,  "  Heirs  of  unending  life," 
and  our  present  first  line  is  altered  to  "  God  will  support  our 
hearts,"  etc.  We  would  fail  to  comprehend  the  reason  for  all  this 
shifting,  changing,  and  remodelling  of  a  very  moderate  piece,  if  we 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  573 

did   not  get  the    last    stanza,  which   has  carried  the  rest   of   the 
hymn  across  the  stream  of  time  like  another  giant  Christopher  : 

"  'Tis  he  that  works  to  will, 
'Tis  he  that  works  to  do  ; 
His  is  the  power  by  which  we  act, 
His  be  the  glory  too  !" 

'Tis  my  happiness  below. — Cowper. 
A  slight  change  in  this  hymn  from  the  form  in  the  Ohiey  Hyimis 
(Book  III.,  No.  16)  makes  a  fine  improvement  in  what  would 
otherwise  be  an  inferior  piece,  owing  to  its  imperfect  ending.  It 
was  originally  in  three  eight-line  stanzas.  The  last  half  of  the 
third  stanza  is  dropped,  and  the  last  four  verses  of  the  second 
stanza  are  transposed  with  the  first  four  of  the  third.  There  is  no 
alteration  in  the  words,  but  now  the  song  comes  to  an  harmoni- 
ous conclusion. 

It  is  a  touching  fact  that  this  hymn  stands  under  the  head  of  "  Con- 
flict "  immediately  surrounded  by  five  others,  all  by  the  same  author. 
There  is  a  history  involved  in  the  very  pieces  themselves.  First  comes 
Cowper's  last  contribution  to  the  Olney  book,  "  God  moves  in  a  mysteri- 
ous way."  Then  the  present  hymn.  Then,  "  O  how  I  love  thy  holy 
word."  Then,  "  The  billows  swell,  the  winds  are  high."  Then,  "  God 
of  my  life,  to  thee  I  call."  Then,  "  My  soul  is  sad  and  much  dismayed." 
It  can  be  noticed  that  the  gloom  grows  deeper,  from  the  first  troubled 
sense  of  God's  mysterious  providence  down  to  this  last  piece,  which  is 
entitled  "  The  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death." 

Now  Newton  strikes  in  with  "  'Tis  past — the  dreadful,  stormy  night," 
and  follows  it  with  "  Unless  the  Lord  had  been  my  stay."  And  Cowper 
plucks  up  courage  to  sing  his  "  Peace  after  a  Storm":  "  When  darkness 
long  has  veiled  my  mind,"  but  returns  to  his  old  despondency  in  "  The 
Saviour  hides  his  face." 

These  hymns  of  "  Conflict  "  are  among  the  most  precious  in  the  book. 
Here, in  a  page  or  two  more,  we  find  Cowper's  "  O  Lord,  my  best  desires 
fulfil,"  and  Newton's  "  I  asked  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow,"  with  "  Be- 
gone, unbelief"  and  "  If  to  Jesus  for  relief,"  and  "  Be  still,  my  heart  ! 
these  anxious  cares."  The  section  closes  with  a  reference  to  twenty-one 
hymns  of  a  similar  character  in  the  first  book  and  five  in  the  second. 
Newton's  verses  are  hopeful,  robust,  energetic.  Cowper's  are  sad,  ago- 
nized, and  despondent  ;  though  in  almost  every  one  faith  struggles  up  at 
last.  Newton's  are  the  healthier  ;  Cowper's  the  more  poetic  and  sympa- 
thetic. Newton  was  the  active  and  Cowper  the  passive  voice  of  the 
Christian  verb. 

Lady  Austin  gave  Cowper  a  small  printing-press  on  which  he 


574  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

printed  verses.  He  also  raised  cucumbers  (which  he  did  not  eat) 
and  hares  (which  he  never  killed)  in  order  to  divert  himself  from 
the  contemplation  of  this  ceaseless  anguish.  Sometimes,  and  for 
quite  a  length  of  time,  he  was  helped  by  these  devices.  Some- 
times he  was  able  to  sing,  as  here,  in  the  midst  of  the  fires. 

'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  import. — Doddridge. 
This  is  Doddridge's  hymn,  "  Let  Zion's  watchmen  all  awake," 
with  the  omission  of  the  first  stanza.     The  full  form  of  the  original 
is  in  Dr.  Hatfield's  Church  Hymn-Book.     The  date  is  1736. 

'Tis  not  that  I  did  choose  thee. — Conder. 
The  sentiment  in  this  hymn  is  such  as  to  make  it  a  companion 
piece  to  Miss  Jane  Taylor's  "  Come,  my  fond,  fluttering  heart" 
(18 1 7).      This  was  a  hymn  which  Mr.  Conder  greatly  admired. 
He  wrote  : 

"  I  esteem  a  genuine  hymn  a  treasure.  I  have  one  in  my  possession 
beginning,  '  Come,  wyfond,  fluttering  heart,'  which  ought  to  be  published. 
I  do  not  expect  I  shall  ever  gain  permission  of  its  timid  author,  from  the 
mistaken  idea  (as  it  appears  to  me)  that  its  publication  would  involve  the 
disclosure  of  personal  feelings." 

To-day  the  Saviour  calls. — S.  F.  Smith  and  T.  Hastings. 
Dr.  Hastings  wrote   to   Rev.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson   that  this 
piece   was   offered   to   him   in  a  "  hasty  sketch, ' '  which  he  ' '  re- 
touched "  and  printed  in  Spiritual  Songs,  1831-33. 

To  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son. — Watts. 

This  is  Dr.  Watts's  "  Third,  L.  M."  doxology,  in  his  hymns, 
Book  III.,  No.  32. 

To  God,  the  only  wise. — Watts. 
In  the  Hymns,   Book  I.,  No.  51,   this  is  entitled   "Preserving 
Grace. — Jude  24,  25."     It  has  five  stanzas.      It  was  first  placed  at 
the  close  of  a  sermon  on  this  theme. 

To  him  that  loved  the  souls  of  men. — Watts,  partly. 
To  credit  this  piece  entirely  to  Dr.  Isaac  Watts  is  plainly  impos- 
sible. It  contains  only  a  single  line  which  is  his  work  :  "  Behold  ! 
on  flying  clouds  he  comes."  A  comparison  of  the  present  hymn 
with  the  6 1  st  of  Dr.  Watts's  Book  I.  will  show  this  fact  very  evi- 
dently.    That  piece  is  the  familiar  one  commencing,  "  Now  to 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  575 

the  Lord  that  makes  us  know,"  and,  except  for  this  single  line,  it 
is  a  different  production.  The  propriety  of  calling  it  the  work  of 
Watts  comes  from  the  use  which  has  been  made  of  the  original  by 
William  Cameron.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  person  who 
transferred  and  altered  this  hymn  in  order  to  adapt  it  to  the  Scotch 
Paraphrases.  But  as  his  agency  in  the  matter  stands  in  some 
doubt,  it  is  only  fair  to  Dr.  Watts  to  allow  him  the  credit  of  the 
composition.  The  Scottish  Free  Church  Hymn-Book  seeks  an- 
other source  for  the  hymn  by  suggesting  that  John  Mason's  "  Song 
of  Praise,"  commencing,  "  To  him  that  loved  us  from  himself," 
was  the  theme  on  which  Dr.  Watts  composed  his  hymn.  This 
would  give  a  curious  origin  to  the  present  doxology.  The  last 
half  of  the  second  stanza  was  anonymous  in  the  Paraphrases,  1775. 
William  Cameron  was  born  in  1 75 1,  and  was  educated  at 
Mareschal  College,  Aberdeen.  In  1775  he  was  associated  with 
Logan  and  others  in  altering  and  amending  the  paraphrases  of 
Scripture  employed  in  the  Scotch  Church,  and  which  were  ap- 
pended to  the  version  of  the  psalms  for  public  worship.  Ten 
years  later  he  was  ordained  and  settled  at  Kirknewton,  in  Mid- 
Lothian,  Scotland,  where  he  died,  November  17th,  181 1.  To 
him  are  attributed  the  66th,  14th,  and  17th  of  the  Scotch  Para- 
phrases  ;  and  one  of  his  hymns,  commencing,  "  How  bright  these 
glorious  spirits  shine,"  is  confessedly  altered  from  Dr.  Watts' s  41st 
Hymn,  Book  I.  This  last  was  based  by  Dr.  Watts  on  Rev. 
1  :  5-7,  and  bears  the  title,  "  Christ,  our  High  Priest  and  King  ; 
and  Christ  coming  to  Judgment. "  It  consists  of  five  four-line 
stanzas. 

To  him  that  chose  us  first.  — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  has  this  in  his  hymns  as  No.  39  of  Book  III.,  Second 
Part,  "  A  Song  of  Praise  to  the  Blessed  Trinity."  It  is  in  three 
stanzas. 

To  thee,  my  God  and  Saviour. — Haweis. 

The  date  of  this  hymn  is  1792.  It  is  a  rapturous  song  of  praise 
to  Christ  as  God,  such  a  whole-souled,  unsectarian  strain  as  might 
well  arise  from  the  lips  of  such  a  man  as  Thomas  Haweis. 

When  Dr.  Haweis,  as  one  of  the  trustees  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  prop- 
erty, was  asked  :  "  Of  what  Church  do  you  profess  yourselves  ?' '  he  replied  : 
"  We  desire  to  be  esteemed  members  of  Christ's  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church,  and  essentially  one  with  the  Church  of  England,  of  which  we  re- 


576  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

gard  ourselves  as  living  members.  And  though,  as  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land is  now  governed  we  are  driven  to  a  mode  of  ordaining  ministers  and 
maintaining  societies  not  amenable  to  what  we  think  [is]  abused  episcopal 
jurisdiction,  yet  our  mode  of  governing  and  regulating  our  congregations 
will  probably  be  allowed  to  be  essentially  episcopal.  With  us  a  few  pre- 
side. The  doctrines  we  subscribe  are  those  of  the  Church  of  England,  in 
the  literal  and  grammatical  sense.  Nor  is  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  per- 
formed more  devoutly,  or  the  Scriptures  better  read  for  the  edifying  of 
the  people  by  any  congregations  in  the  realm  than  by  those  in  our  con- 
nection." Such,  therefore,  may  be  considered  to  be  the  official  statement 
of  the  opinions  held  by  "  Lady  Huntingdon's  Connection." 

To  Jesus,  our  exalted  Lord. — Steele. 
This  piece  must  be  distinguished  from  Miss  Steele's  similar  first 
line,    "  To  Jesus,  our  victorious  Lord."     The  present  is  in  the 
Poems    by    Theodosia,    1760,    with   the  title   "Communion   with 
Christ  at  his  Table,"  and  is  in  six  stanzas. 

To  thee,  O  Christ,  we  ever  pray.  — S.  W.  Duffield,  tr. 
This  is  a  rendering  of  the  hymn,  "  Christe  precamur  annue" 
of  Ennodius,  bishop  of  Pavia — a  little-known  hymn-writer  of  the 
fifth  century,  whose  story  appears  in  "  The  Latin  Hymn-Writers 
and  their  Hymns."  It  was  made  in  1883  for  Laudes  Domini, 
where  it  first  appeared. 

To  thee,  O  God,  we  raise. — Pierson. 
This  hymn  was  written  by  Arthur  Tappan  Pierson,  D.  D. ,  born 
in  New  York  City,  March  6th,  1837.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Hamil- 
ton College,  in  the  class  of  1857,  and  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  i860.  Having  served  churches  in  Bing- 
hamton  and  Waterford,  N.  Y.,  he  went  to  Detroit,  in  1869,  to 
the  pastorate  of  the  Fort  Street  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  now 
pastor  of  the  Bethany  Presbyterian  church,  Philadelphia,  a  large 
mission  enterprise  which  owes  its  origin  to  Mr.  John  Wanamaker. 
Dr.  Pierson  has  written  two  or  three  hymns,  of  which  this  is  one, 
for  the  Moody  and  Sankey  services. 

To  thy  pastures,  fair  and  large. — Merrick. 

The  first  names  associated  with  the  English  poetical  version  of 

the  Psalms  of  David  are  those  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  (1562)  ; 

next  follow  Tate  and  Brady  (1696)  ;  then  comes  James  Merrick. 

But  the  version  by  Merrick  was  not  successful  with  royalty.     It 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  577 

was  published  1765,  and  contained  a  great  deal  that  was  good, 
but  the  wheat  of  poetry  was  mixed  with  the  chaff  of  verbosity. 
Dr.  Collyer,  in  18 12,  so  esteemed  him,  however,  as  to  take  fifty- 
one  of  his  pieces  for  the  collection  which  was  then  issued.  We 
may  adopt  the  language  of  a  recent  hymnologist  and  speak  of  him 
as  "  among  the  most  careful  and  respectable  of  the  English  versi- 
fiers of  the  Book  of  Psalms."  "Respectable"  is  one  of  those 
words  which  reveal  a  stroke  of  genius  in  the  biographer — for  it  is 
followed  by  the  depreciating  statement  that  "  a  few  only  of  his 
psalms  have  become  popular. 

Let  us  not  be  so  cruel  as  to  attribute  to  his  "  incessant  pains  in 
the  head  ' '  any  of  this  deficiency.  Mr.  Merrick  was  a  truly  learned 
man — but  truly  learned  men  are  not  always  gifted  with  the  grace 
of  sympathetic  hymnody. 

Our  author  was  born  January  8th,  1720,  at  Reading,  Berkshire, 
England.  Having  been  fitted  for  college  at  the  grammar  school  in 
his  native  place,  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Oxford  (1736),  and  was 
graduated  with  honor.  His  headaches  debarring  him  from  the 
duties  of  the  ministry,  he  turned  to  literary  pursuits  and  published 
several  works,  partly  on  theological  and  partly  on  classical  themes. 
His  psalms — which  we  must  charitably  hope  did  not  cause  his 
mental  distress — appeared  in  1765,  and  were  announced  as  "  a 
mixture  of  Translation  and  Paraphrase."  He  is  honest  enough 
to  declare  that  they  are  "  not  calculated  for  the  uses  of  public  wor- 
ship,"  but  rather  for  **  the  purposes  of  private  devotion."  To 
what  extent  they  fulfil  their  purpose  may  be  inferred  from  the  ad- 
mission of  the  poet  himself  :  "  The  translator,"  he  remarks  with 
gravity,  "  knew  not  how,  without  neglecting  the  poetry,  to  write 
in  such  language  as  the  common  sort  of  people  would  be  likely  to 
understand." 

That  sort  of  hymn-writer  might  consider  himself  as  receiving  far 
more  than  his  due,  if  out  of  his  inflated  and  bombastic  verses  a 
little  real  poetry  could  be  gathered.  It  is  a  great  mercy  to  such  a 
man  that  hymnody  has  its  Ruths  as  well  as  its  Boazes — and  that 
occasionally  a  David  can  be  found  to  save  "  a  leg  or  a  piece  of  an 
ear  "  out  of  the  ravenous  maw  of  time.  This  present  hymn  is  one 
of  the  two  or  three  that  are  now  in  use.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that 
Merrick  has  a  place  in  English  literature  owing  to  his  poem  of 
11  The  Chameleon  "  [Chambers' s  Cyclopaedia  of  English  Literature, 


578  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Vol.  I.,  p.  753],  which  was  familiar  to  all  the  school-boys  of 
twenty  years  ago.  But  his  hymns  and  psalms— though  the  taste 
of  that  day  was  divided  about  them — have  deserved  the  reproach 
of  the  London  Quarterly  Review,  which  said  that  their  author  was 
1 '  as  tame  as  he  was  diffuse ' '  ;  and  that  of  the  Eclectic  Review, 
which  characterized  them  as  "  florid  paraphrase  and  insipid  ver- 
biage. ' ' 

There  was  a  desperate  effort  made  by  a  certain  Rev.  W.  D.  Tat- 
tersall,  in  1791,  to  adapt  Merrick  to  moderate  minds.  This  gen- 
tleman, after  some  severe  struggles,  in  which  he  was  compelled  to 
mould  Merrick  into  a  more  popular  form,  issued  these  psalms 
anew,  divided  into  stanzas  and  "  Adapted  to  the  Purposes  of  Public 
or  Private  Devotion."  He  was  ready  to  launch  the  venture  in 
1789,  but  the  Church  authorities  could  not  be  brought  to  approve 
it.  So  he  delayed  until  1791,  and  finally  published  it  on  its  own 
keel  without  reference  to  dockage  in  the  Church.  "  Even  in  this 
form,"  says  the  charitable  Dr.  Hatfield,  "the  book  has  had  a 
very  limited  circulation." 

From  some  researches  of  Dr.  Hatfield  we  also  discover  that 
Merrick  did  not  bend  his  gigantic  powers  of  elaboration  upon  the 
actual  Hebrew  text.  The  version  of  Ps.  122,  at  least,  is  based  on 
the  Latin  hymn  of  Dr.  Theodore  Zwinger,  the  German  reformer. 

Mr.  Merrick  died  at  Reading,  January  5th,  1769. 

To  thy  temple  we  repair.  — Montgomery. 
In  the  Original  Hymns  this  is  Hymn  115,  "  A  Day  in  the  Lord's 
Courts."     It  has  seven  stanzas,   and  is  somewhat  altered.      The 
date  is  given  as  18 12. 

Together  with  these  symbols,  Lord. — Cenntck. 

John  Cennick  certainly  possessed  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  an 
eminent  degree.  On  one  occasion  he  and  a  Mr.  Harris  had  been 
preaching  to  the  people  and  were  met  by  the  bitterest  persecution. 

"We  sang  a  hymn,"  says  Cennick,  "and  then  the  devilled  on  his 
servants  ;  they  began  beating  a  drum,  then  made  fires  of  gunpowder  ; 
at  first  the  poor  flock  was  startled  ;  but  while  God  gave  me  power  to 
speak  encouragingly  to  them,  they  waxed  bolder  and  very  few  moved. 
The  mob  then  fired  guns  over  the  people's  heads,  and  began  to  play  a 
water-engine  upon  brother  Harris  and  me,  till  we  were  wet  through. 
They  also  played  an  engine  upon  us  with  hogswash  and  grounds  of  beer- 
barrels,  and  covered  us  with  muddy  water  from  a  ditch  ;  they  pelted  us 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  579 

with  eggs  and  stones,  threw  baskets  of  dust  over  us,  and  fired  their  guns 
so  close  to  us,  that  our  faces  were  black  with  the  powder  ;  but,  in  nothing 
terrified,  we  remained  praying.  I  think  I  never  saw  or  felt  so  great  a 
power  of  God  as  was  there.  In  the  midst  of  the  confused  multitude,  I 
saw  a  man  laboring  above  measure,  earnest  to  fill  the  buckets  with  water, 
to  cast  upon  us.  I  said  to  him  :  '  What  harm  do  we  do  ?  why  are  you  so 
furious  against  us  ?  we  only  come  to  tell  you  that  Christ  loved  you,  and 
died  for  you.'  He  stepped  back  a  little  for  room,  and  threw  a  bucket  of 
water  in  my  face.  When  I  recovered  myself,  I  said  :  '  My  dear  man,  if 
God  should  so  pour  out  his  wrath  upon  you,  what  would  become  of  you  ? 
Yet  I  tell  you  Christ  loves  you.'  He  cast  away  the  bucket,  dropped  down 
his  trembling  hands,  and  looked  pale  as  death  ;  he  then  shook  hands  with 
me,  and  parted  from  me,  I  believe  under  strong  convictions." 

This  is  from  the  account  given  by  Rev.  John  Glanville,  in  the 
scarce  little  pamphlet  commemorating  the  Centenary  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, at  Bristol  ;  a  congregation  established  by  Mr.  Whitefield  in 
1753,  and  of  which  Cennick  was  once  the  pastor. 

Travelling  to  the  better  land. — Axon.,    1878. 
This  appears  as  "  Anon."  in  Spiritual  Songs,  1878. 

Triumphant  Lord,  thy  goodness  reigns. — Doddridge. 
In  the  hymns  of  Rev.  Dr.  Philip  Doddridge  this  is  No.  35,  and 
is  entitled  "  Relishing  the  Divine  Goodness."  It  is  worth  notic- 
ing that,  in  the  original,  the  pointing  of  the  opening  line  is 
different  from  that  adopted  in  the  modern  collections  ;  that  is,  a 
comma  is  placed  after  the  adjective  :  it  is  the  goodness,  not  the 
Lord,  that  is  here  celebrated  as  "  triumphant."  It  is  as  if  he  had 
said,  "  Lord,  thy  goodness  reigns  triumphant."  It  seems  almost 
instinctive  to  quote  by  the  side  of  this  hymn  the  pathetic  ancj 
thoughtful  poem  of  John  G.  Whittier  : 

THE  ETERNAL  GOODNESS. 

M  I  see  the  wrong  that  round  me  lies,  "  I  long  for  household  voices  gone, 

I  feel  the  guilt  within  ;  For  vanished  smiles  I  long, 

I  hear  with  groan  and  travail-cries,  But  God  hath  led  my  dear  ones  on, 

The  world  confess  its  sin.  And  He  can  do  no  wrong. 

"  Yet,  in  the  maddening  maze  of  things,  "  I  know  not  what  the  future  hath 

And  tossed  by  storm  and  flood,  Of  marvel  or  surprise, 

To  one  fixed  stake  my  spirit  clings  ;  Assured  alone  that  life  and  death 

I  know  that  God  is  good  !  His  mercy  underlies. 

"  I  dimly  guess  from  blessings  known  "  And  if  my  heart  and  flesh  are  weak 

Of  greater  out  of  sight,  To  bear  an  untried  pain, 

And,  with  the  chastened  Psalmist,  own  The  bruised  reed  He  will  not  break, 

His  judgments  too  are  right.  But  strengthen  and  sustain. 


580  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

'•  No  offering  of  my  own  I  have,  "  And  so  beside  the  silent  sea 

Nor  works  my  faith  to  prove  :  I  wait  the  muffled  oar  ; 

I  can  but  give  the  gifts  He  gave,  No  harm  from  Him  can  come  to  me 

And  plead  His  love  for  love.  On  ocean  or  on  shore. 

"  I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 
Their  fronded  palms  in  air  ; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care." 

Triumphant  Zion,  lift  thy  head.  — Doddridge. 
This  is  No.  107   in   Dr.   Doddridge's  Hymiis,    with  the  title, 
"  The  Holy  City  Purified  and  Guarded. — Isa.  52  :  1,  2."     It  has 
five  stanzas.     One  of  Dr.  Robinson's  finest  "  settings  "  was  made 
when  he  put,  on  the  ring  of  "  Anvern,"  this  gem  of  a  hymn. 

'Twas  on  that  dark,  that  doleful  night. — Watts. 

Dr.  Watts  gives  us  this  as  Hymn  1,  of  his  Book  III.,  "  The 
Lord's  Supper  instituted.— 1  Cor.  11  -.23,  etc."  It  has  seven 
stanzas  and  has — although  in  the  minor  key — a  strong  hold  upon 
the  affections  of  the  Church  as  a  Communion  hymn. 

As  a  description  of  the  ordinance  itself  one  may  profitably  contrast 
with  it  that  vivid  and  strange  conception  of  the  last  supper  of  Gauvain  and 
Cimourdain  in  Victor  Hugo's  Ninety-Three.  There  we  get  the  intense 
naturalness  of  the  ordinance  from  a  totally  different  standpoint.  The 
passage  cannot  be  quoted  here,  for  it  would  not  be  understood  apart 
from  the  story  in  which  it  is  imbedded. 

Unshaken  as  the  sacred  hill.  — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  gives  this  as  his  version  of  Ps.  125,  C.  M.,    "  The 
Saint's  Trial  and  Safety."      It  has  five  stanzas. 

Unto  thee  be  glory  given. — H.  M.  C. 
"  The  internal  structure  of  these  two  stanzas  would  mark  the 
hymn  as  comparatively  recent,  probably  High  Church  Episco- 
palian, and  undoubtedly  English.  It  appears  to  be  the  conclusion 
of  some  longer  poem,  and  possibly  a  translation  from  the  German." 
Thus  much  of  annotation  had  been  written  before  the  verses 
were  found  in  Barnby's  Hymnary,  No.  401.  There  the  whole 
hymn  consists  of  six  stanzas,  of  which  these  are  the  last  two.  It 
is  signed,  "  H.  M.  C";  who  is  in  the  preface  thanked  for  having 
given  "  most  valuable  aid  in  translation,"  and  for  having  extended 
to  the  compiler  the  "  use  of  many  hymns."  The  present  writer 
therefore  leaves  his  original  note,  as  a  contribution  to  the  ' '  higher 
criticism  "  in  the  study  of  hymns. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  581 

Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithful  tomb. — Watts. 
This  is  the  fifth  of  the  Lyric  Odes  to  Death  and  Heaven,  and  is 
addressed  by  Dr.  Watts  "to  Lucius,  on  the  death  of  Serena." 
These  odes  were  included  in  the  Miscellaneous  Thoughts  in  Prose 
and  Verse,  1734,  and  it  is  thought  that  they  were  all  designed  for 
the  comfort  of  some  especial  friend  at  a  time  of  bereavement. 
Another  of  the  odes  is,  "  Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise." 

Upon  the  Gospel's  sacred  page. — Bowring. 
This  hymn   is  from  Sir  John  Bowring  s  Matins  and  Vespers, 
1823.     There  are  five  stanzas. 

Upward  I  lift  mine  eyes. — Watts. 
Rev.  John  Newton  writes  (June  3d,  1777,  to  the  "Rev.  Mr. 

R "): 

"  Give  my  love  to  your  friend.  I  dare  not  advise  :  but  if  she  can  quietly 
return  at  the  usual  time,  and  neither  run  intentionally  into  the  way  of  the 
small-pox,  nor  run  out  of  the  way,  but  leave  it  simply  with  the  Lord,  I 
shall  not  blame  her.  .  .  .  My  prescription  is  to  read  Dr.  Watts,  Psalm 
121,  every  morning  before  breakfast,  and  pray  over  it  till  the  cure  is 
effected.     Probatum  est. 

"  '  Hast  thou  not  given  thy  word 
To  save  my  soul  from  death  ? 
And  I  can  trust  my  Lord 
To  keep  my  mortal  breath. 
I'll  go  and  come, 
Nor  fear  to  die, 
Till  from  on  high 
Thou  call  me  home.'  " 

This  is  that  "  Ps.  121,  P.  M.,"  in  four  stanzas,  to  which  the  wise 
counsellor  referred. 

Wake,  awake  !  for  night  is  flying.  — Winkworth,  tr. 
In  Lyra  Germanica,  Second  Series,  1858,  this  has  the  title, 
1 '  The  Final  Joy. ' '  It  is  in  three  stanzas  and  is  translated  from 
the  hymn  of  Philip  Nicolai,  1598,  "  Wachet  auf,  ruft  wis  die 
Stimme,"  one  of  the  grandest  of  German  chorales.  The  tune  has 
been  introduced  by  Mendelssohn  into  his  "St.  Paul,"  and  the 
words,  "Sleepers,  wake!  a  voice  is  calling,"  are  familiar  to 
many.  It  has  been  sung  by  children's  gatherings  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  and  at  St.  Paul's,  and  elsewhere  in  London  ;  and  has 
been  translated  into  Portuguese,  Danish,  Tamil,  and  other  lan- 
guages. 


582  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Spener,"  says  Theodor  Kubler,  "  used  to  sing  it  on  Sunday  evenings  ; 
and  a  pious  Christian,  the  Government  Councillor  Pregizer  in  Stuttgart, 
is  recorded  to  have  sung  the  third  verse  in  his  dying  moments,  with  a 
clear  voice,  although  shortly  before  he  had  not  been  able  to  speak  a  word 
aloud." 

The  tune  is  usually  ascribed  to  Jacob  Praetorius,  Nicolai's  organist  in 
Hamburg,  but  the  fact  is  that  Nicolai  himself  was  the  author,  and  Prae- 
torius only  harmonized  it. 

The  present  bishop  of  Salisbury  received  the  originals  of  this 
hymn  and  of  "  How  brightly  shines  the  morning  star  "  from  Baron 
Bunsen.  He  intrusted  them  to  Algernon  Herbert  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  Philip  Pusey,  for  translation.  There  is  another  version  of 
the  hymn  in  the  Hymnary,  1872,  which  is  stated  to  be  "  based  on 
E.  A.  Dayman,"  but  which  is  really  very  close  to  Miss  Wink- 
worth's  translation,  whole  lines  being  exactly  the  same. 

Walk  in  the  light  !  so  shalt  thou  know. — Barton. 

Bernard  Barton — sometimes  called  "the  Quaker  poet" — was 
born  January  31st,  1784,  in  London,  England.  His  parents  being 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  he  naturally  embraced  the  opin- 
ions of  that  body  of  Christians  and  remained  with  them  throughout 
his  life.  In  18 10  he  became  a  clerk  in  Alexander's  Bank,  at 
Woodbridge,  and  remained  in  that  situation  until  his  death,  Feb- 
ruary 19th,  1849.  He  was  for  some  years  in  receipt  of  a  state 
pension  of  £100,  granted  to  him  on  the  recommendation  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel.  His  poetry  in  1812  attracted  the  attention  of  Robert 
Southey  ;  and  the  poems  issued  in  1820  secured  him  the  friend- 
ship of  as  opposite  a  character  as  possible — namely,  Lord  Byron. 
He  printed  several  volumes,  and  his  verses,  while  unobtrusive,  are 
decidedly  worthy  of  praise. 

Our  hymn  appears  in  six  stanzas  in  Lyra  Britannica,  of  which 
the  second  and  fourth  are  omitted  from  the  present  piece  in  Laudes 
Domini. 

Robert  Barclay,  of  Ury,  who  wrote  his  Apology  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  (1675),  has  first  given  us  that  idea  of  the  "  inner  light" 
which  prevailed  and  still  prevails  among  the  Friends  : 

"Yea,"  saith  Barclay  ("Of  Universal  and  Saving  Light,"  sect.  28), 
"  there  is  a  book  translated  out  of  the  Arabic  which  gives  an  account  of 
one  Hai  Eben  Yokdan  ;  who,  living  in  an  island  alone,  without  converse 
of  man,  attained  to  such  a  profound  knowledge  of  God  as  to  have  imme- 
diate converse  with  him,  and  to  affirm  '  That  the  best  and  most  certain 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  583 

knowledge  of  God  is  not  that  which  is  attained  by  premises  premised  and 
conclusions  deduced,  but  that  which  is  enjoyed  by  conjunction  of  the  mind 
of  man  with  the  supreme  intellect,  after  the  mind  is  purified  from  its  cor- 
ruptions, and  is  separated  from  all  bodily  images,  and  is  gathered  into  a 
profound  stillness.' 

The  "  Quakers"  were,  and  are,  mystics  ;  and  the  work  quoted  by 
Barclay  is  really  a  mystical  fiction  whose  title  he  has  mistaken  for  the 
name  of  a  person.  It  was  edited  by  Pococke  (Oxford,  1671),  and  was 
written  by  Abubekr  ibn-Tofail,  who  died  in  11  go. 

Warrior  kings  their  titles  gain. — J.  D.  Chambers,  ir.,  alt. 
This  hymn  is  in  Barnbv's  Hymnary,  1872,  where  it  is  stated  to 
be   "based  on   J.  D.  Chambers,"  and  is  defended  by  (English) 
copyright.      The  Latin  original  is  found  in  Newman's  Hymni  Ec- 
clesioe  and  also  in  the  collection  of  Zabuesnig.      In  both  cases  it  is 
taken  from  the  Paris  Breviary.     This  is  the  first  stanza  : 
"  Victis  sibi  cognomina 
Sumant  tyranni  gentibus  : 
Tu,  Christe,  quanto  dignius 
Ab  his  capis  quos  liberas  !" 
It  is  not  ancient,  and  has  six  stanzas— all  of  which  appear  in  the 
Hymnary.     For  further  information  on  the  Paris  Breviary  see  ' '  The 
Latin  Hymn- Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  night. — J.  Bowring. 

This,  which  is  one  of  Sir  John  Bowring' s  best-known  lyrics,  is 
derived  from  his  Hymns,  1825.  Its  Scripture  is  Isa.  21  :  n.  He 
informed  Rev.  Dr.  A.  P.  Happer,  in  China,  that  he  first  knew  of 
its  employment  as  a  hymn  in  1834  or  1835,  when  he  attended  a 
prayer-meeting  of  American  missionaries  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and 
heard  it  sung  by  them. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Prime,  in  his  ceaselessly-interesting  Boat  Life  in 
Egypt,  writes  : 

"  Just  before  the  break  of  day,  from  the  Mosque  of  Mohammed  AH,  at 
the  citadel,  the  morning  call  to  prayer  sounds  over  the  city.  The  Sultan 
Hassan,  old  Tooloon,  and  another,  and  another,  take  it  up,  and  three 
hundred  voices  are  filling  the  air  with  a  rich,  soft  chant  that  reaches  the 
ear  of  the  Mussulman  in  his  profoundest  slumber,  and  calls  him  up  to 
pray.  Does  he  obey  ?  There  was  a  time  when,  at  that  call,  the  city  of 
Salah-edeen  had  no  closed  eye,  no  unbent  knee  in  all  its  walls.  But  the 
Mussulman  is  changed  now.  ...  He  heard  it— yes,  there  were  a  few 
old  men  who  remember  the  glory  of  the  Mamelukes  ;  who  heard  their 
fierce  shouts  when  the  Christian  invaders  met  them  at  the  pyramids  ;  and 


584  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

who,  wearied  with  long  life,  look  now  for  youth  and  rest  in  heaven,  and 
they,  when  they  heard  the  call,  obeyed  it,  and  theirs  were  the  only 
prayers  wasted  in  the  dawning  light  in  all  of  Cairo,  and  when  they  cease 
there  will  be  none  to  pray." 

We  are  but  strangers  here.  — T.  R.  Taylor. 

This  is  the  familiar  hymn,  "I'm  but  a  stranger  here,"  of 
Thomas  Rawson  Taylor,  whose  Memoirs  were  published  by  W.  S. 
Matthews  in  1836.  A  second  edition  was  issued  in  1842  with  a 
preface  by  James  Montgomery.  Mr.  Taylor  was  the  grandson  of 
a  farmer  in  Humbleton,  Northumberland,  England.  His  father, 
Thomas  Taylor,  was  a  Dissenting  minister  of  Ossett,  Yorkshire, 
and  there  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born,  May  9th,  1807.  In 
1808  his  father  removed  to  Bradford,  near  Leeds,  and  took  the 
charge  of  a  large  Congregational  church,  and  in  this  place  the  lad 
spent  his  early  years. 

His  education  was  received  at  Bradford  and  at  a  private  school 
in  Manchester,  after  which  he  was,  in  1822,  a  clerk  in  a  counting- 
house  for  a  year.  In  1823,  being  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  Mr.  Dunn,  a  printer,  who  seems  to  have  been  a 
person  of  great  and  genuine  piety.  Here  the  youth  was  thorough- 
ly  grounded  in  his  religious  convictions,  and  after  three  years  we 
find  him — with  his  master's  consent — entering  Airedale  College 
and  having  the  ministry  in  view. 

During  his  theological  course  Mr.  Taylor  frequently  preached 
with  acceptance  in  the  neighborhood,  and  in  1830  he  was  ordained 
to  the  charge  of  the  Howard  Street  chapel  in  Sheffield,  where  he 
attracted  the  notice  of  Montgomery.  His  health  was  not  robust, 
and  he  soon  developed  symptoms  of  serious  disease  of  the  lungs. 
This  constantly  interrupted  his  preaching,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
next  two  years  it  became  evident  that  he  must  resign  his  charge. 
He  therefore  returned  to  Bradford,  in  1833,  where  he  assisted  his 
father  and  performed,  for  a  short  time,  the  duties  of  classical  tutor 
at  Airedale  College.  But  his  strength  gradually  failed  and  he  sank 
away  to  a  peaceful  death,  March  15th,  1835.  There  is  much 
poetic  sympathy  between  the  dying  man  and  these  verses  before 
us.  He  was  of  that  pathetic  class,  too  often  of  necessity  com- 
memorated in  these  pages,  whose  hymns  are  the  expression  of  an 
ethereal  and  spiritual  life  which  had  already  begun  on  earth  and 
was  soon  to  be  perfected  in  heaven. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  585 

We  are  the  Lord's  ;  his  all-sufficient  merit. — Astley,  tr. 
Mr.  Astley 's  original  hymns  appeared  in  Songs  in  the  Night 
(i860).  His  full  name  is  Charles  Tamberlane  Astley.  He  is  the 
son  of  John  William  Astley,  ' '  born  at  Cwmllecoediog,  near  Mall- 
wyd,  North  Wales,  May  12th,  1825  ;  rector  of  Brusted,  Sevenoaks, 
Kent."  His  hymn,  "  O  Lord,  I  look  to  thee,"  is  found  in  Hymns 
for  the  Church  and  Home,  1873,  and  was  written,  during  an  ill- 
ness, at  Pisa,  about  December,  1858. 

We  come,  O  Lord,  before  thy  throne. — P.  H.  Brown. 
This  is  a  hymn  for  "  the  Seamen's  Concert,"  and  is  found  in 
Nason's  Congregational  Hymn-Book,    1857,   signed   "P.   H.    B." 
The  date  given  is  1836. 

We  come  to  the  fountain,  we  stand  by  the  wave. — Bethune. 

Dr.  George  W.  Bethune  composed  this  piece  about  the  year 
1848  at  the  request  of  Rev.  J.  S.  Holmes,  editor  of  the  Baptist 
Hymn  and  Time  Book. 

He  said,  at  the  time,  to  his  nephew,  Rev.  George  Duffield  :  "  I  have 
the  vanity  to  think  that  I  can  write  a  better  hymn  of  that  kind  than  any 
that  I  have  seen  in  their  collections."  Thus  the  great  Baptist  hymn  was 
written  by  one  who  was  altogether  antagonistic  to  that  denomination  in 
his  personal  belief. 

We  give  immortal  praise. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts's  Hymns  include  this  as  No.  38  of  Book  III.,  "  A 
Song  of  Praise  to  the  blessed  Trinity."     It  has  four  stanzas. 

We  give  thee  but  thine  own. — How. 

One  of  the  most  expressive  parables  of  the  Talmud  relates  to 
charitable  giving  : 

The  Rabbi  Jochanan  was  riding  (so  the  story  runs),  and  was  accom- 
panied by  some  of  his  scholars  in  an  excursion  beyond  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem. On  their  way  they  saw  a  poor  woman  collecting  the  dropped 
grain  around  the  feeding-troughs  of  the  cattle  of  some  Arabs.  When  she 
beheld  the  rabbi  she  begged  him  for  assistance.  But  the  rabbi  said, 
"  What  has  become  of  the  money  which  thou  didst  receive  on  thy  wed- 
ding day  ?"  "  Ah,"  she  answered,  "  is  there  not  a  saying  in  Jerusalem, 
1  The  salt  was  wanting  to  the  money  '  ?"  For  the  Jews  believed  that 
charity  was  to  property  what  salt  is  to  meat  ;  and  without  charity  the 
property  would  perish. 

Then  the  rabbi  inquired  after  her  husband's  money.  "  That  followed 
the  other,"  she  replied.     Whereupon  the  rabbi  turned  to  his  pupils  and 


586  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

said,  "  I  remember  when  I  signed  her  marriage  contract.  Her  father 
gave  her  a  million  of  gold  dinars.  Her  husband  also  was  wealthy." 
Then  he  bestowed  upon  her  what  he  could,  and  wept  with  her  over  her 
hard  condition. 

This  hymn  by  Bishop  How  first  appeared  in  Morrell  and  How's 
Psalms  and  Hymns,   1854. 

We  march,  we  march  to  victory. — G.  Moultrie. 
A  popular  processional  hymn,  to  which  the  date  is  1867,  and  to 
which   Barnby's   tune    (known  as  "Great  Heart"  or  "  Incarna- 
tion "),  1869,  is  the  accepted  setting. 

We  may  not  climb  the  heavenly  steeps. — Whittier. 

The  life  of  John  Greenleaf  Whittier  is  "  writ  large"  in  the 
record  of  American  poetry.  It  is  like  John  Hancock's  signature 
to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  needs  no  extended 
notice,  therefore,  from  us,  by  way  of  biography.  He  was  born  of 
Quaker  parentage,  near  Haverhill,  Mass.,  December  17th,  1807. 
Beginning  life  as  a  farm-boy  and  shoemaker,  his  early  education 
was  procured  at  the  village  school.  His  first  verses  were  written 
when  he  was  only  seventeen,  and  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  then 
editor  of  the  Newburyport  Free  Press,  printed  them  in  his  paper. 
The  lad  contrived  to  catch  two  years  more  of  education  at  Haver- 
hill Academy,  and  then  (in  1829)  was  launched  upon  the  sea  of 
journalism.  In  Boston,  Hartford,  Haverhill,  Philadelphia  and 
Washington  he  pursued  the  duties  of  his  profession  until  1839. 
In  1847  ne  became  the  corresponding  editor  of  the  National  Era 
in  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  from  this  time  he  was  identified  with 
the  movement  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  His  various  poems  are 
noted,  and  their  nature  indicated,  in  Richardson's  Primer  of  Ameri- 
can Literature.  During  the  later  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Whittier  has 
been,  by  common  consent,  regarded  as  our  most  characteristic 
American  poet — though,  with  a  strange  fatuity,  the  eyes  of  Eng- 
land appear  to  have  missed  him  and  fastened  upon  Walt  Whitman, 
Joaquin  Miller  and  Bret  Harte.  Even  Longfellow  and  Bryant  are 
less  American  than  Alfred  B.  Street,  and  Street  is  less  American 
than  Whittier. 

Mr.  Whittier's  religious  life  has  been  within  the  Quaker  fold  al- 
together. He  has  never  married,  and  lives  alternately  at  Amesbury 
and  Boston,  beloved  by  all  who  know  him.     While  he  has  never 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  587 

written  "  hymns"  pure  and  simple,  this  and  similar  pieces  taken 
from  longer  poems  come  naturally  (like  the  verses  of  Keble)  into 
the  service  of  the  Church. 

The  present  piece  is  taken  from  the  long  poem  entitled  "  Our 
Master,"  which  is  found  among  the  Occasional  Poems,  1865,  and 
commences,  "  Immortal  love,  forever  full." 

We  plough  the  fields  and  scatter. — Miss  Campbell,  tr. 

A  translation  of  the  hymn,  ' '  Wir  pfliigen,  und  wir  streuen 
(1782)  of  Matthias  Claudius.  He  was  the  son  of  the  pastor  of 
Reinfeld,  in  Holstein  ;  born  at  Reinfeld,  August  15th,  1740  ; 
lived  at  Wandsbeck,  near  Hamburg,  and  died  in  Hamburg, 
January  21st,  18 15.  He  was  a  most  agreeable  and  cheerful  writer. 
His  humor,  albeit  somewhat  ungainly  and  stiff -jointed,  is  sincere. 
His  religious  influence  was  great,  though  he  was  not  a  theologian 
and  wrote  neither  sermons  nor  devotional  tracts.  Instead,  he  com- 
municated  poems  and  articles  to  such  periodicals  as  the  Wands- 
becker  Bote  between  1774  and  181 2.  His  collected  works  com- 
prise these  contributions,  and  his  "  strong,  primitive  and  sym- 
pathetic Christian  feeling ' '  has  produced  a  lasting  effect  upon  his 
countrymen.  He  resisted,  at  times  with  irony  and  again  with 
kindly  humor,  the  rationalism  of  his  day  ;  but  he  did  not  forget 
to  goad  and  spur  dead  orthodoxy  as  well  as  open  unbelief.  His 
signature  "  Asmus  "  became  renowned,  and  while  his  poems  were 
not  commonly  utilized  as  hymns  in  the  German  hymn  collections, 
this  one  at  least  merits  a  place  in  its  English  dress  among  our  own 
songs  of  praise.  Menzel  says  of  Claudius  that  the  pressure  of  his 
private  affairs  extinguished  very  much  of  his  satirical  power,  and 
that  his  genius  was  cramped  by  his  condition.  In  short,  he  be- 
longed to  those  of  whom  Gray  has  said  : 

"  Chill  Penury  repressed  their  noble  rage 
And  froze  the  genial  current  of  the  soul." 

Examples   of  his  verse  can  be  found  in   Longfellow's  Poets  and 
Poetry  of  Europe. 

Theodore  Kubler,  in  his  excellent  annotations  to  the  Lyra  Ger- 
vianica,  has  added  this  incident  as  to  the  death  of  Claudius  :  "  For 
seven  weeks  he  expected  his  death,  praying  much  ;  shortly  before 
his  end  he  prayed,  '  Lead  me  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  me 
from  all  evil.'     He  died,  serenely,  on  the  21st  of  January,  181 5." 


588  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

The  translator  of  the  present  hymn  is  Miss  Jane  Montgomery 
Campbell,  1861.  Her  rendering  appeared  in  C.  S.  Bere's  Gar- 
land of  Songs.  Mr.  Bere  contributed  it  originally  to  the  Appendix 
to  Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern  (1868),  but  stated  that  it  was  not  his 
own  :  he  ' '  had  it  from  a  friend. ' ' 

"  We  shall  see  him,"  in  our  nature. — M.  Pyper. 
This  is  a  very  remarkable  hymn  to  have  been  produced  by  a  poor 
Scottish  needlewoman,  for  such  was  Mary  Pyper.  She  was  born 
in  Greenock,  May  27th,  1795,  the  daughter  of  a  private  soldier  in 
the  4 2d  Regiment.  From  childhood  she  resided  in  Edinburgh, 
supporting  herself  as  a  needlewoman  and  selling  small  wares  among 
the  families  interested  in  her  welfare.  In  1847  sne  published  a 
thin  volume  of  Select  Pieces,  of  which  Dr.  Rogers  says  that  many 
of  them  possess  real  merit,  ' '  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that 
their  author  is  suffered  to  remain  in  indigence."  As  late  as  1867 
she  was  still  living  in  Edinburgh. 

We  shall  meet  beyond  the  river. — J.  Atkinson. 
The  author  of  this  favorite  Sunday-school  hymn  is  Rev.  John 
Atkinson,  D.  D. ,  a  clergyman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
now  stationed  in  Jersey  City,  N.  J.      He  has  kindly  communicated 
the  origin  and  history  of  his  hymn. 

It  was  written  in  February  or  March,  of  the  year  1867.  Dr.  Atkinson's 
mother  had  died  in  February,  and,  being  alone  in  his  study  near  mid- 
night, it  was  natural  that  her  loss  should  be  prominent  in  his  thoughts. 
He  had  also  been  engaged  in  earnest  revival  work.  "  On  that  particular 
night,"  he  writes,  "under  these  influences,  and  perhaps  under  even 
higher  influence,  that  song  in  substance  seemed  to  sing  itself  in  my  heart. 
I  said  to  myself,  '  I  had  better  write  that  down,  or  I  shall  lose  it.'  There, 
in  the  silence  of  my  study,  not  far  from  midnight,  I  wrote  the  hymn." 

It  was  then  anonymously  printed  in  the  Sunday-school  Advocate,  as  the 
author  believes.  This  first  publication  was  without  Dr.  Atkinson's  per- 
mission, but  from  this  the  piece  was  taken  into  two  or  three  music-books, 
and  Mr.  Hubert  P.  Main  wrote  for  it  the  popular  tune  to  which  it  is  now 
sung  in  the  Moody  and  Sankey  Collection. 

Up  to  this  date  the  hymn  had  been  strictly  anonymous,  but  when  Win- 
nowed Hymns  was  in  preparation,  the  compilers  inserted  a  request  in  the 
New  York  Christian  Advocate  for  the  name  of  the  author.  Dr.  Atkinson 
then  responded,  and  the  piece — which  had  been  largely  circulated  before 
— went  still  further  in  the  very  acceptable  new  book  which  had  adopted  it. 
Dr.  Atkinson  was  born  September  6th,  1835,  in  Deerfield,  Cum- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  589 

berland  County,  N.  J.,  and  has  continuously  served  in  the  Meth- 
odist Conferences  in  New  Jersey  and  Michigan. 

This  hymn  has  been  frequently  revised  by  different  hands.  Its 
author  prefers  the  version  given  below  : 

"  We  shall  meet  beyond  the  river,  "  We  shall  rest  from  tribulation, 

By  and  by,  By  and  by  ; 

And  the  darkness  will  be  over,  And  from  labor  and  temptation, 

By  and  by  ;  By  and  by  ; 

With  the  toilsome  journey  done,  Then  these  worn  and  weary  feet 

And  the  glorious  battle  won,  Shall  walk  on  the  golden  street ; 

We  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun,  Old  companions  we  shall  greet, 

By  and  by.  By  and  by. 

"  We  shall  wake  the  harps  of  glory,  il  We  shall  rise  from  death  victorious, 

By  and  by  ;  By  and  by  ; 

We  shall  sing  the  '  old,  old  story,'  And  receive  a  crown  all  glorious, 

By  and  by  ;  By  and  by  ; 

And  the  strains,  forevermore,  All  the  storms  and  billows  passed, 

Shall  be  wafted  o'er  and  o'er  And  the  anchor  safely  cast, 

Yonder  everlasting  shore,  We  shall  meet  in  heaven  at  last, 

By  and  by.  By  and  by." 

We  speak  of  the  realms  of  the  blest. — Mrs.  Mills. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  (King)  Mills  was  born  at  Stoke  Newington,  Eng- 
land, 1 805  ;  married  Thomas  Mills,  M.  P.  ;  and  died  at  Finsbury- 
Place,  London,  April  21st,  1829.  This  hymn,  written  not  long  be- 
fore her  death,  has  been  credited  erroneously  to  Mrs.  Caroline 
(Fry)  Wilson  in  several  collections.  Before  writing  this  hymn  she 
had  been  reading  in  Bridges'  commentary  on  Ps.  119  :  44,  "  We 
speak  of  heaven,  but,  oh,  to  be  there  !" 

We  stand  in  deep  repentance. — Palmer,  tr. 

A  translation — but  so  free  as  to  be  almost  an  original — of  a  Ger- 
man hymn.  It  was  made  in  1834,  and  Dr.  Palmer  can  only  recall 
that  it  was  from  a  chance  volume  to  which  he,  not  being  a  fluent 
German  scholar  at  that  time,  was  not  otherwise  attracted. 

It  has  much  resemblance  to  a  hymn  by  J.  A.  Cramer,  1780, 
of  which  two  stanzas  are  in  the  Hamburgisches  Gesangbuch  of 
Dr.  Rambach  (second  edition,  1843),  and  which  commences, 
1 '  Wir  erschei?ien  hier  vor  Dir. ' ' 

"  We  would  see  Jesus  ;"  for  the  shadows  lengthen. — Anon.,  1858. 
This  is  found  anonymously  in  Bishop  Huntington's  Elim%  or 
Hymns  of  Holy  Refreshment,  1865.  It  is  entitled  "  A  Death-bed 
Hymn,"  and  has  seven  stanzas.  It  has  been  traced  back  to  Dr. 
Hastings's  Church  Melodies,  1858. 


59°  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Weary  of  earth  and  laden  with  my  sin.  — Stone. 
This  hymn  of  eight  stanzas  is  taken  from  Rev.  Samue]  J.  Stone's 
Lyra  Fide  Hum,  1865.      The  account  of  its  use  is  interesting. 

"  The  illness  and  recovery  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,"  says  a  writer,  "  was 
among  those  things  that  work  together  for  good.  The  thoughts  of  those 
in  high  places  were  led  toward  the  throne  of  Him  who  appoints  afflic- 
tions as  well  as  joys,  and  the  psalm  of  thanksgiving  to  be  sung  at  St. 
Paul's,  at  the  service  of  praise  and  gratitude  for  the  Prince's  recovery,  was 
taken  from  Lyra  Fidelium,  a  half-cheering,  half-plaintive  hymn  of  peni- 
tence : 

'Weary  of  earth,  and  laden  with  my  sin, 
I  look  to  heaven  and  long  to  enter  in  ; 
But  there  no  evil  thing  may  find  a  home, 
And  yet  I  hear  a  voice  that  bids  me  come.' " 

Welcome,  days  of  solemn  meeting. — S.  F.  Smith. 
We  are  kindly  informed  by  Dr.  Smith  that  this  hymn  dates  from 
the  "  protracted  meetings"  of  1834  or  thereabouts.      The  "  revival 
era"  of  the  United  States  gave  us  some  admirable  hymns,  of  which 
this  is  one. 

"  No  doubt,"  writes  the  seventeenth  century  divine,  good  William 
Gurnall— "  no  doubt  the  prayers  which  the  faithful  put  up  to  heaven  from 
under  their  private  roofs  were  very  acceptable  to  him  ;  but  if  a  saint's 
single  voice  in  prayer  be  so  sweet  to  God's  ear,  much  more  the  church 
choir,  his  saints'  prayers  in  consort  together.  A  father  is  glad  to  see  any 
one  of  his  children,  and  makes  him  welcome  when  he  visits  him,  much 
more  when  they  come  together  ;  the  greatest  feast  is  when  they  all  meet 
at  his   house." 

Welcome,  delightful  morn. — Hayward. 
The  name  "  Hayward  "  has  long  been  attached  to  this  hymn, 
but  the  author  is  a  figment  and  a  shadow  still.  The  present  writer 
is  familiar  with  a  curious  volume,  first  printed  in  18 17,  and  written 
by  "  J.  Pike  and  J.  Hayward,"  entitled  Cases  of  Conscience  An- 
swered. It  is  a  series  of  ingenious  casuistical  treatises,  and  is  of 
far  greater  value  than  are  many  more  pretentious  works.  In  Bicker- 
steth's  Christian  Student  it  has  received  a  generous  commendation. 
Perhaps  the  joint  author  of  this  book  is  the  "  Hayward  "  of  the 
hymn  ;  as  the  hymn  itself  appeared  in  1806,  in  DobelV s  Collection. 
It  probably  comes  into  American  acceptance  through  the  introduc- 
tion given  to  it  by  Dr.  N.  S.  S.  Beman  in  his  Sacred  Lyrics,  1841, 
where  it  is  in  the  same  shape,  and  with  the  same  name,  as  in  Laudes 
Domini. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  591 

Welcome,  happy  morning. — Ellerton,  ir. 
This  hymn  is  a  translation  of  the   ' '  Salve  festa  dies,  toto  verier- 
abilis  cevo"  of  Fortunatus,  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  for  whose  romantic 
career  see  "  The  Latin  Hymn -Writers  and  their  Hymns." 

There  are  many  Latin  verses  beginning  with  the  expression  Salve  festa 
dies,  doubtless  in  imitation  of  this  poem.  Mrs.  Charles  and  others  have 
rendered  it.  Jerome  of  Prague,  on  his  way  to  execution,  sang  several 
hymns,  and  this  among  the  rest.  As  the  fire  enveloped  him  he  cried  : 
"  This  soul  in  flames  I  offer,  Lord,  to  thee  !"  In  i544,Cranmer  made  an 
English  version  of  the  hymn,  and  recommended  its  use  (in  a  document 
still  extant)  to  Henry  VIII. 

Welcome,  sacred  day  of  rest. — William  Brown. 
The  ascription  of  this  hymn  to  "  William  Brown  "  is  made  in 
A  Selection  of  Hymns  for  Congregational  Worship,  by  Thomas  Rus- 
sell, A.M.,  which  reached  its  twentieth  edition  in  1843.  Miller 
says  it  is  not  in  the  tenth  edition,  1826,  and  D.  Sedgwick,  in  his 
Index  of  Authors  of  Psalms  and  Hymns— which  is  a  most  prepos- 
terously unsatisfactory  and  thin  little  book — simply  attributes  a 
poetical  work  to  William  Brown  in  1822.  The  hymn  appeared 
anonymously  in  Conder  s  Collection,  1836. 

Welcome,  sweet  day  of  rest.  — Watts. 
This  is  from   Dr.   Watts's  Hymns,   Book   II.,   No.    14,  "The 
Lord's  Day;  or,  Delight  in  Ordinances."     It  has  four  stanzas. 
The  date  is  1 707. 

Welcome,  welcome,  dear  Redeemer.  — W.  Mason. 

This  hymn,  by  William  Mason,  appeared  posthumously  in  five 
stanzas  in  the  supplement  to  the  Evangelical  Magazine,  1794. 
What  cheering  words  are  these.  — Kent. 

John  Kent,  born  at  Bideford,  Devonshire,  December,  1766,  was 
the  son  of  a  shipwright  in  Plymouth  Dock,  now  Devonport.  In 
his  fourteenth  year  John  was  apprenticed  to  his  father  and  em- 
ployed his  leisure  faithfully  in  self-improvement.  He  now  began 
to  write  religious  verses.  In  1803  some  of  these  were  published 
in  a  small  volume  entitled  A  Collection  of  Original  Gospel  Hymns. 
His  Christian  life  was  modest  and  genuine,  and  at  length  he  was 
overtaken,  after  many  years  of  honorable  goodness,  by  the  misfor- 
tune of  loss  of  sight.      He  bore  this  great  affliction  with  patience, 


592  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

and  died  in  faith,  November  15th,  1843.  His  last  words  were  :  "  I 
am  accepted. "  The  hymns  have  been  frequently  reprinted,  and 
those  in  Lyra  B?-itannica  are  from  the  "tenth  edition,  London, 
1861/ '  in  which  is  also  a  life  of  the  author  by  his  son. 

What  equal  honors  shall  we  pay.  — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  63,  of  Book  I.,  "  Christ's  Humiliation  and  Exal- 
tation. ' '      Dr.  Watts  prepared  it  for  use  after  a  sermon  on  Rev. 
5:12.      It  has  six  stanzas. 

What  grace,  O  Lord,  and  beauty  shone. — Denny. 
This  hymn  is  found  in  Sir  E.  Denny's  Miscellaneous  Hymns, 
1839-70,    with    the  title,    "The    Forgiving  One. — Ps.    45  :  2." 
There  are  five  stanzas. 

What  is  life  ?     'Tis  but  a  vapor. — Kelly. 

This  hymn  appears  in  Thomas  Kelly's  third  edition,  1809,  based 
on  James  4  :  14.      It  is  in  four  stanzas. 

Lord  Plunket,  one  of  Kelly's  old  schoolmates,  meeting  him  one  day 
when  they  had  both  grown  old,  said  to  him  :  "  You  will  live  to  a  great 
age,  Mr.  Kelly  !"  "  Yes,"  was  the  answer,  "  I  am  confident  I  shall,  as 
I  expect  never  to  die." 

What  our  Father  does  is  well. — Baker,  tr. 
This  is  a  translation  from  Benjamin  Schmolke,  the  Silesian  poet 
(1672-173 7),  by  Rev.  Sir  H.  W.  Baker.     The  first  lines  are  : 

-'  Was  Gott  thut,  das  ist  wohlgethan  ! 
So  denken  Gottes  Kinder,"  etc. 
This  must  not  be  confused  with  the  piece  by  Samuel  Rodigast,  trans- 
lated by  Miss  Winkworth,  "  Whate'er  my  God  ordains  is  right" — as  both 
commence  with  the  same  line.     It  bears  date  1720,  and  is  in  six  stanzas. 

What  shall  I  render  to  my  God. — Watts. 
Dr.  Watts  gives  us  in  this  hymn  his  version  of  Ps.  116,  Second 
Part,  C.  M.      He    has    this    note:   "V.  12,  etc.,  Vows,  made    in 
Trouble,  paid  in  the  Church  ;  or,  public  Thanks  for  private  De- 
liverance. ' '     There  are  six  stanzas. 

What  sinners  value,  I  resign. — Watts. 
This  is  part  of  Ps.  17,  L.  M.,  "  The  Sinner's  Portion  and  the 
Saint's  Hope  ;  or,  the  Heaven  of  Separate  Souls,  and  the  Resur- 
rection."    It   has  six  stanzas.     This  is  the  third,  which  is  here 
used  to  commence  the  hymn. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  593 

To  his  friend  Williston,  Rev.  A.  Nettleton  wrote  from  Durham,  April 
21st,  1827  :  "  This  day  I  am  forty-four  years  old.   .  .  .     The  thought  of 
leaving  the  world  appears  rather  pleasant— and,  above  all,  the  thought  of 
never  sinning.     I  feel  it  a  great  thing  to  be  a  Christian.  .  .  . 
*  O  glorious  hour  !     O  blest  abode  ! 
I  shall  be  near  and  like  my  God, 
And  flesh  and  sin  no  more  control 
The  sacred  pleasures  of  the  soul.' 

I  feel  a  peculiar  love  to  ministers — especially  to  those  with  whom  I  have 
labored  in  seasons  of  revival.     Remember  me  affectionately  to  them  all." 

When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God. — Addison. 

The  original  poem  from  which  this  hymn  comes  has  thirteen 
stanzas  ;  it  was  written  by  Joseph  Addison,  and  first  appeared  in 
No.  453  of  the  Spectator,  August,  171 2.  In  connection  with  it 
the  author  observes  : 

"  If  gratitude  is  due  from  man  to  man,  how  much  more  from  man  to 
his  Maker?  The  Supreme  Being  does  not  only  confer  upon  us  those 
bounties  which  proceed  more  immediately  from  his  hand,  but  even  those 
benefits  which  are  conveyed  to  us  by  others.  Any  blessing  we  enjoy  by 
what  means  soever  derived,  is  the  gift  of  him  who  is  the  great  Author  of 
good,  and  the  Father  of  mercies." 

There  is  a  touching  anecdote  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Crowther,  who  died  in 
Leeds,  England,  January  16th,  1S56.  He  was  a  man  of  great  piety  and 
learning  ;  and,  being  taken  ill  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  it  became  evident 
that  his  disease  was  fatal.  One  asked  him,  in  the  words  of  Scripture  : 
"  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?"  The  dying  man  con- 
tinued the  quotation  to  the  end  of  the  verse,  and  then  emphatically  added  : 

"  When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God, 
My  rising  soul  surveys, 
Transported  with  the  view,  I'm  lost 
In  wonder,  love,  and  praise." 

He  followed  this  by  words  from  the  23d  Psalm,  and  then  saying,  "  I  am 
thankful,"  he  expired. 

When  God,  of  old,  came  down. — Keble. 
This  is  the  Whitsunday  hymn  in  the  Christian  Year.      The  text 
is  Acts  2  :  2-4,  and  the  poem  from  which  this  is  taken  has  eleven 
stanzas. 

When  gathering  clouds  around  I  view. — Grant. 

This  is  printed  among  the  Sacred  Poems  of  Sir  Robert  Grant 

(London,    1839),   edited  by  his  brother,    Lord  Glenelg.     It  first 

appeared  in  the  Christia?i    Observer  (England),    February,    1806. 

The  author  revised  his  hymn  and  republished  it  in  the  Observer, 


594  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

February,  1812.     This  republication  was  at  the  instance  of  a  writer 
whose  signature  was  "  E— y  D.  R." 

When  downward  to  the  darksome  tomb. — Palmer. 
This  hymn,  by  Dr.  Ray  Palmer,   was  written,    1842,  at  Bath, 
Me.,  and  is  based  on  John  11  :  25. 

When  I  can  read  my  title  clear.  — Watts. 
The  title  given  by  Dr.  Watts  to  this  hymn  is,  "  The  Hopes  of 
Heaven  our  Support  under  Trials  on  Earth."     It  is  No.  65  of  his 
Book  II.,  and  has  four  stanzas. 

An  agent  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  visiting  Pittsburg  Landing  just 
after  the  battle,  found  among  the  wounded  a  Baptist  clergyman,  a  per- 
sonal friend,  who  had  enlisted  as  lieutenant  and  also  acted  as  chaplain. 
When  the  news  of  the  battle  came  he  was  just  burying  one  of  his  com- 
rades, and  in  view  of  the  approaching  battle,  his  prayer  impressed  all 
those  who  were  present.  Several  said  that  it  could  never  be  forgotten. 
The  lieutenant-chaplain  soon  fell  severely  wounded  and  lay  without  water 
or  help,  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  for  more  than  twenty-four  hours. 
Shot  and  shell  were  falling  around  him,  but  he  declared  that  he  never  en- 
joyed a  sweeter  and  more  precious  experience.  Several  times  he  found 
himself  singing  this  hymn.  His  sufferings  were  terrible,  but  the  God  who 
watches  over  all  his  children  shielded  him  with  such  particular  love  that 
he  reached  his  home  in  safety  some  days  later. 

When  his  salvation  bringing. — J.  King. 
This  is  assigned  by  Miller  to  "Joshua  King."  A  writer  in 
Notes  and  Queries,  August  5th,  1855,  credits  it  to  a  certain  Mr., 
Mrs.  or  Miss  "  Rooker."  Professor  Bird  states  that  "  the  chorus 
is  added  to  the  original."  The  date,  as  given  by  Hutchins,  is 
1830.  Hall  and  Lasar  name  as  the  author  "  John  King,  incum- 
bent of  Christ  Church,  Hull,  England, "  who  died,  September  12th, 
1858,  in  his  seventieth  year.  We  quote  their  account  as  the  fullest 
and  best  that  is  accessible  : 

11  Gwyther's  Psalmist  contains  one  psalm  and  four  hymns  marked 
J.  King.  In  a  copy  of  the  Psalmist  with  MS.  notes  by  the  editor,  these 
hymns  are  assigned  to  '  Joshua  King,  vicar  of  Hull'  ;  but  the  person 
meant  by  Mr.  Gwyther  must  have  been  the  incumbent  of  Christ  Church, 
no  one  named  King  having  held  the  vicarage  of  Hull.  Mr.  King  pub- 
lished several  sermons  and  other  works,  and  edited  a  volume  of  hymns 
and  poems  by  a  lady  (M.  A.  Bodley)  entitled,  Original  Hymns  on  Script- 
ure Texts,  and  Otksr  Poems,  London,  1840." 

In    his   notes   to   the    Irish    Episcopal  Church  Hymnal,   Major 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  595 

Crawford  shows  that  the  author  of  this  hymn  was  doubtless  the  Rev. 
John  King,  incumbent  of  Christ  church,  Hull.  He  was  probably 
the  author  of  "  XXIII.  Sermons,  London,  1833,  8vo,"  com- 
mended in  the  British  Magazine  as  "  showing  great  thought  and 
very  pleasing  views." 

We  have  given  this  excursus  on  a  disputed  authorship  in  extenso 
in  order  to  convey,  once  more,  a  clear  notion  of  the  difficulties  that 
beset  any  dogmatic  statement  in  such  matters.  Many  blunders 
have  been  caused  by  this  sort  of  absolutism.  We  prefer  to  let  our 
readers  judge  from  the  facts. 

When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross. — Watts. 

Probably  this  is  Dr.  Watts's  very  finest  hymn.  It  is  founded 
on  Gal.  6  :  14,  and  appeared  in  1709. 

In  the  Adam  Bede  of  "  George  Eliot  "  there  is  a  description — reputed 
to  be  from  life — of  Dinah  Morris  (whose  real  name  was  Evans).  It  was  in 
her  closing  moments,  after  she  had  reached  a  great  age,  that  she  ex- 
claimed :  "  How  good  the  Lord  is  ;  praise  His  holy  name  !" 

Not  being  able  to  lie  down,  a  friend  supported  her,  and  she  presently 
began  to  repeat  this  hymn.  Among  her  last  words  were  the  triumphant 
verses  : 

"  4  Worthy  the  Lamb  that  died,'  they  cry, 
'  To  be  exalted  thus  !  ' 
1  Worthy  the  Lamb,'  our  hearts  reply, 
4  For  He  was  slain  for  us.'  " 

The  contrast  between  the  pure  consecration  expressed  in  these 
verses  and  the  actual  conduct  of  Christians,  is  often  painfully 
apparent.  There  are  several  anecdotes  on  the  subject  which  strike 
us  as  incongruous  and  unfit  for  our  pages,  but  we  give  place  to 
one,  related  by  a  person  who  is  very  far  removed  from  levity  on 
such  themes  : 

It  is  Dr.  John  Hall,  of  New  York,  who  tells  the  story  of  a  Scotchman 
who  sang,  most  piously,  the  hymn  : 

"  Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 
That  were  a  present  far  too  small," 

and  all  through  the  singing  was  fumbling  in  his  pocket  to  make  sure  of 
the  smallest  piece  of  silver  for  the  contribution  box  ! 

When  I  view  my  Saviour  bleeding. — R.  Lee. 

Richard  Lee,  ' '  a  laborious  mechanic, ' '  printed  this  hymn  in  his 

Flowers  of  Sharon  (London,  1794).     The  pieces  in  this  volume 

were  written  when  he  was  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  nineteen. 

Several  of  them  were  contributions  to  the  Evangelical  Magazine 


596  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

(1793  and  1794)  over  the  signature  "  Ebenezer."  The  author 
then  lived  at  Leicester  Fields,  London.  In  Living  Authors  (1816) 
he  is  styled  a  "  political  and  religious  fanatic  ;"  but  the  hymns 
which  he  wrote  are  devout,  and  often  worthy,  productions.  He  is 
not  known  to  have  published  any  other  works. 

When  Jesus  dwelt  in  mortal  clay. — Gibbons. 
Dr.  Dwight,  in  his  Collection,  1800,  credits  this  to  Dr.  Gibbons. 
It  contains  the  illustrious  lines  : 

"  That  man  may  last,  but  never  lives 
Who  much  receives  but  nothing  gives, 
Whom  none  can  love,  whom  none  can  thank  ; 
Creation's  blot,  creation's  blank." 

The  hymn  appears  in  two  stanzas  in  Streeter' s  (Universalist) 
Collection,  1829,  without  any  author's  name  attached.  But  it  has 
all  the  marks  of  its  authorship  in  the  antithetical  character  of  Dr. 
Gibbons' s  verse,  though  it  is  so  much  smoother  than  his  usual 
composition  that  Dr.  Dwight  may  be  rightfully  suspected  of  amend- 
ing it.  We  do  not  find  it  in  Dr.  Gibbons's  Hymns,  1769 — at 
least,  we  only  find  this  stanza,  which  is  from  another  piece  : 

"  When  Jesus  dwelt  in  mortal  clay 

He  prov'd  his  Grace  from  Day  to  Day  ; 
Meanness  and  Want  to  Him  apply 'd, 
Meanness  and  Want  He  ne'er  deny'd." 

We  must  refer  the  piece  to  the  Sermons,  3  vols.,  1787. 

When  Jordan  hushed  his  waters  still. — Campbell. 
Since  any  work  on  English  literature  will  give  the  biography  of 
Thomas  Campbell — one  of  the  great  lights  of  English  poetry — we 
only  need  to  mention  the  principal  dates  which  are  required  for 
ready  reference.  He  was  born  July  27th,  1777,  the  youngest  of 
eleven  children,  in  the  High  Street  of  Glasgow,  from  whose  Uni- 
versity he  was  graduated  in  1 79 1 .  His  Pleasures  of  Hope  first  gave 
him  renown  (1799),  and  from  this  period  he  devoted  himself  to 
literature  as  a  profession.  He  will  be  permanently  remembered 
by  his  "  Exile  of  Erin,"  "  Lochiel,"  "  Hohenlinden, "  "  Lord 
Ullin's  Daughter,"  "The  Soldier's  Dream,"  and  his  sea-songs, 
"Ye  Mariners  of  England"  and  "The  Battle  of  the  Baltic." 
The  rhythmic  power  of  these  pieces  would  indicate  his  ability  to 
compose  an  excellent  hymn.      This,  however,  is  the  only  one  that 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  597 

he  appears  to  have  written.  The  authority  for  this  statement  is 
Dr.  William  Beattie,  his  biographer.  The  hymn,  not  being  in- 
tended for  public  worship,  would  scarcely  hold  its  place  it  it  were 
not  for  its  author's  reputation. 

Mr.  Campbell's  health  failed  in  1843,  and  he  went  to  Boulogne, 
where  he  died,  June  15th,  1844.  He  was  buried  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

When,  like  a  stranger  on  our  sphere.  — Montgomery. 

In  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns  this  is  entitled  "  Hymn  for 
the  Opening  of  the  Sheffield  General  Infirmary,  October,  1797." 
It  has  ten  stanzas,  some  of  which  are  much  altered  in  current  use. 
It  should  be  noted  that  this  year,  1797,  was  the  date  at  which  the 
author  commenced,  in  prison,  to  write  verses.  This  is  therefore 
one  of  his  earliest  hymns. 

When  marshalled  on  the  nightly  plain. — White. 
This  hymn  becomes  of  special  interest  when  regarded  as  a  record 
of  Henry  Kirke  White's  own  progress  from  scepticism  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith.      It  is  difficult  to  fix  a  precise  date  for  its  composition, 
but  1804  was  that  of  its  publication. 

When  morning  gilds  the  skies. — Caswall,  tr. 
Rev.  Edward  Caswall  was  the  son  of  Rev.  R.  C.  Caswall,  and  a 
younger  brother  of  Rev.  Henry  Caswall,  D.D.,  prebendary  of 
Salisbury  Cathedral.  His  birth  was  thus  within  the  pale  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  his  family  have  been  noted  for  their 
scholarship  and  literary  activity.  Our  author  was  born,  July  15th, 
1 8 14,  at  Yately,  in  Hampshire  ;  he  entered  Oxford  University 
(Brasenose  College)  in  1832,  and  was  graduated  in  1836.  In 
1838  he  was  ordained  deacon,  and  presbyter  in  1839  ;  the  suc- 
ceeding year  he  became  perpetual  curate  of  Stratford-and-Castle, 
near  Salisbury,  and  in  1841  he  married  Miss  Louisa  Walker,  of 
Taunton.  When  his  wife  died  of  cholera  in  1849  the  grief  and 
despondency  of  her  loss  determined  him  to  a  more  entire  devotion 
to  Roman  Catholicism  than  before.  He  and  his  wife  had  already, 
in  1847,  been  received  into  the  Church  of  Rome  by  Cardinal 
Acton,  and  this  final  result  had  been  planned  ever  since  his  resig- 
nation of  his  ecclesiastical  position  in  the  English  communion  in 
1846.     There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Tracts  for  the  Times  affected 


598  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Mr.  Caswall's  religious  attitude  of  mind.  His  own  sermons  on 
The  Seen  and  the  Unseen  were  promptly  followed  by  his  secession 
from  the  Anglican  establishment,  and  on  the  29th  of  March,  1850, 
he  became  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  in  the  Congregation  of  the 
Oratory  which  Cardinal  Newman  had  instituted  in  Birmingham. 
There  he  remained  until  his  death,  January  2d,  1878. 

The  present  hymn  appears  in  Mr.  Caswall's  Hymns  and  Poems, 
1873.  ft  ^s  No.  17  of  the  Hy?nns  from  Various  Sources,  and  is 
marked  there  as  a  translation  from  the  German  4 '  Gelobi  set  Jesus 
Christ"  This  is  unfortunately  indefinite;  for  Martin  Luther 
wrote  a  famous  lyric,  ' '  Gelobet  seist  du  Jesu  Christ, ' '  which  is  the 
free  rendering  of  the  "  Grates  nunc  omnes  reddamus'  of  Gregory 
the  Great,  or,  as  some  think,  of  Notker  Balbulus.  The  probable 
original  is,  however,  not  this  hymn  of  Luther,  but  another  and 
later,  ' '  Gelobet  seist  du  Jesu  Christ. "  It  is  usually  classed  as  a 
11  Sunday-morning  Hymn,"  and  commonly  commences  thus  : 

"  Gepreiset  seist  du  Jesu  Christ, 
Das  nun  der  Tag  erschienen  1st." 

This  is  in  five  stanzas,  and  the  probability  is  that  Mr.  Caswall's 
paraphrase  of  eight  stanzas  has  expanded  into  an  original  hymn. 

His  suggestive  theme  is  accredited  to  Philipp  Harsdorffer,  and 
the  hymn  itself  first  appears  in  a  volume  printed  at  Nuremberg, 
1654.  Harsdorffer  was  born  in  that  city  in  December,  1607,  and 
died  as  Rathsherr  (city-councillor)  September  19th,  1658.  He 
was  a  fine  old  romanticist,  who,  in  his  prime,  1644,  was  entirely 
willing  to  engage  in  one  of  the  antique  troubadour  contests — the 
prize  between  himself  and  one  Klai.  his  poetical  rival,  being  a 
basket  of  flowers.  A  decision  could  not  be  then  reached  by  the 
judges,  and  therefore  a  flower  was  given  to  each  contestant,  and  a 
new  order,  "  The  Flowers,"  was  founded  in  memory  of  the  occa- 
sion. The  remaining  blossoms  were  sent  to  poets  who  were 
friendly,  with  an  invitation  to  unite  with  the  society.  The  order  is 
in  existence  even  at  the  present  day  ;  it  celebrated  its  two  hun- 
dredth anniversary  in  1844.  Harsdorffer  was  its  head  until  his 
death  in  1658,  and  the  influence  of  this  body  of  poets  was  cast  in 
favor  of  pastoral  and  religious  verse,  to  the  great  advantage  of  their 
literature,  then  and  since.  As  the  customary  place  of  meeting  was 
at  Pegnitz,  near  Nuremberg,  they  were  often  called  "  the  shepherds 
and  shepherdesses  of  Pegnitz." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  599 

Such,  then,  in  its  affiliation  with  English,  Latin  and  German 
hymnody  ;  in  its  connection  of  ancient  and  modern  thought  ;  in  its 
deep  relations  to  literature,  and  in  the  wide  catholicity  of  its  relig- 
ious faith,  is  the  story  of  "  When  morning  gilds  the  skies"  —  the 
opening  hymn  of  Laudes  Domini,  and  a  true  strain  from  the 
"  Lord's  Praises,"  whence  it  takes  its  name. 

When  my  last  hour  is  close  at  hand.  — E.  A.  Bowrixg,  /r. 

Edgar  Alfred  Bowring,  the  translator  of  various  pieces  from 
Goethe  and  Heine,  has  rendered  this  hymn  from  the  hymn,  "  Wenn 
mein  Stundlein  vorhanden  ist"  of  Nicolaus  Hermann.  The  trans- 
lation was  made  185-  but  definite  facts  are  not  attainable.  Pro- 
fessor F.  M.  Bird,  taking  it  "  from  some  book  or  paper,"  included 
it  in  a  Lutheran  collection,  prepared  1865-68. 

The  original  is  in  the  Deutsches  Gesa?igbuch  of  Dr.  Schaff. 
Hermann  was  "  Kanfor'  (precentor)  in  Joachimsthal,  and  died 
1 56 1.  The  hymn  was  written  before  1560.  Joachimsthal  was  a 
large  village  between  Saxony  and  Bohemia  in  the  mountain  region. 
It  was  near  the  mines,  had  embraced  the  Reformed  faith,  and  was 
noted  for  its  interest  in  education.  Here  Johann  Matthesius  and 
Nicolaus  Hermann  led  their  quiet  life.  Their  friendship  was  de- 
voted to  the  cultivation  of  music  and  poetry.  Matthesius  was  the 
pastor  and  Hermann  was  the  precentor  and  organist  of  the  church, 
as  well  as  head-master  of  the  schools.  Miss  Winkworth  gives  a 
beautiful  sketch  of  Matthesius's  conversion  and  character,  but  she 
assigns  to  Hermann  the  wider  and  more  enduring  influence. 

The  portrait  of  Hermann,  which  is  still  preserved  at  Nurem- 
berg, shows  "  a  handsome,  genial,  yet  shrewd-looking  old  man  " 
— a  man  who  entered  fully  and  heartily  into  the  lives  of  those  about 
him.  His  hymns  were  written  for  his  school-children,  or  for  the 
song-gatherings  of  the  young.  They  are  adapted  to  the  practical 
experiences  of  daily  life,  and  to  the  hazards  of  the  mine.  Few  are 
essentially  ecclesiastical— although  he  often  poetized  the  leading 
thoughts  of  the  good  pastor's  sermons  with  what  Miss  Winkworth 
calls  a  "  fatal  facility  of  versification."  Here  is  a  pretty,  although 
rather  a  material  and  mundane,  conceit  of  his  regarding  the  music 
of  the  future  world  : 

"  Every  organist  or  lutanist  in  that  life,  too,  will  take  some  holy  text 
and  strike  upon  his  organ  or  his  lute,  and  every  one  will  be  able  to  sing 
at  sight,  and  by  himself,  four  or  five  different  parts.     There  will  be  no 


600  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

more  confusion  and  mistakes  which  now  often  put  many  a  good  musician 
quite  out  of  heart,  especially  when  he  has  to  begin  again  several  times 
over. ' ' 

Poor  Hermann  !  Like  a  good  many  of  us  he  was  imagining 
heaven  to  be  just  what  we  have  not  had  here  !  But  what  a  glimpse 
this  is  at  the  sources  of  that  deep  musical  knowledge  of  Germany 
for  which  such  patient  teachers  have  toiled  so  long  and  so  well  ! 

It  only  remains  to  be  added  that  Hermann's  hymns  first  appeared 
in  1559,  with  appropriate  tunes  furnished  also  by  himself.  He 
died,  May  5th,  1561.  His  version  of  the  "Jam  moesta  quiesce 
querela  "  was  Anglicized  into  "  Now  hush  your  cries  and  shed  no 
tear/'  and  was  a  great  favorite  with  Prince  Albert  of  England. 
Two  stanzas  of  it  were  sung  at  his  funeral,  December  23d,  1861, 
in  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor. 

It  is  either  the  deep  harmony  of  Christian  aspiration,  or  else  it  is  a  de- 
liberate transcription,  which  has  made  Hermann's  hymn  so  close  to  a 
part  of  the  Salve  caput  cruentatum  of  St.  Bernard. 

Here  is  the  Latin  : 

"  Dum  me  mori  est  necesse, 
Noli  mihi  tunc  deesse  ; 
In  tremenda  mortis  hora 
Veni  Jesu,  absque  mora, 
Tuere  me  et  libera." 

And  this  is  the  German  : 

"  Wenn  mein  Stiindlein  vorhanden  1st, 

Zu  fahren  meine  Strasse, 
So  leit'  Du  mich,  Herr  Jesu  Christ, 

Mit  Hiilf  mich  nicht  verlasse  ! 
Mein'  Seel'  an  meinem  letzten  End* 
Befehl'  ich  Dir  in  Deine  Hand', 

Du  woll'st  sie  mir  bewahren." 

And  this  is  the  English  (of  Bernard's  hymn)  : 

When  my  dying  hour  must  be, 
Be  not  absent  then  from  me  ; 
In  that  dreadful  time,  I  pray, 
Jesus,  come  without  delay, 
See  and  set  me  free  ! 

And  this  is  Bowring's  stanza  : 

"  When  my  last  hour  is  close  at  hand, 

My  last  sad  journey  taken, 
Do  thou,  Lord  Jesus,  by  me  stand  ; 

Let  me  not  be  forsaken. 
O  Lord,  my  spirit  I  resign 
Into  thy  loving  hands  divine; 

'Tis  safe  within  thy  keeping." 

11  Turbabor"  inquit  Augtistinus,  "  sed  non  perturbabor,  quia  vulnerum 
Chris ti  recordabor." 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  60 1 

When  on  Sinai's  top  I  see. — Montgomery. 
In  Montgomery's  Original  Hymns  this  is  No.  50,  "  The  Three 
Mountains."     It  has  four  stanzas  and  first  appeared  in  Collyer's 
Collection,  1812. 

When  our  heads  are  bowed  with  woe. — Milman. 
This  hymn  is  based  on  the  words,  "  Surely  He  hath  borne  our 
griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows  (Isa.  53  : 4)."  The  Gospel  for  the 
Sixteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity — to  accompany  which  this  hymn 
was  written— is  that  of  the  Widow  of  Nain.  This  explains  the  re- 
frain, "  Jesus,  Son  of  Mary,  hear,"  to  which  much  exception  has 
been  taken.  The  date  is  1827.  We  may  profitably  compare  with 
this  Dean  Milman's  other  burial  hymn,  "  Brother,  thou  art  gone 
before  us." 

When  shades  of  night  around  us  close. — Tr.  Charles  Coffin. 

This  hymn  is  credited  by  Mr.  Biggs  to  the  "  Compilers  of 
Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern"  (1861),  of  whom  Rev.  Sir  H.  W. 
Baker  was  chairman.  The  Latin  original  is  from  the  Paris  Bre- 
viary, and  commences,  ' '  In  noctis  umbra  desides, ' '  The  same 
hymn  is  translated  by  J.  D.  Chambers  in  Lauda  Sion.  For  the 
Paris  Breviary  and  Charles  Coffin  see  ' '  The  Latin  Hymn- Writers 
and  their  Hymns." 

When  sins  and  fears,  prevailing,  rise.  — Steele. 

In  the  Poems  by  Theodosia,  1760,  this  is  entitled  "  Christ,  the 
Life  of  the  Soul."  It  is  based  on  John  14  :  19,  and  has  five 
stanzas. 

When,  streaming  from  the  eastern  skies.  — Shrubsole. 

William  Shrubsole,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Sheerness,  in  the  Isle  of 
Sheppey,  Kent,  England,  November  21st,  1759.  His  father  was 
a  master  mast-maker  and  lay-preacher,  and  later  in  life  was  the 
regular  minister  of  a  small  body  of  Dissenters,  worshipping  in 
Bethel  chapel,  but  continued  also  to  labor  at  his  trade.  He  died 
in  1797.  The  son  followed  his  father's  calling  for  some  length  of 
time.  He  finally  became  a  clerk,  grew  in  general  esteem,  and  at 
twenty-six  years  of  age  (1785)  was  appointed  an  accountant  in  the 
Bank  of  England.  The  biographical  sketch  which  appears  in  Dr. 
Morrison's  Fathers  and  Founders  of  the  Missionary  Society  furnishes 
us  with  the  facts  of  his  life.     This  was  written  by  his  daughter, 


602  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Mrs.  Cunliffe,  is  now  before  us,  and  is  quite  certain  to  be 
accurate. 

Mr.  Shrubsole's  religious  convictions  dated  from  his  attendance 
on  the  Jewin  Street  chapel,  where  his  father's  friend,  Rev.  Richard 
Woodgate,  was  the  pastor.  It  was  in  this  gentleman's  house  that 
he  boarded,  and  the  Christian  people  whom  he  met  assisted  him  in 
his  desire  for  the  truth.  He  frequently  attended  the  preaching  of 
such  men  as  John  Wesley,  Berridge  and  Rowland  Hill.  On 
Easter  Sunday,  1787,  he  received  the  communion  for  the  first  time 
at  the  hands  of  his  venerated  father  at  Sheemess. 

He  was  married  in  1791  to  a  Miss  Morris,  and  on  the  death  of 
his  wife,  in  18 10,  he  seems  to  have  relinquished  every  thought  but 
that  of  doing  good.  In  181 2  he  took  lodgings  in  the  Bank  of 
England,  where  he  had  become  a  trusted  employe,  and  these  he 
retained  until  his  death,  which  befell,  by  reason  of  an  apoplectic 
stroke,  on  a  visit  to  Highbury,  August  23d,  1829.  He  never  re- 
turned to  consciousness  after  his  seizure. 

He  was  conspicuous  and  active  in  the  formation  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  and  was  interested  also  in  the  Bible  and  Tract 
causes,  and  in  benevolent  and  reformatory  institutions.  These  he 
encouraged  by  his  pen  as  well  as  by  his  presence.  The  hymn  be- 
fore us  was  published  in  the  August  number  of  the  Christian  Ob- 
server for  1 8 13.  It  is  signed  "  Probus, "  has  eight  six-line  stanzas, 
and  the  title,  "  Daily  Duties,  Dependence  and  Enjoyment,"  with 
the  text,  Rom.  14:8.  It  has  been  sometimes  erroneously  attrib- 
uted to  Sir  Robert  Grant. 

When  the  weary,  seeking  rest. — H.  Bonar. 
This  hymn  is  constructed  on  the  theme  of  Solomon's  prayer  in 
the  temple,  and  is  notable  for  that  reason. 

When  thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  shalt  come. — Lady  Huntingdon. 
The  Lady  Selina  Shirley,  who  is  known  to  us  as  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon,  was  born  August  24th,  1707.  She  was  herself  of 
noble  family,  being  the  daughter  of  Washington,  Earl  Ferrers,  who 
traced  his  lineage  up  to  the  days  of  Edward  the  Confessor.  In- 
deed, in  later  years  Lady  Huntingdon  was  accustomed  to  thank 
God  that  it  was  written,  "  Not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are 
called,"  inasmuch  as  this  still  gave  hope  that  some  of  them  might 
be  saved.     When  only  nine  years  of  age  she  was  seriously  impressed 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  603 

at  a  funeral,  and  this  was  confirmed  a  few  years  later  by  hearing  her 
sister-in-law,  Lady  Margaret  Hastings,  say  that  "  since  she  had 
known  and  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  salvation  she  had 
been  as  happy  as  an  angel."  These  convictions,  together  with 
certain  influences  derived  from  the  preaching  of  Whitefleld  and  the 
Wesleys,  determined  her  heart  to  seek  the  Lord. 

She  was  married,  in  June,  1728,  to  Theophilus,  Earl  of  Hunting- 
don, and  displayed  an  earnest  piety  in  the  midst  of  frivolous  as- 
sociates, and  even  in  the  experiences  of  the  court.  A  dangerous 
illness  had  originally  settled  her  purpose  to  be  a  child  of  God,  and 
it  seems  as  if  this  never  was  forgotten.  ' '  From  her  bed, ' '  says 
her  biographer,  "  she  lifted  up  her  heart  to  the  Saviour  with  this 
prayer,  and  immediately  all  her  distress  and  fears  were  removed, 
and  she  was  filled  with  joy  and  peace  in  believing." 

There  was  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  this  excellent  woman  to 
hide  her  light  under  a  bushel,  or  to  shrink  from  any  work  of  love 
or  mercy  which  might  come  in  her  way.  She  allied  herself  with 
the  "  Methodists,"  and  was  the  fast  friend  of  those  by  whose  aid 
she  had  first  heard  of  the  way  to  God.  Her  husband  frequently 
accompanied  her  to  Fetter  Lane  to  hear  the  Wesleys,  and  she  faith- 
fully prosecuted  her  efforts  to  bring  with  her  those  in  her  own  sta- 
tion in  society — a  difficult  task,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  the  letter 
written  to  her  by  the  Duchess  of  Buckingham  on  one  occasion. 
Her  ladyship  only  expresses  a  certain  familiar  modern  distaste  to- 
ward the  humbleness  of  Christ's  poor  flock,  but  it  is  in  language 
that  is  quite  classic  in  its  repugnance  to  the  low  and  ill-born  herd 
which  worshipped  at  Fetter  Lane. 

"  I  thank  your  ladyship  for  the  information  concerning  the  Methodist 
preachers.  Their  doctrines  are  most  repulsive,  and  strongly  tinctured 
with  impertinence  and  disrespect  toward  their  superiors,  in  perpetually 
endeavoring  to  level  all  ranks,  and  do  away  with  all  distinctions.  It  is 
monstrous  to  be  told  that  you  have  a  heart  as  sinful  as  the  common 
wretches  that  crawl  on  the  earth.  This  is  highly  offensive  and  insulting, 
and  I  cannot  but  wonder  that  your  ladyship  should  relish  any  sentiments 
so  much  at  variance  with  high  rank  and  good  breeding." 

This  had  so  little  effect  on  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed 
that  she  presently  made  Donnington  Park  a  place  where  such 
preachers  and  such  godly  people  were  received  with  particular 
honor.  She  governed  her  own  estate  on  the  principles  of  Christian 
integrity,  caring  for  the  sick  and  poor,  and  doing  all  that  she  could 


604  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

to  bring  laborers  and  tenants  to  a  sense  of  their  spiritual  necessities. 
One  man  in  subsequent  years  confessed  that  he  had  been  brought 
to  Christ  by  hearing  her  talking  to  a  fellow- laborer  on  the  other  side 
of  a  wall.  The  precedent  was  regarded  as  a  bad  one  by  her  aristo- 
cratic friends.  She  went,  indeed,  into  methods  beyond  Methodism 
itself.  She  encouraged  Mr.  Maxwell  to  preach  before  he  had  re- 
ceived ordination,  and  she  accompanied  the  early  field-preachers 
in  their  tours.  Men  like  Romaine  and  Doddridge  met  with  her 
constant  and  unvarying  kindness.  When  the  latter  was  dying  of 
consumption  it  was  her  money  that  carried  him  to  the  genial  South, 
and  his  last  days  at  Lisbon  were  blessed  by  her  goodness.  And 
when  the  former  was  cast  out  of  his  church  (St.  George's,  Hanover 
Square)  it  was  Lady  Huntingdon  who  made  him  her  own  chaplain 
and  helped  him  to  establish  chapels,  as  the  result  of  these  evangel- 
istic efforts,  in  different  places.  Thus  arose  what  was  afterward 
known  as  "  Lady  Huntingdon's  Connection,"  and  it  was  assisted 
by  large  personal  means  ;  for,  since  the  death  of  the  earl,  in  1746, 
she  was  the  entire  mistress  of  her  own  property.  Her  religious 
views  were  Calvinistic  rather  than  Arminian,  and  she  inclined  to 
Whitefield  rather  than  to  the  Wesleys.  Among  her  friends  and  as- 
sociates were  Cennick,  Toplady,  Berridge,  Haweis,  Watts,  Per- 
ronet,  Doddridge,  Walter  Shirley  (her  cousin),  Rowland  Hill,  De 
Courcy,  Williams  and  James  Hervey.  It  is  as  the  centre  of  this 
group  of  hymn-writers  that  she  becomes  a  most  conspicuous  figure 
in  the  religious  history  of  her  time.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of 
doubt  that  in  her  house  and  society  is  found  the  nexus  of  that  won- 
derful list  of  hymnists,  as  in  the  Middle  Ages  such  centres  were 
found  at  St.  Gall,  Cluny  and  St.  Victor  ;  or,  as  in  Germany, 
Luther  was  the  crystallizing  point  during  the  Reformation,  even  as 
Newman  has  been  in  our  own  days  for  the  High  Church  party  in 
England. 

At  the  time  of  the  countess's  death  there  were  about  sixty-four 
chapels  which  had  been  founded  by  her  agency.  It  seemed  desir- 
able to  place  these  on  a  permanent  basis,  and  therefore  they  were 
deeded  to  four  trustees  :  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Haweis,  Lady  Ann  Erskine 
and  Mr.  Lloyd.  From  this  date  "  Lady  Huntingdon's  Con- 
nection" is  a  name  in  current  religious  records. 

Lady  Huntingdon  also  saw  to  the  preparation  of  a  hymn-book, 
which  was  revised  by  Shirley  in  1774.     It  first  appeared  in  1764, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  605 

with  a  selection  of  179  hymns.  In  1772  it  had  attained  a  fourth 
edition  and  numbered  317.  A  posthumous  edition  (c.  1 800'  con- 
tained 356.  It  was  in  the  fourth  edition  that  the  present  piece 
originally  saw  the  light  of  public  use.  It  began  "  Oh  !  when  my 
righteous  Judge  shall  come,"  and  has  been  altered  to  the  shape 
now  before  us,  and  omitted  from  the  later  edition  of  the  book.  It 
is  a  portion  from  a  long  poem  on  the  Judgment  Day.  This  is 
from  the  second  part.  The  first  line  of  the  poem  is,  "  We  soon 
shall  hear  the  midnight  cry. ' ' 

The  question  touching  her  ladyship's  presumed  authorship  of  "  Come, 
thou  Fount  of  every  blessing  "  is  fully  discussed  under  the  proper  head- 
ing. It  now  seems  evident  that  the  acute  D.  Sedgwick  was  much  misled. 
So,  too,  was  a  certain  "  J.  M.  Andrews,"  who,  in  1858,  dates  from  Sara- 
toga Springs,  N.  Y.,  on  the  20th  of  December,  a  fiery  assault  on  "a  robber 
by  the  name  of  Robinson."  Mr.  Andrews  rushed  into  a  leaflet  on  the 
strength  of  D.  Sedgwick's  communication  to  the  (London)  Notes  and 
Queries  for  July  17th,  1858,  and  the  further  progress  of  that  debate  he  did 
not  apparently  find  out.     There  be  many  such  ! 

This  leaflet  of  his  is  one  of  the  curiosities  of  hymnology,  as  it  now  lies 
(literally)  before  us.  An  honest  corapai  ison  of  it  with  the  version  afforded 
for  the  first  three  stanzas  by  the  appendix  to  Evans's  Collection  (1786)  does 
not  prejudice  the  mind  toward  the  archaic  form.  As  excellent  a  writer 
of  the  English  language  as  Robert  Robinson  would  never  have  been 
guilty  of  the  baldness  and  repetitious  rhyme  of  this  so-called  original. 
Nor  would  Lady  Huntingdon  herself  have  been  as  awkward  in  phrase- 
ology. 

Lady  Huntingdon  did  not  escape  the  sneers  and  reproaches  of 
secret  enemies  and  false  friends.  But  she  had  the  singular  good 
fortune  to  have  affected  the  third  of  the  Georges,  even  when  he 
was  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

One  day  at  court  he  asked  the  Lady  Charlotte  Edwin  where  she  was. 
"  Oh,"  said  that  haughty  person,  "  I  suppose,  praying  with  her  beggars." 
The  Prince  shook  his  head,  and  turning  to  Lady  Charlotte,  said  :  "  When 
I  am  dying  I  think  I  shall  be  happy  to  seize  the  skirt  of  Lady  Hunting- 
don's mantle  to  lift  me  with  her  up  to  heaven."  Nor  was  this  sort  of  in- 
direct attack  the  sorest  of  her  trials.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  con- 
cerned his  episcopal  dignity  about  her  also.  This  Dr.  Cornwallis  actually 
made  complaint  to  the  young  king  because  of  the  manner  of  her  ladyship's 
support  of  Dissenters.  Again  it  is  to  be  recorded  to  King  George's  credit 
(it  was  our  own  Revolutionary  monarch)  that  he  met  Lady  Huntingdon's 
counter  appeal  with  favor,  and  extended  to  her  a  very  valuable  moral 
sympathy.  He  further  wrote  a  severe  letter  to  the  archbishop,  stating 
that  "  he  wished  there  were  a  Lady  Huntingdon  in  every  diocese  in  the 


606  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

kingdom."  In  addition  to  these  outward  afflictions  she  had  to  experience 
the  loss  of  two  sons,  aged  eleven  and  fourteen  years  ;  and  not  long  after 
them  her  husband  died,  leaving  to  her  the  care  of  a  large  estate  and  the 
education  and  training  of  their  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  But  her 
personal  influence  on  the  minds  of  those  whom  she  met  was  always  the 
same  in  the  end  as  it  had  been  upon  the  king  himself.  His  words  to  her 
will  serve  as  a  sample  of  the  general  sentiment  of  her  contemporaries  : 

"  I  have  been  told  so  many  odd  stories  of  your  ladyship  that  I  am  free  to  confess  I  felt 
a  great  degree  of  curiosity  to  see  if  you  were  at  all  like  other  women  ;  and  I  am  happy  in 
having  an  opportunity  of  assuring  your  ladyship  of  the  very  good  opinion  I  have  of  you, 
and  how  very  highly  I  estimate  your  character,  your  zeal,  and  your  abilities,  which  cannot 
be  consecrated  to  a  nobler  purpose.'1 

In  November,  1790,  after  her  eighty-third  birthday  had  passed, 
she  broke  a  blood-vessel  and  was  near  to  death.  But  her  mind 
was  calm,  and  to  those  around  her  she  remarked  :  "All  is  well — 
well  forever  !"  Rallying  slightly  from  this  attack,  she  occupied 
herself  in  preparing  her  affairs  for  the  great  impending  change,  and 
in  planning  how  to  send  missionaries  to  those  destitute  of  the 
Gospel.  In  June  she  was  much  feebler,  and  on  the  17th  she  ex- 
pired (1791),  in  her  eighty-fourth  year. 

To  her  abilities  as  a  hymn-writer  we  have  considerable  testimony.  A 
list  of  her  pieces  once  existed,  but  it  is  now  said  to  be  lost.  One  piece 
may  be  in  circulation  under  the  name  of  Doddridge,  who  writes  to  his 
wife  (1748)  that  he  preached  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  family,  and  adds  that 
he  heard  her  sing  and  that  he  has  "  stolen  a  hymn  which  he  steadfastly 
believes  to  be  written  by  good  Lady  Huntingdon,  and  which  he  will  not 
fail  to  communicate  ;"  but  we  have  no  clew  to  the  verses. 

Much  more  than  our  allowance  of  space  might  be  taken  by  in- 
cidents and  anecdotes,  all  of  which  can  be  found  in  her  biography. 
A  sentence  from  her  preface  to  her  hymn-book  is  a  key  to  her 
character  : 

"  A  title  to  the  joys  of  an  eternal  world  is  purchased  for  thee  by  His 
obedience  in  life  and  death,  and  is  that  righteousness  He  will  freely  give 
here,  which,  whilst  I  am  writing  this,  my  heart  importunately  prays  Him 
to  give  thee,  reader,  as  the  inestimable  merit  of  His  death." 

There  are  some  very  interesting  incidents  associated  with  the 
present  hymn.  One  is  that  of  a  soldier  dying  in  hospital,  who,  at 
the  last  moment,  raised  himself  and  in  a  strong  voice  said, 
"  Here  !"  The  surgeon  asked  him  what  he  wanted.  "  Noth- 
ing," he  replied,  "  but  it  was  roll-call  in  heaven,  and  I  was  an- 
swering to  my  name."  It  was  the  thought  of  the  hymn  : 
"  What  if  my  name  should  be  left  out, 
When  thou  for  me  shalt  call  !" 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  607 

Lady  Huntingdon's  own  words  are  fully  as  expressive  : 
She  said  :  "  How  little  could  anything  of  mine  give  a  moment's  rest  to 
the  departing  soul  ;  so  much  sin  and  self  mixed  with  the  best  ;  and  always 
so  short  of  what  we  owe.     Let  me  be  found  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  and 
complete  in  Him." 

When,  wounded  sore,  the  stricken  soul. — Mrs.  Alexander. 
This  hymn,  by  Mrs.  Cecil  Frances  Alexander,  appeared  in 
1858,  in  Hymns,  Descriptive  and  Devotional.  Its  author  is  the 
daughter  of  Major  Humphries,  of  Strabane,  Ireland,  and  married, 
in  1850,  the  Rev.  William  Alexander,  D.D.,  the  present  bishop 
of  Derry  (consecrated  1867).  Dr.  Alexander  is  also  a  man  of 
repute  in  literature.  Mrs.  Alexander  was  born  in  1823,  and  her 
Hymns  for  Little  Children,  1848,  have  gone  through  many  editions. 
She  was  the  editor  of  the  Sunday  Book  of  Poetry  in  the  Golden 
Treasury  series. 

Where  high  the  heavenly  temple  stands.— Bruce. 
This  hymn  is  No.  58  of  the  Paraphrases  of  Scripture  used  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  For  many  years  it  passed  as  the  production 
of  Rev.  John  Logan,  a  minister  of  Leith.  It  is  now  known  to 
have  been  written  by  the  ill-fated  Michael  Bruce,  author  of  the 
"  Ode  to  the  Cuckoo."  Logan  was  his  college  friend,  and  edited 
an  edition  of  Bruce' s  poems  in  1824.  The  conclusive  evidence 
for  the  authorship  of  this  piece  is  furnished  by  Mr.  David  Laing, 
of  the  Signet  Library,  Edinburgh,  in  a  small  pamphlet  privately 
printed  some  years  since.  We  find  the  verses  in  Logan's  edition 
of  Bruce,  with  nothing  to  indicate  that  they  are  not  original  with 
the  unfortunate  scholar. 

It  happened,  however,  that  the  "  Ode  to  the  Cuckoo"  was  a 
poem  of  such  merit  that  inquiry  was  set  on  foot  and  Logan  was 
detected  and  exposed.  He  had  boldly  appropriated  the  writings 
of  Bruce  by  confusing  his  own  with  them— laying,  in  fact,  his  own 
cuckoo-egg  in  their  midst— and  the  controversy  which  grew  out  of 
this  fraud  was  destined  to  be  among  the  most  celebrated  in  English 
literature.  It  is  reviewed  in  the  British  Quarterly  for  1875,  pp. 
500-513.  Principal  Shairp  also  sums  it  up  in  Good  Words  for 
November,  1873.  In  every  recent  publication  the  case  is  decided 
against  Logan. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosart,  in  his  edition  of 


608  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

the  works  of  Bruce,  for  the  personal  information  which  lends 
pathetic  interest  to  this  and  other  similar  pieces.  Our  author, 
Michael  Bruce,  was  born  at  Kinnesswood,  in  the  county  of  Kin- 
ross, March  27th,  1746.  His  father  was  a  weaver,  and  he  was  the 
fifth  of  eight  children.  In  summer  the  young  poet  was  sent  to 
herd  cattle,  and,  like  Ferguson  the  astronomer,  Hogg  the  Ettrick 
Shepherd,  Robert  Burns,  Allan  Ramsay  and  other  Scottish  worthies 
in  song  and  scholarship,  he  took  his  first  lessons  from  clouds  and 
clods  and  creatures.  At  fifteen,  his  poor  and  godly  parents  con- 
trived to  send  him  to  college  on  the  strength  of  a  legacy  of  200 
marks,  or  £11  2s.  6d.,  and  this  munificent  sum  of,  let  us  say,  $60, 
settled  his  career.  At  Edinburgh  University  he  met  and  became 
familiar  with  John  Logan — an  unfortunate  associate  indeed,  since 
this  man,  his  future  biographer,  contrived  for  years  to  claim  and 
keep  the  credit  of  Bruce' s  "  Ode  to  the  Cuckoo,"  and  of  all  his 
hymns. 

Bruce  first  taught  school  at  Gairney  Bridge,  famous  for  the  first 
Presbytery  of  the  Seceders,  and  received  for  this  a  salary  of  £1 1. 
Removing  to  Foresthill,  near  Alloway,  the  damp  room,  his  poverty, 
and  the  hard  work,  combined  to  break  his  health  and  spirits.  Two 
poems  of  great  promise  were  produced  under  these  disadvantageous 
conditions.  One  was  Lochleven,  composed  in  blank  verse  and 
strongly  suggestive  of  the  style  of  Pollok,  Blair,  Graham  and  poets 
of  that  stamp.  Young  and  Gray  are  mentioned  by  him  with  an 
approbation  which  shows  their  influence.  The  ' '  Elegy  to  Spring  ' ' 
is  a  faint  reflection  of  Gray's  Elegy,  but  has  a  vigor  and  pathos  of 
its  own.  It  is  filled  with  sad  prognostication,  and  closes  with  this 
touching  stanza  : 

"  There  let  me  sleep,  forgotten  in  the  clay- 
When  death  shall  shut  these  weary,  aching  eyes  ; 
Rest  in  the  hopes  of  an  eternal  day, 

Till  the  long  night  is  gone,  and  the  last  morn  arise." 

On  the  5th  of  July,  1767,  consumption  had  finished  its  work. 
Bruce  was  only  twenty- one  years  and  three  months  old.  Under  his 
pillow  his  Bible  was  found  marked  at  the  words,  Jer.  22  :  10, 
"  Weep  ye  not  for  the  dead,  neither  bemoan  him,  but  weep  sore 
for  him  that  goeth  away  ;  for  he  shall  return  no  more,  nor  see  his 
native  country. ' ' 

The  bottom  truth  of  the  controversy  as  to  Logan  and  Bruce  ap- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  609 

pears  to  be  that  Bruce' s  original  poems  and  hymns  were  in  Logan's 
possession  after  the  poet's  death.  An  edition  was  printed  in  1772, 
and  others  in  1784  and  1807.  In  1837,  Rev.  William  Mackel- 
vie,  of  Balgedie,  defended  and  vindicated  Bruce' s  right  to  the 
"  Cuckoo  "  and  to  the  hymns. 

Rev.  John  Logan  fully  deserves  all  the  "  Calamities  of  Authors" 
— for  the  elder  D' Israeli  has  placed  him  in  his  book — since  he  was 
willing  to  take  praise  that  was  not  truly  his,  and  to  seem  the  author 
of  what  he  never  wrote.  His  life  was  irregular,  even  dissipated, 
and  he  offended  his  parish  by  composing  and  securing  the  produc- 
tion of  a  tragedy  called  Runnymede.  It  is  a  memorable  fact  con- 
cerning him  that  he  was  employed  to  defend  Warren  Hastings 
when  impeached — which  is  quite  fitting  to  a  man  who,  for  all  his 
ability,  could  sink  low  enough  to  steal  Bruce's  poems  and  pla- 
giarize Zollikoffer's  sermons. 

While  in  sweet  communion  feeding. — Denny. 
This  hymn  is  taken  from  Sir  E.  Denny's  Miscellaneous  Hymns, 
1839-70.      It  is  entitled  "  On  the  Lord's  Supper. — 1  Cor.  n  :  26, 
and  Cant.  1  :  12,"  and  has  two  stanzas. 

Wherever  two  or  three  may  meet.  —  Hastings. 
For  several  years  the  venerable  Dr.  Hastings  conducted  the  choir 
in  the  West  Presbyterian  church,  New  York  City,  having  his  son, 
the  eminent  Thomas  S.  Hastings,  D.D.,  as  his  pastor.  It  adds  a 
charm  to  this  hymn  to  know  that  its  author  desired,  for  himself  and 
for  his  son,  nothing  so  much  as  the  presence  of  the  divine  Spirit  in 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary. 

The  hymn  was  first  published,  from  the  author's  manuscript,  in  Songs 
for  the  Sanctuary,  1865.  Its  opening  lines  suggest  to  us  John  Kent's 
"  Where  two  or  three  together  meet,"  and  S.  Stennett's  "  Where  two  or 
three  with  sweet  accord." 

This  text  (Matt.  18  :  20)  has  served  as  the  theme  of  several  other  well- 
known  pieces.  Here  is  Cowper's  "  Jesus,  where'er  thy  people  meet,"  and 
Wesley's  "  See,  Jesus,  thy  disciples  see."  Fawcett's  "  Blest  be  the  tie 
that  binds  "  is  an  expansion  of  the  same  thought,  and  with  it  we  may  join 
Kelly's  "  How  sweet  to  leave  the  world  awhile,"  and  Isaac  Watts's 
"  Come  we  who  love  the  Lord." 

There  is  an  opportunity  here  for  the  formation  of  one  of  the  loveliest 
little  anthologies  in  our  language.  A  few  more  specimens  will  reveal  the 
richness  of  the  material  to  be  employed.  We  should  include  J.  D.  Car- 
lyle's    "  Lord,  when   we   bend  before   thy   throne,"   and   Anne   Steele's 


610  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Come,  thou  desire  of  all  thy  saints,"  and  John  Newton's  "  Come,  my 
soul,  thy  suit  prepare  ;"  to  say  nothing  of  many  beside  these. 

While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by  night.  — Nahum  Tate. 
Nahum  Tate  and  Nicholas  Brady  were  Irish  by  birth,  and  were 
"  both  somewhat  impecunious,  and  both  but  feeble  poets."  To- 
gether they  prepared  the  New  Version  of  the  Psalms,  which  the 
Church  of  England  substituted  for  the  "  Old  Version"  of  Stern- 
hold  and  Hopkins.  Tate  was  born  in  Dublin  in  1652,  and  had 
the  patronage  of  King  William  III.,  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for 
his  post  of  Poet  Laureate.  He  composed  a  birthday  ode  for 
George  I.,  and  died  in  a  sinecure  position  in  the  Royal  Mint, 
London,  171 5.  The  only  authority  for  the  adoption  of  this 
"  New  Version"  by  the  Church  was  a  permission  from  the  Court, 
given  at  Kensington,  1696,  that  it  might  be  employed  by  "  such 
congregations  as  shall  think  fit  to  receive  it. " 

The  present  piece  appeared  in  1703  in  the  supplement  called 
The  Appendix  with  Hymns.      These  are  all  by  Tate. 

While  thee  I  seek,  protecting  Power  ! — H.  M.  Williams. 

Miss  Helen  Maria  Williams  is  best  remembered  by  this  generally 
accepted  hymn  ;  but  in  her  day  she  was  herself  more  remarkable 
than  her  poetry.  Born  near  Berwick,  as  some  say,  or  in  London, 
as  others  declare,  the  year  of  her  birth  was  certainly  1762.  Her 
father  was  Charles  Williams,  of  Aberconway,  Wales,  and  he  was  an 
official  of  the  English  War  Department.  In  early  life  Miss 
Williams  resided  at  Berwick-on-Tweed,  where  she  was  educated, 
and  where  she  wrote  her  first  poem,  in  1 779.  Under  the  encourage- 
ment and  advice  of  Dr.  Andrew  Kippis,  she  published  her  first 
book  in  London  in  1783  ;  after  which  she  composed  and  published 
other  poems,  one,  in  1788,  being  directed  against  the  Slave  Trade. 

Authorship  had  been  a  profitable  matter  with  her,  and  she  there- 
fore went  abroad,  visiting  the  Continent  in  this  eventful  year,  1788. 
Parisian  life  proved  very  attractive  to  her,  and  she  delayed  in  that 
crater  of  coming  volcanic  strife  until  1790,  when  she  was  still  a 
dweller  in  the  city  and  suffered  from  the  agitation  of  the  times. 
She  was  thus  exposed  to  more  or  less  suspicion  owing  to  her  foreign 
antecedents,  and  was  even  imprisoned  in  the  Temple  for  her  ad- 
vocacy of  the  Girondist  cause.  From  this  confinement  she  was 
not  released  before  the  fall  of  Robespierre,  in  1794. 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  611 

During  this  captivity  she  wrote  many  letters — which  have  been 
published — and  also  translated  the  Paul  and  Virginia  of  Bernardin 
de  St.  Pierre.  In  this  last  volume  she  included  some  of  her  own 
sonnets.  By  this  time,  as  can  easily  be  seen,  she  was  in  effect  a 
Frenchwoman.  Her  sympathies  were  entirely  with  her  adopted 
country,  and  she  returned  after  her  release  and  departure,  and  is 
found  again  in  Paris  in  1796.  Nearly  all  of  her  later  writings,  as 
Dr.  Allibone  gives  the  list,  relate  to  French  affairs. 

To  this  fact  Miss  Williams  owes  her  most  prominent  mention 
in  literature.  She  is  renowned  as  "  the  friend  and  admirer  of 
Marat  "  ;  as  an  "  ardent  female  advocate  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion "  ;  and  as  "an  ex -Jacobin  "  who  took  an  active  part  in  all 
that  was  in  progress.  Athanase  Coquerel,  one  of  her  pupils  and 
admirers,  has  spoken  highly  of  her.  In  his  Christianisme  Experi- 
mental he  praises  her  domestic  piety  and  her  devotion  to  freedom 
and  truth.  She  was  the  friend  of  Clarkson,  Wilberforce,  Southey, 
Rogers,  Wordsworth,  Mrs.  Barbauld,  and  Mrs.  Opie.  Words- 
worth was  delighted  with  her  sonnet  to  Hope,  beginning,  "  Oh, 
ever  skilled  to  wear  the  form  we  love. " 

The  poems  among  which  the  present  hymn  appears  bear  the 
date  1786,  and  were  reissued  in  1823.  This  would  place  its  com- 
position at  a  period  previous  to  her  experience  of  the  practical 
value  of  its  petition  in  the  midst  of  scenes  of  disorder  and  violence. 
And  we  may  imagine  the  author,  with  her  widowed  mother,  as 
they  turned,  in  the  days  of  strife  and  angry  passions,  to  that  "  pro- 
tecting Power"  who  alone  could  keep  them  in  "  perfect  peace." 
Like  many  another  song  of  the  Church,  this  one  was  written  in 
quiet  hours,  and  the  writer  was  uttering  more  than  she  knew. 

It  is  well  that  we  have  this  beautiful  lyric  inseparably  connected 
with  its  author's  name.  We  should  otherwise  be  at  a  loss  to 
understand  the  character  of  Miss  Williams  in  a  way  to  be  as  chari- 
table as  we  could  desire.  But,  having  this,  we  are  sure  that  her 
love  of  liberty  was  a  pure  one,  and  that  her  record  as  a  Christian 
is  unsullied.  She  and  her  mother  attended  the  services  of  the 
Protestant  congregation,  whose  ministers  were  such  able  and  devout 
men  as  Monod  and  Coquerel,  and  Paul  Rabaud,  the  Huguenot 
11  pastor  of  the  desert. "  It  was  Rabaud 's  son,  Rabaud  St.  Etienne, 
who  said  in  the  Assembly  :  "  He  who  attacks  the  liberty  of  others 
deserves  to  live  in  slavery.     A  worship  is  a  dogma,  a  dogma  is  a 


612  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

matter  of  opinion,  and  opinions  should  be  free."  The  time  came 
when  this  bold  speaker  presided  over  that  same  Assembly,  and 
his  was  one  of  the  heads  which  fell  under  the  knife  of  the  guillo- 
tine. This  was  therefore  an  era  of  reaction  against  the  tyranny  of 
religious  authority.  In  its  rising  tide  was  swept,  along  so  good  a 
Christian  woman  as  Miss  Williams.  By  those  who  swelled  the  ad- 
vance of  these  opinions  Marat  was  almost  deified.  They  pro- 
claimed and  half  established  a  new  faith.  It  may  seem  incredible 
to  us,  at  this  lapse  of  time,  that  such  should  have  been  the  case, 
but  the  language  of  De  Pressense  admits  of  no  abatement. 

"The  veneration  for  this  monster"  [Marat],  he  says,  "knew  no 
bounds.  Hymns  were  written  in  his  honor.  On  divers  stamps  he  was 
placed  by  the  side  of  Christ.  Men  swore  by  the  sacred  heart  of  Marat. 
The  new  worship  was  complete  ;  it  had  prostitutes  for  goddesses,  and  a 
man  of  violence  and  blood  for  a  martyr  and  a  saint.  All  it  yet  lacked 
was  to  engage  in  persecution  ;  and  it  failed  not  in  this  worthy  business." 

Then  it  was  that  Andre  Chenier  sang  his  hymn  to  "  Liberty, 
daughter  of  Nature."  The  times  are  admirably  described  in  Far- 
rar's  eloquent  pages  : 

"  And  was  the  world  better  for  thus  throwing  overboard  its  faith  in 
Christ  ?  Did  the  world  succeed  when  it  had  tried  to  get  rid  of  Christianity  ? 
Aye,  my  brethren,  if  it  be  success  to  boast  of  liberty  and  end  in  a  reign 
of  terror  ;  of  humanity,  and  end  in  Robespierre  ;  of  virtue,  and  to  end  in 
the  worship  of  a  harlot  on  the  polluted  altars  of  Notre  Dame."  It  was 
indeed  this  very  "goddess  of  reason"  who  died,  September  30th,  1863, 
as  Dr.  Christlieb  testifies,  "  ninety  years  old,  idiotic,  blind,  and  a  beggar 
in  Alsace." 

Miss  Williams  was  one  of  those  who  thought  they  saw  a  coming 
emancipation  of  down-crushed  humanity.  That  she  consented  to 
the  outcome  of  the  opinions  with  which  her  name  has  been  indel- 
ibly associated  appears  to  be  false.  But  she  remained  in  Paris, 
sharing  its  fortunes,  and  reaching  at  last  a  period  of  peace  once 
more.  Here,  in  this  same  city,  quiet  now  after  all  its  convulsions, 
she  died,  December  14th,  1827. 

While  we  lowly  bow  before  thee. — Colesworthy. 
Daniel  Clement  Colesworthy  was  born  in  Portland,  Maine, 
in  1 8 10.  He  was  a  printer,  and  edited  the  Portland  Tribune  for 
some  years.  He  removed  to  Boston  afterward,  and  published 
there  a  small  book  of  Sabbath- School  Hymns  about  the  year  1833. 
The  following  list  includes    his  other  writings  :    Opening  Buds, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  613 

1838  ;  Touch  at  the  Times,  1840  ;  The  Year,  1873  ;  School  is  Out, 
1876.  The  hymn,  "  A  little  word  in  kindness  spoken,"  is  his, 
and  appeared  first  in  the  Portland  Tribune,  September  25th,  1841. 
The  present  hymn  is  taken  from  the  collection  issued  by  Rev. 
Elias  Nason,  in  1857,  and  was  doubtless  contributed  to  it,  or 
utilized  for  it,  and  may  easily  have  been  its  author's  first  step  into 
regular  hymnody. 

While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun.  — Newton. 
We  find  this  in  the  Olney  Hymns,  Book  II.,  No.  1,  as  "A  New 
Year's  Hymn,"  with  the  title,  "  Time,  how  Swift."     It  has  three 
stanzas. 

Who  are  these  like  stars  appearing. — F.  E.  Cox,  tr. 
Miss  Frances  Elizabeth  Cox,  in  her  Sacred  Hymns,  184 1,  has 
translated  these  stanzas  from  the  German  hymn,  ' '  Wer  sind  die 
vor  Gottes  Thron  z3"  The  author  is  Heinrich  Theobald  Schenk, 
and  his  hymn  of  fourteen  stanzas  is  in  Schaff's  Deutsches  Gesang- 
huch.  Miss  Winkworth  has  also  rendered  it  in  Lyra  Germanica, 
I.  :  207,  "Who  are  these  before  God's  throne?"  The  author 
was  born  in  a  village  of  Hesse- Darmstadt,  near  Alsfeld,  on  the 
Schwalm,  as  Koch,  the  German  hymnologist,  informs  us.  Very 
little  is  known  as  to  his  history.  The  one  fact  wrested  from  ob- 
scurity is  that  he  held  the  position  of  Prceceptor  Classicus  in  the 
Gymnasium  at  Giessen.  In  this  place  he  also  died,  April  nth, 
1727.  This  hymn,  which  is  his  "  single,  noble  song,"  is  based 
on  Rev.  7  :  13-17. 

Who  is  this  that  comes  from  Edom  ? — Kelly. 
This  hymn,  from  Thomas  Kelly's  edition  of    1806,  is  based  on 
Isa.  63  :  1,  and  has  five  stanzas. 

Who  shall  the  Lord's  elect  condemn. — Watts. 
This  is  Hymn  14,  Book  I.,  of  Dr.  Watts's  hymns.     It  belongs 
after  a  sermon  on  Rom.  8  :  ^^,  and  is  entitled  M  The  Triumph  of 
Faith,  or  Christ's  Unchangeable  Love."     It  is  in  six  stanzas. 

Why  do  we  mourn  departing  friends. — Watts. 
From  Dr.  Watts's  Book  II.  of  Hymns  Composed  on  Divine  Sub- 
jects, where  it  is  No.  3,  "  The  Death  and  Burial  of  a  Saint,"  and 
has  six  stanzas. 


6 14  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

Why  is  thy  faith,  O  child  of  God,  so  small  ? — Sherwin. 
This  hymn  is  the  composition  of  Professor  William  Fisk  Sherwin, 
an  American  Baptist,  and  a  well-known  composer  and  conductor 
of  sacred  music.      He  was  born  in  Bucksland,  Franklin  County, 
Mass.,  March  14th,  1826,  and  now  resides  in  Boston. 

Why,  on  the  bending  willows  hung. — Joyce. 
Rev.  James  Joyce,  M.A. ,  born  at  Frome,  Somersetshire,  Novem- 
ber 2d,  1 78 1,  and  who  died  at  Dorking,  October  9th,  1850,  was 
the  vicar  of  Dorking,  Surrey,  in  which  position  he  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son.  In  1849,  being  quite  aged  and  feeble,  he  sent 
out  to  his  people  Hymns  with  Notes,  which  were  dedicated  ' '  To 
the  poor  of  my  flock,"  and  contained  selections  of  Scripture,  with 
original  prose  meditations  and  hymns. 

His  son  wrote  to  Mr.  Miller  that  it  was  his  father's  custom  to  compose 
hymns  and  give  them  and  other  pieces  of  verse  to  his  children  at  the 
breakfast-table.  There  are  quite  a  large  number  of  these  devout  poems 
which  are  unpublished.  The  hymn,  "  O  why  should  Israel's  sons,"  is 
altered  from  "  Disowned  of  heaven,  by  man  oppressed."  It  was  written, 
1809,  while  Mr.  Joyce  was  a  curate  at  Henley-on-Thames. 

Why,  O  God,  thy  people  spurn  ? — Hatfield. 

Rev.  Edwin  Francis  Hatfield,  D.  D.,  born  at  Elizabethtown, 
N.  J.,  January  9th,  1807,  has  been  one  of  the  most  industrious  of 
American  hymnologists.  But  his  long  service,  first  as  a  successful 
pastor  in  New  York  City  and  afterward  as  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Pres- 
byterian General  Assembly,  gave  him  more  ecclesiastical  than 
hymnologic  prominence.  He  was  graduated  at  Middlebury  Col- 
lege, Vermont,  1829,  and  at  Andover  Seminary,  1831.  His  pas- 
toral work  began  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1832-35  ;  then  he  had  charge 
of  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  church,  at  Broome  and  Ridge  streets, 
New  York  City,  1835-56.  From  1856-63  he  was  pastor  of  the 
North  Presbyterian  church  in  the  same  city. 

Dr.  Hatfield's  life  after  that  period  was  relieved  from  pastoral 
duties,  but  he  was  occupied  continually  by  the  "care  of  all  the 
churches.  "  During  this  time  he  prepared  his  Church  Hymn-Book, 
1872,  which  is  especially  valuable  to  the  hymnologist  by  reason  of 
its  adherence  preferably  to  the  old  forms  of  hymns,  and  by  its  dates 
affixed  to  the  pieces.  It  was  the  result  of  much  original  labor,  and 
Dr.  Hatfield's  hymn-library — when  combined,  as  it  now  is,  with 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  615 

the  books  already  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  alcove — 
forms  a  monument  to  his  zeal  and  judgment. 

Dr.  Hatfield  attained  in  1883  to  the  highest  dignity  in  the  gift 
of  his  denomination,  being  elected  Moderator  of  the  General  As- 
sembly. He  discharged  the  duties  thus  imposed  on  him  with  a 
vigor  and  fervor  which  surprised  even  his  best  friends.  Nor  can 
there  be  any  doubt  that,  at  his  advanced  age,  the  excitement  and 
strain  of  presiding  over  the  debates  and  deliberations  of  an  impor- 
tant session  produced  a  reaction  which  hastened  his  death.  The 
Assembly  met  in  May  ;  the  Moderator,  who  was  also  the  Stated 
Clerk,  returned  home  to  be  pursued  by  proof-sheets  of  the  Minutes. 
No  assistance  given  by  his  coadjutors  could  free  his  mind  from  a 
sense  of  necessity  for  his  personal  and  accurate  supervision  ;  and 
on  the  23d  of  September,  1883,  he  died  after  a  short  illness,  at 
Summit,  N.  J.  To  the  present  writer  these  words — and  any  words 
— are  altogether  feeble  in  their  recognition  of  the  loss  of  a  dear  and 
valued  friend. 

Dr.  Hatfield's  Poets  of  the  Church  was  published  posthumously 
by  his  son,  Mr.  J.  B.  Taylor  Hatfield.  Mr.  Hatfield  simply  edited 
papers  which  had  not  received  his  father's  final  revision,  and  to 
this  must  be  attributed  any  deficiency  or  error  in  the  contents  of 
the  work.  But  the  volume  itself  is  unusually  accurate  in  the  most 
of  its  references  and  biographies.  The  index  was  prepared  by  an- 
other hand. 

The  volume  called  Freedom's  Lyre  was  edited  by  Dr.  Hatfield 
in  1840,  and  contained  twenty-four  original  pieces.  Ten  original 
hymns  were  included  by  him  in  the  Church  Hymn-Book,  1872,  of 
which  the  present  (taken  also  into  Songs  for  the  Sanctuary,  1865) 
is  one.     It  is  based  on  the  60th  Psalm. 

Why  should  the  children  of  a  King. — Watts. 

December  31st,  1848,  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring  wrote  in  his  diary  : 

'*  Whether  it  will  be  to  me  a  year  of  sickness  or  health,  pain  or  relief, 
life  or  death,  prosperity  or  adversity,  God  will  control  every  event,  and 
make  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him. 

1  Why  should  the  children  of  a  king 
Go  mourning  all  their  days  ?  '  " 

This  is  a  hymn  belonging  after  a  sermon  on  Rom.  8  :  14,  16 
and  Eph.  1  :  13,  14.  In  the  Hymns  it  is  No.  144  of  Book  I., 
with  the  title,  "  The  Witnessing  and  Sealing  Spirit." 


616  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

"  Over  one  hundred  years  ago,  on  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  visits  to  Ches- 
terfield, he  had  commenced  an  out-door  service  in  the  market-place. 
During  the  first  prayer  the  constable  came  and  demanded  his  presence  be- 
fore a  magistrate.  The  prayer  ended,  the  man  of  authority  marched  off 
with  the  preacher  ;  but  before  doing  so  the  man  of  prayer  showed  his 
faith  by  saying  to  his  hearers,  '  Friends,  sing  a  hymn  whilst  I  am  gone — I 
shall  soon  be  back  ;'  and  he  gave  out  the  couplet : 

'  Why  should  the  children  of  a  king 
Go  mourning  all  their  days?  ' 

Mr.  Wesley  returned  and  preached,  before  the  hymn  had  been  sung 
through  a  second  time." 

Why  should  we  start  and  fear  to  die  ? — Watts. 

This  is  Hymn  31  of  Book  II.,  "  Christ's  Presence  Makes  Death 
Easy."     It  has  four  stanzas. 

In  Leifchild's  "  Remarkable  Facts"  occurs  a  touching  tribute 
to  the  power  of  this  hymn  : 

Friends  around  the  dying  bed  of  an  old  servant  of  the  Lord  had  been 
reciting  verses  of  Scripture  and  stanzas  of  familiar  hymns.  At  these 
words  the  dying  man  seemed  particularly  moved,  and  as  the  voice  re- 
peated, 

"Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  his  breast  I  lean  my  head, 

And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there." 

he  exclaimed,  "  My  head /"  and  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

Miss  Susan  B.  Higgins,  missionary  to  Yokohama  of  the  "  American 
Women's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,"  was  on  her  dying  bed  in  that  dis- 
tant land.     A  friend  sang  to  her  the  stanza  of  this  hymn  commencing  : 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

When  the  singer  ceased,  her  voice  choked  with  grief,  Miss  Higgins  her- 
self took  up  the  strain,  and  sang  the  verses  preceding  : 

"  Oh,  if  my  Lord  would  come  and  meet, 

My  soul  should  spread  her  wings  in  haste." 

The  work  of  this  earnest  woman  only  covered  about  eight  months  in 
Japan,  but  she  was  greatly  beloved,  and  sincerely  lamented  by  an  unusual 
concourse  at  her  funeral. 

Dr.  David  Nelson,  the  great  antagonist  of  infidelity,  was  a  lover  of  Eng- 
lish poetry,  and  especially  of  hymns.  In  his  practice  as  a  physician  he 
found  that  the  bulk  of  the  theological  learning  of  the  families  whom  he 
met  consisted  of  what  was  contained  in  the  standard  hymns  of  the  Church. 
Frequently  he  would  sing  one  of  these  hymns,  impressively  and  alone, 
as  the  prelude  of,  or  the  peroration  to,  a  sermon.  Asa  physician  he  has 
been  known  to  read  or  sing  to  the  dying  some  such  stanza  as, 


ENGLISH  HYMNS. 


6.7 


"  Oh,  if  my  Lord  would  come  and  meet, 

My  soul  should  spread  her  wings  in  haste,"  etc., 

with  the  triumphant  following  stanza  : 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

When  Jeremiah  Evarts,  the  beloved  Secretary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 
was  dying,  in  March,  1831,  he  was  attacked  suddenly  with  violent  pain. 
In  one  of  his  paroxysms,  and  when  nearly  exhausted,  he  said  :  "  Dear 
Jesus  !"     Some  one  added  the  lines  : 

"  While  on  his  breast  I  lean  my  head, 

And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there." 

"  Immediately,"  we  are  told,  "he  burst  forth  with  expressions  of  rapt- 
ure which  cannot  be  described  :  '  Praise  him,  praise  him  in  a  way  ye 
know  not  of  !  '  He  added  :  '  Wonderful,  wonderful,  wonderful  glory. 
I  will  praise  him,  I  will  praise  him.  Who  are  in  the  room  ?  Call  all  in — 
call  all — let  a  great  many  come — I  wish  to  give  directions — wonderful — 
glory — Jesus  reigns.'  "  Every  one  in  the  family  was  called,  but  he  sank 
exhausted,  and  not  long  afterward  breathed  his  last,  free  from  pain  and 
in  perfect  peace. 

Why  will  ye  waste  in  trifling  cares  ? — Doddridge 
This  is  Dr.  Doddridge's  Hymn  206,  "  The  Care  of  the  Soul 
the  one  Thing  Needful. — Luke  10:42."  It  is  also  a  remarkable 
example  of  the  improvement  effected  in  a  grand  hymn  by  a  little 
modification.  Every  stanza  of  the  five  shows  the  effects  of  judicious 
amendment.  It  may  be  worth  our  while  to  quote  it  here  in  the 
original  form  as  a  sufficient  reply  to  those  who  so  often  object  to 
any  alteration  of  the  language  of  a  hymn  : 


"  Why  will  ye  lavish  out  your  years 
Amidst  a  thousand  trifling  cares  ? 
While  in  this  various  range  of  thought 
The  one  thing  needful  is  forgot  ? 

"  Why  will  ye  chase  the  fleeting  wind, 
And  famish  an  immortal  mind  ; 
While  angels  with  regret  look  down 
To  see  you  spurn  a  heavenly  crown  ? 

"  The  eternal  God  calls  from  above. 
And  Jesus  pleads  his  dying  love  ; 


Awaken'd  conscience  gives  you  pain  ; 
And  shall  they  join  their  pleas  in  vain  ? 

'  Not  so  your  dying  eyes  shall  view 
Those  objects  which  ye  now  pursue  ; 
Not  so  shall  heaven  and  hell  appear, 
When  the  decisive  hour  is  near. 

Almighty  God,  thy  power  impart 
To  fix  convictions  on  the  heart ; 
Thy  power  unveils  the  blindest  eyes, 
And  makes  the  haughtiest  scorner  wise.' 


With  broken  heart  and  contrite  sigh. — Elven. 

G.  J.  Stevenson's  testimony  to  the  hymn  and  its  writer  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  This  hymn  came  to  the  author  as  an  inspiration,  whilst  holding  a 
series  of  revival  services  in  the  Baptist  Chapel,  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  in 
January,  1852.     The  people  sang  it,  and  it  became  popular  ;  but  its  author 


618  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

appears  never  again  to  have  had  the  spirit  of  poetry  resting  upon  him. 
It  was  written  by  Cornelius  Elven,  a  native  of  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  in 
which  town  he  ministered  most  usefully  to  one  congregation  of  Baptists 
for  fifty  years.  He  was  a  true  and  devoted  friend  of  Rev.  C.  H.  Spur- 
geon,  who  wrote  a  sketch  of  him  when  he  died,  in  July,  1873,  and  says 
that  he  was  a  man  of  homely  attainments,  pre-eminently  practical  as  a 
pastor  and  preacher,  and  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  bulk  of 
his  body  was  stupendous,  but  his  heart  was  large  in  proportion  to  his 
body,  and  it  was  full  of  kindness.  He  preached  occasionally  for  Mr. 
Spurgeon,  who  loved  him." 

With  deepest  reverence  at  thy  throne. — Butcher. 

Rev.  Edmund  Butcher,  the  author  of  this  hymn,  was  born  in 
1757,  at  Colchester,  Essex,  his  father  being  a  carpenter  and  build- 
er, though  his  ancestor,  John  Butcher,  had  been  rector  of  Feer- 
ing,  whence  the  family  came  to  Colchester.  Mr.  Butcher's  father 
was  unable  to  afford  him  an  education,  the  lack  of  which  was  par- 
tially supplied  by  the  kind  instruction  given  by  Dr.  Stanton,  a 
Dissenting  minister.  At  fourteen  the  lad  was  apprenticed  to  a 
linendraper  in  London,  and  while  so  employed  he  was  also  able  to. 
use  his  pen.  This  proved  a  real  advantage  to  him  ;  as  his  pieces 
were  taken  by  various  periodicals,  and  he  had  some  little  money 
from  them,  with  which  to  help  his  mother  and  sister.  He  found 
a  friend,  too,  in  Rev.  Mr.  Worthington,  who  preached  in  Salter's 
Hall,  and  whose  church  he  attended.  It  was  this  gentleman  who 
advised  and  assisted  him  in  the  direction  of  the  ministry.  Conse- 
quently he  entered  Daventry  Academy — the  same  institution  which 
the  ill-fated  Heginbotham  attended,  and  which  had  once  been 
under  the  care  of  Dr.  Doddridge.  The  theological  tutor  in  Mr. 
Butcher's  time  was  Rev.  Thomas  Belsham,  whose  personal  views 
were  decidedly  Socinian,  and  who,  during  his  tutorship,  forsook 
his  former  opinions  and  openly  avowed  the  Unitarian  belief. 

Our  author  was  first  settled  at  Sowerby,  in  Yorkshire.  Then  he 
removed  to  London,  where  he  preached,  for  the  most  part,  at  a 
chapel  in  Leather  Lane,  Holborn.  He  was  ordained  in  1789, 
Messrs.  Kippis,  Worthington,  Belsham  and  others  taking  part  in 
the  services.  Mr.  Butcher's  congregation  was  prosperous  ;  but 
his  voice  was  poor.  He  finally  left  London  for  Sidbury  Vale,  near 
Sidmouth,  in  Devonshire,  in  1798.  About  this  period  he  printed 
some  of  his  London  sermons,  adding  to  each  of  them  (as  was  then 
the  custom)  a  "  suitable  hymn  "  of  his  own  composition.      Sixty- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  619 

nine  of  his  hymns  are  in  The  Substance  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
Methodized,  1801.  Some  other  pieces  appeared  in  the  Protestant 
Dissenters  Magazine,  of  which  he  was  the  editor.  In  Hawses 
Selection,  1837,  are  some  hymns  derived  from  manuscript  allowed 
for  use  by  Mr.  Butcher's  widow. 

His  life  at  Sidmouth  was  peaceful  and  happy,  and  his  home  a 
delightful  one,  his  health  being  improved  by  the  change  from  Lon- 
don. But  in  182 1  he  found  it  necessary  to  remove  to  Bath, 
where,  unfortunately,  he  had  a  fall  and  dislocated  his  hip.  This 
accident  confined  him  to  his  bed  and  hastened  his  death,  which 
occurred  April  14th,  1822.  A  memoir  of  him  appears  in  The 
Christian  Moderator  for  1827,  from  the  pen  of  his  friend,  Rev. 
John  Evans.  His  speculative  opinions  do  not  seem  to  have  pre- 
vented a  very  deep  and  real  piety  of  heart  and  serenity  of  faith. 
With  joy  we  hail  the  sacred  day. — Auber. 
This  is  Miss  Harriet  Auber's  version  of  Ps.  122.  It  is  from 
her  Spirit  of  the  Psalms,  1829. 

With  joy  we  lift  our  eyes. — Jervis. 
Rev.  Thomas  Jervis,  an  English  Unitarian  and  the  minister  of  a 
congregation  in  Leeds,  is  the  author  of  this  and  of  another  very 
good  hymn,  "Lord  of  the  world's  majestic  frame."  Both  of 
them  appeared  in  a  volume  entitled,  A  Collection  of  Hymns  and 
Psalms  for  Public  and  Private  Worship  :  Selected  by  Andrew  Kippis, 
D.D.,  Abraham  Pees,  D.I).,  T.  Jervis,  and  T.  Morgan.  This 
was  issued  in  1795,  and  it  is  remarkable  as  being  one  of  the  ear- 
liest collections  to  attach  the  names  of  the  authors  to  their  com- 
positions, and  to  place  a  list  of  the  authors  at  the  beginning  of  the 
book.  Sixteen  of  the  six  hundred  and  ninety  hymns  have  been 
credited  to  Mr.  Jervis.  It  is  an  unexpected  honor  for  his  name 
in  this  latter  day  to  appear  in  Laudes  Domini,  for  in  not  one  of 
his  pieces,  so  Dr.  Hatfield  assures  us,  "  is  there  even  the  most  dis- 
tant allusion  to  the  Saviour;  they  are  thoroughly  Deistic."  In 
his  belief  this  author  was  "an  Arian,  if  not  a  Socinian."  His 
poetry  has  no  praise  "  to  Christ  as  God." 

Mr.  Jervis  was  born  in  1748,  the  son  of  a  Presbyterian  minister 
of  Ipswich,  England,  bearing  the  same  name.  When  he  was  quite 
young  he  was  sent  to  London  to  school,  and  there  for  a  while  came 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  David  Jennings,  D.D.,  and  after  his  death, 


620  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

of  his  successors,  Dr.  Savage,  Dr.  Kippis,  and  Dr.  Rees.  Two 
of  these  names  we  recognize  as  joint  editors  of  the  Collection  of 
hymns  in  1795,  with  himself  and  Mr.  Morgan.  When  Mr.  Jervis 
was  not  much  beyond  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  was  chosen 
"  Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Lympstone,  and  joint- 
minister  of  Topsham."  About  two  years  later  he  met  the  famous 
Dr.  Priestley  at  the  country-seat  of  the  Earl  of  Shelburne,  to  whose 
two  sons  Jervis  had  just  become  tutor.  The  influence  of  this 
famous  controversialist,  as  well  as  that  of  his  former  teachers,  Dr. 
Kippis  and  Dr.  Rees,  must  have  affected  his  religious  views,  for 
the  collection  of  hymns  was  designed  for  such  congregations  as 
were  anti-Trinitarian  in  sentiment.  This  will  explain  why  the 
pieces  which  it  contains  were  so  much,  and  so  violently,  altered  in 
structure. 

Dr.  Rees  was  pastor  of  St.  Thomas's  Presbyterian  church  in 
London,  and  when  he  resigned  in  1783  and  removed  to  the  Old 
Jewry,  the  favorite  pupil  became  his  successor.  Twelve  years  later 
(1795),  when  Dr.  Kippis,  his  other  teacher,  died  in  the  pastorate 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  Prince's  Street,  near  Westminster 
Abbey,  Jervis  was  again  called  upon,  and  this  prominent  position 
he  held  until  1808.  Then  he  became  pastor  of  the  Mill-Hill  con- 
gregation (Unitarian)  of  Leeds.  For  ten  years  more  he  labored 
there,  and  then  he  retired  from  active  service.  He  died  at  his 
wife's  home,  Fryerning,  Essex,  in  the  year  1833. 

With  songs  and  honors  sounding  loud. — Watts. 
This  is  Dr.  Watts's  rendering  of  Ps.  147,  C  M.,  vv.  7-9,  13-18, 
"  The  Seasons  of  the  Year."      It  has  eight  stanzas. 

Work  while  it  is  to-day  ! — Montgomery. 
This  is  in  the  Original  Hymns  as  Hymn   156,  "Working  the 
Works  of  God."      It  has  nine  stanzas. 

Work,  for  the  night  is  coming. — A.  L.  Walker. 
In  the  first  series  of  Moody  and  Sankey's  Gospel  Hymns  this  piece 
is  marked  "  Arr.  from  Rev.  S.  Dyer,  1864."  H.  P.  Main's 
authority  is  given  for  crediting  it  now  to  "  Anna  L.  Walker." 
Rev.  Sidney  Dyer  (an  American  Baptist  clergyman,  b.  18 14)  is 
the  author  of  "  Resting  by  and  by,"  and  has  written  to  Mr.  Nut- 
ter :   "I  have  never  claimed  this  [the  present]  hymn,  and  know 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  621 

not  who  put  my  name  to  it. "  The  lady  who  wrote  it,  and  pub- 
lished it  in  a  volume  in  1868,  is  a  resident  of  Canada.  The  ascrip- 
tion to  Mr.  Dyer  grew  out  of  a  hymn  on  a  similar  topic  written 
by  him  in  1854  for  a  Sunday-school  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  but  it 
is  not  at  all  like  the  hymn  before  us. 

Worship  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of  holiness. — Monsell. 
In  Mr.  Monsell's  Parish  Hymnal,  1873,  this  hymn  appears, 
with  the  exclamatory  "  Oh  "  at  the  commencement  of  the  line.  In 
actual  use  the  metre  has  compelled  the  omission  of  this  redundant 
syllable.  It  is  a  noble  song  of  praise,  and  is  worthy  to  stand  com- 
parison with  Heber's  "  Brightest  and  best  of  the  sons  of  the  morn- 
ing," a  hymn  whose  forms  of  expression  are  almost  parallel  with 
it. 

Wouldst  thou  eternal  life  obtain  ? — Palmer. 

The  Scripture  is  Gal.  2  :  20,  and  this  hymn  was  written  by  Dr. 
Ray  Palmer  in  1864. 

Ye  Christian  heralds,  go,  proclaim. — B.  H.  Draper. 
It  is  "  Christian  heralds,''  not:  "  heroes"  and  the  history  of  the 
hymn  is  to  be  found  under  "  Sovereign  of  worlds,   display  thy 
power."     The  date  is  1803. 

Ye  messengers  of  Christ.  — Mrs.  Voke. 
Six  missionary  hymns — of  which  this  is  one— are  credited  to 
"  Voke  "  in  Dobell ' s  Collection,  1806.  She  can  be  traced  to  Rip- 
pon's  edition  of  1800,  and  Mr.  W.  T.  Brooke  has  discovered  a 
Selection  of  Missionary  and  Devotional  Hymns,  published  by  John 
Griffin,  Portsea,  1797.  in  which  all  her  pieces  appear.  Dr.  Coll- 
yer,  181 2,  added  a  seventh  to  the  list,  but  we  know  not  on  what 
authority.  The  English  Baptists  ought  to  identify  a  lady  whose 
denomination  and  nativity  were  probably  the  same  as  their  own, 
and  whose  hymns  have  proved  so  useful. 

Ye  servants  of  God,  your  master  proclaim.  — C.  Wesley. 
From  Hymns  for  Times  of  Trouble  and  Persecution,  1744.     The 
title  is,  "  To  be  sung  in  a  Tumult."     There  are  six  stanzas. 

Ye  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord.  — Neale,  tr. 
A  translation  of  the  "  0  filii  et  filics"  2.  Latin  hymn  of  about 
the  thirteenth  century,  which  has  often  been  rendered  by  others 


622  ENGLISH  HYMNS. 

beside  Dr.  Neale.  Curiously  enough,  the  Latin  text  is  only  acces- 
sible to  ordinary  readers  in  Professor  March's  Latin  Hymns.  It 
has  twelve  stanzas  and  is  a  beautiful  and  spiritual  lyric.  This  topic 
is  treated  more  fully  in  the  "  Latin  Hymn- Writers  and  their 
Hymns." 

This  translation  should  not  be  confused  with  a  piece  having  the 
same  first  line,  by  Hugh  Bourne,  the  "  Primitive  Methodist,"  for 
which  see  Epworth  Singers,  p.  336. 

Yes,  for  me,  for  me  he  careth. — H.  Bonar. 
The  title  of  this  piece  is,  "  The  Elder  Brother,"  and  it  is  found 
in  Hymns  of  Faith  and  Hope,  first  series,  1857,  in  six  stanzas.     It 
is  said  to  have  been  written  in  1844. 

Yes  !   He  knows  the  way  is  dreary.  — F.  R.  Havergal. 
In  Miss  Havergal's  Poems,  p.  424,  this  has  the  title,  "  Be  not 
Weary."      It  is  in  five  stanzas.      Her  own  date  in  Songs  of  Grace 
and  Glory  is  1867. 

Your  harps,  ye  trembling  saints. — Toplady. 

There  are  sixteen  stanzas  to  this  hymn  in  Sir  Roundell  Palmer's 

Book  of  Praise,  and  the  date  is  1772.      From  this  longer  piece,  by 

the   use   of    an    original    introductory   stanza   commencing,  "  If 

through  unruffled  seas,"  one  of  our  finest  lyrics  has  been  formed. 

Zion,  awake  !  thy  strength  renew. — Shrubsole. 

This  hymn  was  contributed,  over  the  signature  "  W.  S.,"  to  the 
Evangelical  Magazine  for  July,  1796.  It  is  reprinted  in  four 
stanzas  in  Dr.  Morrison's  Fathers  and  Founders  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  which  is  now  before  us. 

Mr.  Shrubsole' s  hymns  are  all  in  this  volume,  and  are  : 

"  Arm  of  the  Lord,  awake,  awake." 

"  Bright  as  the  sun's  meridian  blaze." 

"  In  all  the  paths  my  feet  pursue." 

"  When,  streaming  from  the  eastern  skies." 

"  Ye  saints,  your  grateful  praises  biing." 

"  Zion,  awake  !  thy  strength  renew." 

Zion,  the  marvellous  story  be  telling. — Muhlenberg. 
The  chorus  of  this  hymn  is  really  its  commencement.      "  Shout 
the  glad   tidings,  exultingly  sing"  is  a  favorite  tune  for  "Old 
Folks'  Concerts,"  and  similar  entertainments.      It  is  the  same  set- 


ENGLISH  HYMNS.  623 

ting  in  Laudes  Domini,  under  the  name  of  "  Avison,"  which  is 
familiar  by  its  association  in  America  with  Thomas  Moore's  lyric, 
"Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea,"  1816.  Dr. 
Muhlenberg,  ten  years  later,  prepared  this  piece  in  the  same  metre, 
and  with  much  the  same  idea  in  the  chorus. 


NOTE. 


While  these  pages  have  been  passing  through  the  press,  I  have  ob- 
tained two  important  tracings  of  hymns.  One  is  of  "  Glory  to  God. 
whose  witness-train,"  concerning  which  Rev.  J.  U.  Guenther,  D.D.,  of 
Newark,  writes  me  that  the  author  was  Christoph  Titze  (or  Titius).  He 
was  born  in  1641,  at  Wilkau,  near  Breslau,  in  Silesia  ;  studied  theology 
and  served  as  pastor  in  several  congregations  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  in  Germany,  and  his  last  charge  was  Hersbruck,  near  Nuremberg. 
He  died  in  1703,  and  was  the  author  of  Hymn  917,  in  the  large  (German) 
Moravian  Hymn-Book,  beginning  "  Soil?  es  %leich  bisveilen  scheinen."  The 
last  two  stanzas  of  our  hymn  are  from  this  original.  The  first  stanza  is 
probably  a  free  version  from  part  of  Count  Zinzendorf's  hymn,  "  Der 
Glaube  bricht  durch  Stahl  tind  Stein,"  which  is  No.  920  in  the  same  col- 
lection. 

The  other  is  of  the  hymn,  "  Awake,  my  soul,  to  joyful  lays,"  for  which 
I  am  indebted  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Smith,  of  Bloomfield,  N.  J.,  who  has 
kindly  examined  and  authenticated  the  facts.  It  was  when  Mr.  Medley 
was  visiting  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Phillips,  a  prominent  Baptist,  in  Lon- 
don, that  he  said  to  the  daughter  of  his  host  :  "  Betsey,  will  you  bring 
me  some  paper  and  ink?"  With  these  he  retired  to  his  room,  and  pres- 
ently came  back  with  this  hymn  written.  This  "  Betsey,"  who  was  born 
in  1783,  became  Mrs.  Dodds,  and  died  in  America,  in  1861,  and  these 
particulars  came  from  her  lips  through  relatives  residing  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  The  date  usually  given  to  the  hymn  is  1785,  and  Mr.  Medley  died 
in  1799.  It  is  therefore  a  later  production  than  was  supposed.  It  is 
only  proper  to  add  that  Dr.  George  W.  Anderson  and  Mr.  Nutter  have 
written  me,  seriously  questioning  these  new  facts.  But  the  authority  of 
my  informant  is  so  good  that  I  leave  them  as  they  were  given  to  me. 
Rippon's  Selection  (1st  ed.,  1787)  contains  the  hymn. 


"  There  is  no  exercise  that  I  had  rather  live  and  dye  in,  than  singing 
Praises  to  our  Redeemer  and  Jehovah,  while  I  might  in  the  Holy  Assem- 
blies, and  now  when  I  may  not,  as  Paul  and  Silas  in  my  Bonds,  and  my 
dying  pains,  which  are  far  heavier  than  my  Bonds.  Lord  Jesus  receive 
my  Praise  and  Supplications  first,  and  lastly,  my  departing  Soul. 
Amen." 

Richard  Baxter  :  Preface  to  Version  of  the  Psalms,  1692. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


ENGLISH    HYMN-WRITERS. 

Note. — This  list  of  hymn-writers  is  purposely  given  as  below,  and  can  be  utilized  for 
reference,  if  necessary,  by  underscoring  the  family  names,  thus :  "  Rev.  Isaac  Watts, 
D.D."  The  asterisk  indicates  those  prominently  associated  with  Lady  Huntingdon.  The 
letters  S.  W.  and  I.  indicate  the  Scotch,  Welsh  or  Irish  birth,  and  the  religious  connection 
is  expressed  by  familiar  abbreviations. 


A.D.   I40O-16OO. 


Miles  Coverdale,  Ep.,  1488-1569, 
George  Gascoigne,   Ep.,    1536   (?)- 

1577- 
Thomas  Sternhold,  Ep.,  d.  1549. 
Rev.  John  Hopkins,  Ep.,  fl.  1551. 
Rev. William  Kethe,  P.,  1510-1580. 
John  Marckant,  Ep.,  fl.  1562. 
John  Mardley,  Ep.,  fl.  1562. 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  Ep.,  1552-1618. 
Robert  Southwell,  R.C.,  1560-1595. 
Sir  Henry  Wotton,  Ep.,  1568-1639. 
Sir  John  Davies,  Ep.,  1570-1626. 
John  Donne,  D.D.,  Ep.,  1573-1637. 
Bishop   Joseph   Hall,    D.D.,   Ep., 

1 574-1656. 


George  Sandys,  Ep.,  1577-1643. 
Francis  Rous,  P.,  1579-1658  (s.) 
David  Dickson,  P.,  1583-1663  (s.) 
Sir    John    Beaumont,   Ep.,    1856- 

1616. 
Sir  William  Drummond,  Ep.,  1585- 

1649  (s.) 
Rev.  Giles  Fletcher,  Ep.,  1588-1623. 
George  Wither,  P.,  1588-1687. 
Robert  Herrick,  Ep.,  1591-1674. 
Francis     Quarles,   P.,      1592-1644. 
Rev.    George    Herbert,  Ep.,  1593- 

1632. 
Bp.  John  Cosin,  Ep.,  1594-1672. 


A.D.  1600-1700. 


Rev.  Henry  Jessey,  B.,  1601-1663. 
Sir    Thomas  Browne,    Ep.,    1605- 

1682. 
Edmund  Waller,  Ep.,  1605-1687. 
John  Milton,  P.,  1608-1674. 
Bp.  Jeremy  Taylor,  Ep.,  1613-1667. 
Henry  More,  D.D.,Ep.,  1614-16S7. 
Rev.   Richard  Baxter,   Pres.,  161 5- 

1691. 
Richard  Crashaw,  R.  C.,  1616  (?)- 

1650  (?) 
"  F.  B.  P."  (Francis  Baker,  Priest  ?) 

R.  C,  fl.  1616. 


Andrew  Marvell,  Ep.,  1620-1678. 

Henry  Vaughan,  M.D.,  Ep.,  162 1- 
1695  (w.) 

Rev.  John  Mason,  Ep.,  d.  1694. 

John  Quarles,  P.,  1624-1665. 

John  Austin,  R.  C.,  1613-1669. 

Rev.  John  Bunyan,  B.,  1628-1688. 

Rev.  Samuel  Crossman,  Ep.,  1624- 
1683. 

John  Dryden,  R.  C.,  1631-1700. 

Wentworth  Dillon,  Earl  Roscom- 
mon, Ep.  (1.)  1633-1684. 

Bp.  Thomas  Ken,  Ep.,  1637-1711. 


626 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


John  Lagniel,  16    -1728. 
Nahum  Tate,  Ep.,  1652-1715  (1.) 
Rev.    Nicholas    Brady,   D.D.,  Ep., 

1659-1726  (1.) 
Rev.    Samuel    Wesley,    Sen.,    Ep., 

1662-1735. 
Rev.  Joseph    Stennett,     B.,   1663- 

1713. 
Rev. Thomas  Shepherd, Cong.,  1665- 

1739- 
Joseph  Addison,  Ep.,  1672-1719. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Singer)  Rowe,  1674- 

1737. 
*Rev.    Isaac    Watts,     Ind.,    1674- 

1748. 
Rev.   John    Killinghall,    Cong.,  d. 

1740. 
Bp.  John  Patrick,  Ep.,  fl.  1679. 


Rev.  Simon  Browne,  Ind.,  1680  (?)- 

1732. 
Rev.  James  Craig,  P.,  1682-1744  (s.) 
Alexander  Pope,  R.  C,  1688-1744. 
Robert  Cruttenden,  Ind.,1690-1763. 
Samuel     Wesley,  Jr.,     Ep.,    1690- 

1739- 
Rev.   William    Robertson,   Ep.,    d. 

1743  (s.) 
John  Byrom,  M.D.,  Ep.,  1691-1763. 
Rev.    Robert  Seagrave,  Ep.,  1693- 

1759-   (?) 
Rev.  John  Taylor,  P.,  1694-1761. 
Rev.    Robert  Blair,  Ep.,  1699-1746 

(s.) 
Christopher  Pitt,  1699-1748. 
Rev.  William  Barton,  Ep.  1598  (?)- 

1678. 


A.D.   I 700-I 750. 


*Rev.  Philip  Doddridge,  Ind.,  1702- 

1751. 

Mary  Masters,  fl.  1702. 

*Rev.  John    Wesley,  M.E.,   1703- 

1791. 
Rev.  James  Fanch,  B.,  1704-1767. 
Rev.  Nathaniel    Cotton,  D.D.,  Ep., 

1707-1788. 
Rev.    Philip    Skelton,    Ep.,    1707- 

1787  (I.) 
*Selina  Shirley,  Lady  Huntingdon, 

Ind.,  1707-1791. 
*Rev.    Charles     Wesley,     M.  E., 

1708-1788. 
Rev.  John  Needham,  B.,  d.  1787(7) 
Bp.    Robert    Lowth,     D.D.,     Ep., 

1710-1787. 
Rev.  Daniel  Turner,  B.,  1710-1798. 
Bp.  John  Gambold,     Mor.,    1711- 

1781. 
Rev.    Benjamin  Wallin,   B.,  171 1- 

1782. 
Rev.  Joseph  Hart,  Ind.,  1712-1768. 
*Rev.   James   Hervey,    Ep.,  1714- 

1758. 


James  Grant,  P.,  d.  1785. 
Christopher  Batty,  Ind.,  1715-1797. 
James  Hutton,  Mor.,  1715-1795. 
John     Hawkesworth,  LL.D.,    Ep., 

I7I5-I773. 

*  Rev.   John    Berridge,  Ep.,  1716- 

1793- 
Miss  Anne  Steele,  B.,  1716-1778. 
Rev.  Benjamin  Beddome,  B.,  1717- 

1795. 

*  Rev.     William     Williams,     Calv. 

M.E.,    1717-1791  (w.) 
Rev.   John    Cennick,    Mor.,    1717- 

I755- 
Rev.     William     Hammond,     Calv. 

M.  E.,  1 7 19-1783. 
William  Mason,  M.  E.,  1719-1791. 
*Rev.     Thomas     Gibbons,    D.D., 

Ind.,  1720-1785. 
Admiral  Richard  Kempenfelt,  Ind., 

1720-1782 
Rev.     Joseph    Humphreys,    Mor., 

1720- 
Rev.    James    Merrick,    Ep.,    1720- 

1769. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


627 


*  John  Wingrove,  Ind.,   1720-1793. 
Rev.  John  Bakewell,  M.  E.,  1721- 

1819. 
Rev.  Thomas  Blacklock,  D.D.,  P., 

1721-1791    (s.) 
*Rev.  Peter  Williams,  Calv.  M.E., 

1722-1796  (w.) 
Rev.    Edmund    Jones,     B.,     1722- 

1765. 
Rev.  Joseph  Grigg,  Pres.,  1723  (?>- 

1768. 
John  Fountain,  B.,  1723-1800. 

*  Rev.    Samson   Occom,    P.,    1723- 

1792  (b.  America). 

*  Rev.  Henry  Venn,  Ep.,  1724-1797. 
Rev.    Andrew     Kippis,    U.,   1725- 

1795- 
William  Mason,  Ep.,  1725-1797. 
Rev.    John     Newton,    Ep.,     1725- 

1807. 
Rev.  Thomas  Olivers,  M.  E.,  1725- 

1799- 
*Hon.  and  Rev.    Walter    Shirley, 
Ep.;  1725-1786. 

*  Rev.    Martin   Madan,  Ep.,   1726- 

1790. 
Rev.    Samuel  Stennett,    B.,   1727- 

1795- 

*  Rev.      Edward     Perronet,     Dis., 

1726-1792. 
Rev.  John  Langford,  Bapt.,  d.  1790. 
Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  Ind.,  d.  1776. 
John  Fellows,  Calv.  M.  E.,d.  1785. 
Rev.  Richard  Elliott,  Ind.,d.  1788. 
John  Dracup,  B.,  d.  1795. 
Miss  Clare  Taylor,  Mor.,  d.  1778. 
Bp.  George  Home,  Ep.,  1730-1792. 
William  Cowper,  Ep.,  1 731-1800. 
William  Tucker.  B.,  1731-1814. 
*Rev.  Thomas  Haweis,  Ep.,  1732- 

1820. 
Rev.    Henry    Moore,    Dis.,     I732- 

1802. 
Rev.    James    Newton,    Ep.,    I733- 

1790. 
Rev.  John  Ogilvie,  P.,  1733-1814(5.) 


*Rev.    James    Allen,    Ind.,    1734- 

1804. 
Rev.   Benjamin   Francis,  B.,  1734- 

1799  (w.) 
Rev.   Robert   Robinson,    B.,  1735- 

1790. 
Rev.  Richard  Burdsall,  M.E.,  1735- 

1824. 
Rev.  Alexander  Pirie,  P.,  d.  1804. 
Rev.    Samuel    Medley,     B.,    1738- 

1799. 
Rev.  John  Fawcett,  B.,  1739-1817. 
Rev.  Augustus  Montague  Toplady, 

Ep.,  1740-1778. 
Rev.     William    Enfield,     U.,   1741- 

1797. 
Ambrose  Serle,  Ep.,  1742-1812. 

*  Richard  De  Courcy,    Ep.,     1743- 

1803. 

Miss   Hannah    More,    Ep.,     1745- 

1833. 
Rev.     Benjamin    Rhodes,     M.  E., 

1743-1815. 

Rev.  Ottiwell  Heginbotham,    Ind., 

1 744-1 768. 

*  Rev.  Rowland  Hill,   Ind.,    1744- 

1833. 
Rev.     William     Kingsbury,     Ind., 

1744-1818. 
Mrs.   Anna  Laetitia    Barbauld,  U., 

1743-1825. 
Rev.  Joseph  Hoskins,  Ind.,  1745- 

1788. 
Michael  Bruce,  P.,  1 746-1 767  (s.) 
Rev.    Samuel     Deacon,     B.,    1746- 

1816. 
Rev.    Richard     Cecil,     Ep.,     1748- 

1810. 
Rev.    Thomas    Jervis,     U.,     1748- 

1833- 
Rev.   Jonathan  Evans,  Ind.,  I749- 

1809. 
Rev.    Richard   Burnham,  B.,  1794- 

1810. 
Rev.    John     Morrison,    D.D.,     P., 

1 749-1 798  (s.) 


628 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


A.D.    1750-180O. 


John  Adams,  B.,  1751-1835. 

Rev.   William  Cameron,  P.,    I751- 

i8ii(s.) 
Rev.  Daniel  Herbert,  Cong.,  175*- 

1833. 
Rev.  John  Rippon,   B.,   1751-1836. 
George  Keith,  Bapt.,  fl.  1787. 
Rev.  Jehoi[a]da  Brewer,  Ind.,  1752- 

1817. 
Robert  Carr  Brackenbury,  M.  E., 

1752-1818. 
Rev.   George  Burder,   Ind.,    1752- 

1832. 
Thomas  Greene,  Ind.,  1753- 
Rev.  John  Ryland,  B.,  1753-1825. 
Rev.   Robert   Hawker,    Ep.,    I753~ 

1828. 
Rev.    George   Crabbe,    Ep.,    1754- 

1832. 
William     Drennan,     M.D.,      Dis., 

1754-1820. 
Rev.     William    Hum,   Ind.,    I754~ 

1829. 
Rev.  James  Boden,Ind.,  1757-1841. 
Rev.   Edmund  Butcher,    U.,    1757- 

1822. 
John  Dobell,  Ind.,  1757-1840. 
Miss      Susanna     Harrison,     Ind., 

I757-I784- 
Joseph  Straphan,  B.(?),  1757- 
Mrs.  Ann  M.    Taylor,    Ind.,  1758- 

1830. 
Rev.  Thomas  Gisborne,  Ep.,  1758- 

1846. 
Prof.  Joseph  Dacre    Carlyle,    Ep., 

1759-1804. 
Mrs.  Alice  Flowerdew,   U.,     1759- 

1830. 
William     Shrubsole,     Jr.,     Cong., 

1759-1829. 
Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  M.D.,  U., 

1759-1828. 
Thomas    Park,    F.S.A.,  — ,    1760- 
1835. 


Rev.  James  Upton,  B.,  1760-1834. 
Rev.  Basil  Woodd,  Ep.,  1760-1831. 
Rev.  Joseph  Swaine,  B.,  1761-1796. 
*Rev.  Job  Hupton,  B.,  1762-1849. 
Miss    Helen    Maria    Williams,  U., 

1762-1827. 
Rev.    WTilliam   Goode,    Ep.,    1762- 

1816. 
John    Mason    Good,    M.D.,     Dis., 

1764-1827. 
Mrs.  Judith  (Cowper)  Madan,  Ep., 

fl.  1792. 
Mrs.    Elizabeth    (Scott)    Williams, 

Dis.,  1708-1776  (fl.  America.) 
Rev.  John  Rowe,  Dis.,  1764-1832. 
John  Kent,  Dis.,   1766-1843. 
Rev.    William    Edward    Miller, — ., 

1766-1839. 
Rev.  Samuel  Pearce,  B.,  1766-1799. 
Rev.    John     Walker,     Ep.,    1767- 

1833  (I.) 

Alexander  Balfour,     P.,    1767-1829 

(s.  ? ) 
Rev.  Joshua  Marshman,    B.,  1768- 

1837. 
Rev.  Josiah  Pratt,  Ep.  1768-1844. 
*  Rev.    Thomas  Kelly,  Ind.,    1769- 

1855  (1.) 
Bp.   Thomas  Fanshaw   Middleton, 

Ep.,  1769-1822. 
Mrs.  (?)  Amelia  Wakeford  ("  Am— 

a")  fl.  1769. 
Mrs.  Amelia  Opie,  Q.,  1769-1853. 
Rev.    Edward    Cooper,  Ep.,   1770- 

1833. 
William    Wordsworth,    Ep.,    1770- 

1850. 
James    Montgomery,    Mor.,    1771- 

1854. 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  Ep.,  1771-1832  (s.) 
Hugh  Bourne,  Pr.  M.E.,  1772-1852. 
Rev.    Wm.  Hamilton    Drummond, 

D.D.,  P.,  1778-1865  (I.) 
James  Hogg,  P.,  1772-1835  (s.) 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


629 


Miss    Harriet   Auber,    Ep.,    1773- 

1862. 
John  Burton,  Sen.,  B.,  1773-1822. 
Rev.    William    Gadsby,    B.,  1773- 

1844. 
Mrs.  Maria   G.   Saffery,    B.,  1773- 

1858. 
Mrs.  Agnes  Bulmer,   M.  E.,  1775— 

1837- 
Rev.  Bourne  Hall  Draper,  B.,  1775- 

1843. 
Rev.    John    Cawood,     Ep.,    1775- 

1852. 
Lt. -Col. William  Blacker,  Ep.,  1775- 

1855  (1.) 
Rev.  John  Kempthorne,  Ep.,  1775- 

1838. 
Bp.  Richard  Mant,  D.D.,Ep.,  1776- 

1848. 
Thomas  Campbell, P.,  1777-1844(3.) 
Rev.  Ingram  Cobbin,  Cong.,  1777- 

1851. 
Rev.  Joshua  Marsdcn,  M.  E.,  1777- 

1837. 
Rev.  Benjamin  Williams,  P.  (?  U.) 

fl.  1778. 
Miss  (?)  Sarah  Slinn,  fl.  1779. 
Rev.   Thomas  Cotterill,  Ep.,  1779- 

1823. 
Thomas    Moore,  R.  C,    1779-1852 

(I.) 

Miss  Marianne  Nunn,    Ep.,    1779- 

1847. 
Miss  Dorothy  Ann    Thrupp,    Ep., 

1779-1847. 
Rev.   John   Buckworth,  Ep.,  1779- 

1835. 
Rev.  Ralph  Wardlaw,  Cong.,  1779- 

1853  (s.) 
William  Hone,  — ,  1780-1842. 
Rev.  George   Croly,    LL.D.,     Ep., 

1780-1860. 
Rev.  John    William   Cunningham, 

Ep.,  1780-1861. 
Rev.     John    Marriott,    Ep.,    1780- 

1825. 


Rev.  George  Heath,  U.,  1781-1822. 
Rev.  John  Bickersteth,  Ep.,  1781- 

1855. 
Rev.    James    Joyce,      Ep.,     1781- 

1850. 
Rev.  Thomas  Morell,  Cong.,  1781- 

1840. 
John    Thomson,    M.D.,   U.,   1782- 

1818. 
Rev.  William  Bengo  Collyer,  D.D., 

LL.D.,  Cong.,  1782-1854. 
Rev.  David  Whyte,  P.,  1782-1872. 
Mrs.  Ann  (Taylor)  Gilbert,  Cong., 

1782-1866. 
Rev.    Gerard    Thomas    Noel,   Ep., 

1782-1851. 
John  Bowdler,  Jr.,  1783-1815. 
Rev.  George  Clayton,  Cong.,  1783- 

1862. 
Bp.    Reginald     Heber,  D.D.,  Ep., 

1783-1826. 
Miss   Jane    Taylor,    Cong.,    1783- 

1824. 
Bernard  Barton,  Q.,  1 784-1849. 
Rev.   John   Bulmer,    Cong.,    1784- 

I857- 
Rev.  James  Harrington  Evans,  B., 

1785-1849. 
Samuel  Fletcher,  Cong.,  1785-1863. 
Sir  Robert  Grant,    Ep.,  1785-1838 

(s.) 
Rev.  Joseph  Irons,  Ind.,  1785-1852. 
Henry    Kirke   White,    Ep.,    1785- 

1806. 
Rev.     Edward     Bickersteth,     Ep., 

1786-1850. 
Rev.    Thomas   Scales,   Ind.,    1786- 

1860. 
Mrs.  Caroline  (Fry)  Wilson,    Ep., 

1787-1846. 
George    Mogridge    ("Old    Hum- 
phrey"), Ep.,  1787-1854. 
Rev.  Andrew   Reed,   Cong.,   1787- 

1862. 
Rev.    William    Jowett,   Ep.,  1787- 

1855. 


630 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


Abp.  Richard  Whately,  D.D.,  Ep., 

1787-1863. 
Joseph  John  Gurney,  Q.,i 788-1847. 
Rev.  Thomas  Raffles,  D.D.,  Cong., 

1788-1863. 
Rev.    Thomas   James   Judkin,   — , 

1788-1871. 
Rev.  John  King,  Ep.,  1789-1858. 
Josiah  Conder,  Cong.,  1789-1855. 
William  Knox,  P.,  1789-1825  (s.) 
Miss  Charlotte   Elliott,  Ep.,  1789- 

1871. 
Rev.  Prof.  James  Scholefield,  Ep., 

1789-1853. 
Aaron  Crossley  Hobart   Seymour, 

Ep.,  1789(1.) 
Rev.  Benjamin   Guest,  Ep.,    1790- 

1869. 
Rev.  Henry  March,  Ind.,  1790  (?)- 
Rev.  John  Pyer,  Cong.,  1790-1859. 
Miss  Maria  DeFleury,  Ind.,fl.  1791. 
Rev.     David    Denham,    B.,    1791- 

1848. 
James  Edmeston,  Ep.,  1791-1867. 
William  Groser,  B.,  1791-1856. 
Rev.    John     Howard    Hinton,    B., 

1791-1872. 
William  Freeman  Lloyd,  Ep.,  1791- 

1853- 
Rev.  Henry   Hart  Milman,    D.D., 

Ep.,  1791-1868. 
Rev.  William  Urwick,  D.D.,  Ind., 

1781-1868  (i.) 
Rev.  John  Keble,  Ep.,  1792-1866. 
Lady     Lucy    Elizabeth    Georgiana 

Whitmore,  Ep.,  1792-1840. 
Rev.  Robert  S.  McAll,  Dis.,  1792- 

1838  (s.) 
Sir    John     Bowring,    LL.D.,     U., 

1792-1872. 
Mrs.  "  Charlotte  Elizabeth"  Tonna, 

Ep.,  1 792-1 846. 
William  Bartholomew,  1 793-1867. 
Rev.  William  Henry  Havergal,  Ep., 

1793-1870. 
Bp.  Samuel  Hinds,  Ep.,  1793-1872. 


Rev.    Henry    Francis     Lyte,    Ep., 

1 793-1 847. 
William  McComb,  I793~(i.) 
Thomas  Furlong,  — ,  1794-1827. 
Robert  Kaye  Greville,  LL.D.,  Ep., 

1 794-1 866. 
Rev.    Richard    Winter     Hamilton, 

D.D.,  LL.D.,  Cong.,  1794-1848. 
Mrs.    Felicia    Dorothea    (Browne) 

Hemans,  Ep.,  1793-1835  (w.) 
Mrs.      Elizabeth    (Holmes)     Reed, 

Cong.,  1 794-1 867. 
Thomas  Bilby,  1794-1872. 
Richard  Hine,  fl.  1795. 
Miss  Mary  Pyper,  1795- 
Edward  Swaine,  Cong.,  1795-1862. 
Mrs.  Joan  Eliza  (Thomas)  Conder, 

Cong.,   1796- 
Rev.    William   Hiley  Bragge-Bath- 

urst,  Ep.,  1796-1877. 
Sir    Edward     Denny,    Plym.    Br., 

1796-  (1.) 
Mrs.  Jane   Lewers  Gray,  P.,  1795- 

1871. 
Rev.  Thomas  Dale,  Ep.,  1797-1870. 
Rev.    Cornelius    Elven,    B.,    1797- 

1871. 
Rev.  Edward  Mote,  B.,  1797-1874. 
Alaric  Alexander  Watts,  1797-1864. 
Joseph  Harbottle,  B.,  1798-1864. 
David  Macbeth  Moir,  M.D.  (A),  P., 

1798-1851  (s.) 
Edward   Osier,    M.D.,   Ep.,    1798- 

1863. 
Rev.  Thomas  Binney,  Cong., 1798- 

1874. 
Rev.  Baptist  Wriothesley  Noel,  B., 

1799-1873. 
Philip  Pusey,  Ep.,  1779-1855. 
Rev.  HughStowell,  Ep.,  1799-1865. 
Robert     Campbell,     R.    C,    1799- 

1868. 
Rev.     John    Moultrie,    Ep.,    1799- 

1874. 
Rev.  Rich'd  Thos.  Pembroke  Pope. 

Ep.,  1799-1859(1.) 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


631 


A.D.  1800-1850. 


Rev.  John    Reynell   Wreford,    P., 

1800-1881. 
(Rev.)  John    Nelson  Darby,  Piym. 

Br.,  1800-1882. 
Richard  Massie,  Ep.,  1800- 
Rev.    Abner  William  Brown,    Ep., 

1800- 
Rev.  Edward  Churton,    Ep.,    1800- 

1874. 
Rev.    John  Henly,    M.    E.,    1800- 

1842. 
Rev.  John  Johns,  U.,  1801-1847. 
Matthew  Bridges,  R.  C,  1800- 
Rev.  James  Holme,  Ep.,  1801- 
Mrs.  Margaret  Mackay,  1801-  (s.) 
Rev.  John   Henry  Newman,  D.D., 

R.  C,  1801- 
Joseph  Stammers,  Ep.(?),  1801- 
(Rev.)  James  George   Deck,  Plym. 

Br.,  1802- 
Rev.  John  Hampden  Gurney,  Ep., 

1802-1862. 
Rev.  John  Harris,  D.D.,  Ind.,1802- 

1856. 
Rev.    John    Aikman   Wallace,    P., 

1802-1870  (s.) 
Rev.   Ernest   Hawkins,   Ep.,  1802- 

1868. 
Rev.     Frederick    Oakeley,    R.   C., 

1802-1880. 
Mrs.     Letitia     Elizabeth  (Landon) 
Maclean  ("  L.  E.  L."),  1802-1839. 
Rev.  Isaac  Williams,  R.  C,  1802- 

1865. 
Rev.   Eliel    Davis,   B.,    1803-1849 

(fl.  America). 
Rev.  George   Smith,  D,D,,  Cong., 

1 803-1 8  70. 
Rev.  Henry   James  Buckoll,    Ep;, 

1803-1871. 
John  Burton,  Jr.,  Cong.,  1803- 
Rev.  Benjamin  Hall  Kennedy,  Ep., 

1804- 
Rev,  Amos  Sutton,  B.,  1804-1854. 


Rev.    Henry   Trend,     D.D.,    Ep., 

1804- 
John  David  Chambers,  Ep.,  1804- 
Rev.  Thomas  Davis,  Ep.,  1804- 
Rev.     Robert     Allen    Scott,     Ep., 

1804-1S70. 
Rev.  Thos.    Edwards    Hankinson, 

— ,  1S05-1S43. 
Mrs.   Sarah  (Flower)  Adams,  U., 

1805-1848. 
Benjamin  Gough,  M.E.,  1805-1883. 
Rev.Jno.  Eustace  Giles,  B.,  1805-75 
Mrs.    Elizabeth    Mills,   Ep.,   1805- 

1829. 
Rev.      Henry     Addiscott,     Cong., 

1 806-1 860. 
Rev.    John    Chandler,    Ep.,    1806- 

1S76. 
Rev.    Arthur  Tozer   Russell,    Ep., 

1 806-1 8 74. 
Mrs.  Voke,  B.,  fl.  1806. 
Rev.  John  Sterling,- Ep.,  1806-1844. 
Lady  Flora  Hastings,  1806-1839  (s.) 
Henry    Bateman,     F.R.C.S.,    Sw., 

1806-1880. 
Rev.  Wm.  Gaskell,  U.,  1806-1S84. 
Rev.     Horatius    Bonar,    D.D.,   P., 

1808-  (s.) 
Prof.  Joseph   Anstice,    Ep.,   1808- 

1836. 
Rev.  William  Lindesay  Alexander, 

D.D.,  Cong.,  1808-1884  (s.) 
Mrs.    Frances     Sara    (Fuller-Mait- 
land)    Colquhoun,       Ep.,     1809- 

1877. 
George  Rawson,  Ind.,  1807- 
Rev.  Edward  Arthur  Dayman,  Ep., 

i8Q7^ 
Rev.     Thomas     Rawson     Taylor, 

Cong.,  1807-J835. 
Abp.    Richard    Chenevix    Trench, 

D.D.,  Ep.,  1807-1886(1.) 
Bp.  Christopher  Wordsworth,  D,D„ 

Ep.,   1807-1885. 


632 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


Henry  Fothergill    Chorley,    Ep.(?), 

1808-1872. 
Prof.  John  Stuart  Blackie,  P.,  1809- 

(s.) 
Rev.  Edward   Harland,    Ep.,  1809- 
Mrs.    Jane   (Fox)   Crewdson,    Ep., 

1809-1863  (w.) 
Henry  Joy  McCracken  Hope,  Pr.(?), 

1809-1872  (1.) 
Rev.  Herbert  Kynaston,  D.D.,  Ep., 

1809-1878. 
Rev.    Henry    Alford,     D.D.,    Ep., 

1810-1871. 
John  Beaumont,  Ep.,  1810- 
Rev.  Thomas  Rawson  Birks,   Ep., 

1810-1883. 
Rev.    Samuel    Simpson    England, 

Cong.,  1810- 
Rev.  Philip  James  Wright,   Meth., 

1810-1863. 
Andrew  Young,  Pres.,  1807- 
Rev.    Ebenezer    Cobham    Brewer, 

LL.D.,  Ep.,  1810- 
Rev.  John  Samuel  Bewley  Monsell, 

Ep.,  1811-1875. 
Mrs.  Jane  Catherine  (Lundie)  Bonar, 

P.,  1811-1885. 
Rev.  William    Mercer,    Ep.,   1811- 

1873. 
Rev.   William  Josiah  Irons,   D.D., 

Ep.,  1812-1883. 
Mrs.    Emma    (Leslie)    Toke,     Ep., 

1812-1878. 
Mrs.    Elizabeth    (Rooker)    Parson, 

Cong.,  1812-1872. 
Rev.   William   Pollock,   Ep.,   1812- 

1873  (I-) 
Henry  Bennett,  1813-1868. 
Samuel  Prideaux  Tregelles,  Plym. 

Br.,  1813-1875. 
Joseph  Edwards  Carpenter,  Ph.D., 

1813- 
Mrs.    Jemima    (Thompson)    Luke, 

Ind.,  1813- 
Rev.    Christian    Henry    Batcman, 

Ep.,  1813- 


Rev.     Rob't     Murray    McCheyne, 

D.D.,  P.,  1813-1843  (s.) 
Mrs.   Mary    (Lundie)    Duncan,    P., 

1814-1840. 
Rev.  Edward  Caswall,  R.  C,  1814- 

1878. 
Rev.  Thomas  William  Baxter  Ave- 

ling,  Cong.,  1815-1884. 
Rev.  Frederick  Wm.  Faber,  R.  C, 

1814-1863. 
Rev.  Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley,  D.D., 

Ep.,  1815-1881. 
Hablot  Knight  Browne,  1815-1882. 
Rev.  Francis  Minden  Knollis,  Ep., 

1815-1863. 
Rev. Thomas  Whytehead,Ep.,i8i5- 

1843. 
Rev.  William  Dickinson,  Ep.,  1816- 

1868. 
Rev.    Christopher    Newman    Hall, 

D.D.,  Cong.,  1816- 
Rev.  John  Ernest  Bode,  Ep.,  1816- 

1874. 
Rev.  Joseph  Denham  Smith,  Cong., 

1816- 
Oswald  Allen,  M.  E.,  1816- 
Rev.  Charles  John  Vaughan,  D.D., 

Ep.,  1816- 
Rev.  John  Curwen,  Cong.,  1817- 
Rev.  Henry  Downton,  Ep.,  1818- 
Rev.     H.     Mayo      Gunn,      Cong., 

1818- 
Rev.   Thomas  Toke  Lynch,  Cong., 

1818-1871. 
Rev.  John  Ross  Macduff,  P.,  1818- 

(s.) 
John  George  Fleet,  1818- 
Rev.  John  Mason  Neale,  D.D.,  Ep., 

1818-1866. 
James  Hamilton,  Ep.,  1819- 
H.  R.  H.  Prince  Albert,  Ep.,  1S19- 

1861. 
Mrs.    Mary   (Cotterill)   Bourdillon, 

Ep.,  1819-1870. 
Rev.  Thomas  HornblowerGill,  Ep., 

1819- 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


633 


Bp.  James  Russell  Woodford, D.D., 

Ep.,  1820-1885. 
Rev.  Clarence  Augustus  Walworth, 

R.  C,  1820- 
Rev.    Archer    Thompson    Gurney, 

Ep.,  1820- 
Rev.  (?)  George  Gill,  1820- 
Miss    Anna    Laetitia    Waring,    Q., 

1820- (w.) 
John  Henry  Hopkins,  S.T.D.,  Ep., 

1820- 
Rev.  Sir    Henry   Williams    Baker, 

Bart.,  Ep.,  1821-1877. 
Rev.  James  Elwin  Millard,   D.D., 

Ep.,  1821- 
Mrs.  Eliza    Fanny  (Goffe)    Morris, 

1821- 
Rev.  Edw'd  Hayes  Plumptre,  D.D., 

Ep.,  1821- 
Rev.    William    Cooke,    Ep.,    1821- 

1884  (?) 
Rev.  Greville  Phillimore,  Ep.,  1821- 

1884. 
Rev.    Gilbert    Rorison,   Ep.,   1821- 

1869  (s.) 
Bp.  William  Walsham  How,  D.D., 

Ep.,  1823- 
Horatio  Nelson,  Earl  Nelson,  Ep., 

1823- 
Rev.  George  Burden  Bubier,  Cong., 

1823-1869. 
Rev.   Tressilian    George    Nicholas, 

Ep.,  1823-1860. 
Rev.  James  Drummond  Burns,  P., 

1823-1864  (s.) 
Rev.  Henry  Twells,  Ep.,  1823- 
Francis  Turner  Palgrave.Ep.,  1824- 
Mrs.    Cecil    Frances    (Humphreys) 

Alexander,  Ep.,  1823- 
Rev.  Godfrey  Thring,  Ep.,  1823- 
Rev.  William    Bright,    D.D.,    Ep., 

1824- 
Rev.    George    MacDonald,   LL.D., 

Ep.,  1824- 
Bp.     Edward    Henry    Bickersteth, 

D.D.,  Ep.,  1825- 


Miss  Adelaide  Anne  Procter,  R.  C, 

1825-1864. 
Rev.   Charles  Tamberlane   Astley, 

Ep.,  1825- 
Albert  Midlane,  Ep.,  1S25- 
Rev.  Laurence  Tuttiett,  Ep.,  1825- 
Miss  Jane  Borthwick,  Ep.,  i825~(s.) 
Mrs.  Eric  Findlater  {ne'e  Borthwick), 

Ep.,  182- 
William  Whiting,  Ep.,  1825-1878. 
Rev.  George    Hunt   Smyttan,   Ep., 

182- 
Rev.  John  Ellerton,  Ep.,  1826- 
Rev.  Thomas  Johnson  Potter,  R.  C, 

1827-1873. 
Mrs.  Emma  Frances  (Shuttleworth) 

Bevan,  1827- 
Rev.  David   Everard    Ford,  Cong., 

1828  (b.  1796?). 
James  Lingley,  B.,  fl.  1829- 
Abp.  Edward  White  Benson,  D.D., 

Ep.,  1829- 
Miss    Catherine    Winkworth,    Ep., 

1829-1878. 
Rev.  Frederic  Whitfield,  Ep.,  1829- 
Mrs.     Elizabeth  (Rundle)   Charles, 

fi.  Ep.,  182S- 
Bp.    Wm.     Dalrymple     Maclagan, 

D.D.,  Ep.,  1826- 
Rev.    Robert    Hall    Baynes,    Ep., 

1831- 
Rev.  Francis  Pott,  Ep.,  1832- 
Rev.  Charles  Philpot,  fl.  1831. 
Rev.  Richard  Frederick  Littledale, 

LL.D.,  Ep.,  1S33- 
Rev.  Henry  Collins,  R.  C,  1834?- 

188- 
Rev.    Sabine    Baring-Gould,     Ep., 

1834- 
Rev.  Charles  Haddon  Spurgeon,B., 

1834- 
Charles  Stuart  Calverly,  Ep.,  1834- 

1884. 
Folliott    Sandford  Pierpoint,    Ep., 

1835- 
Mrs. Elizabeth  Codner,  Ep.,  i835(?)- 


634 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


Miss  Frances  Ridley  Havergal,  Ep., 

1836-1879. 
Rev.  John  East,  Ep.,  fl.1836. 
Rev.  Thomas  Benson  Pollock,  Ep., 

1836- 
Robert  Cleaver  Chapman,  fl.  1837. 
William  Chatterton  Dix,  Ep.,  1837- 
Rev.     George       Wade     Robinson, 

Cong.,  1838-1877  (I.) 
Rev.  Gerard  Moultrie,  Ep.,  1839- 
Rev.    Samuel    John     Stone,      Ep., 

1839- 
Mrs.  E.  Shepcote,  fl.  1840. 
Miss  Frances    Elizabeth  Cox,  Ep., 

fl.  1841. 
Rev.  John  Antes  Latrobe,  Ep.,  fl. 

1841. 
Mrs.  Julia  Anne  (Marshall)  Elliott, 

Ep.,  d.  1841. 
Mrs.  Charitie  Lees    (Smith)     Ban- 
croft, Ep.,  1841- 
Rev.  Hugh  White,   Ep.,  d.  1840(1.) 
Rev.  Richard  Hayes  Robinson, Ep., 

1842- 
George  Robinson,  fl.  1842. 
Mrs.  Ada  (Cambridge)  Cross,    Ep., 

1844- 
George  Washington    Langford,  fl. 

1847  (I.) 
Mrs.  Mary  Fawler  Maude,  Ep.,  fl. 

1848. 
Rev.  David  T.  K.  Drummond,  Ep., 

fl.  1850. 
William  John     Copeland,    Ep.,    fl. 

1848. 
Rev.  William  W.  Walford,  fl.  1846. 
Mrs.  Jane  Euphemia  (Brown)  Sax- 

by,  Ep.,  fl.  1849. 
Rev.  William  Thos.  Bullock,  D.D., 

Ep.,  d.  1879. 
Rev.  James  Gabb,  Ep.,  fl.  1854. 
Caroline  Dent,  fl.  1855, 
Mrs.  Mary  (Bowley)  Peters,  Ep.,  d. 

1856. 
Miss    Catherine      Parr    ('•  Holme 

Lee  "),  A.  1856, 


Mrs.   Anne  Ross  (Cundell)  Cousin. 

P.,fl.  1857. 
James  Procter,  Cong.,  fl.  1858. 
Rev.  Samuel  Whitlock  Gandy,  Ep., 

d.  1858  (?)- 
Miss    Christina     Forsyth,    Ep.,    d. 

1859. 
Lady     Mary    Margaret   Cockburn 

Campbell.  Ep.,  d.  1859. 
Rev.    John   William    Hewett,  Ep., 

fl.  1859. 
Henry  Herbert  Wyatt,  Ep.,  fl.  1859. 
Rev.  Joseph    D.   Thrupp,   Ep.,  fl. 

i860. 
Miss  H.  Whittemore,  fl.  i860. 
Rev.  Phipps  Onslow,  Ep.,  fl.   i860. 
Miss  Mary   Dunlop   Moultrie,  Ep., 

fl.  i860. 
G.  Tritton,  Ep.,  fl.  1861. 
C.  E.  May,  Ep.  (?),  fl.  1861. 
William  Russell,  fl.  1861. 
Edward  Osier,  M.D.,Ep.,  d.  1863. 
Miss  Jane  Montgomery   Campbell, 

fl.  1861. 
Edward  Wilton  Eddis,  Irvingite,  fl. 

1864. 
Miss  Jane  Elizabeth   Leeson,   Ep., 

fl.  1864. 
Miss  Katherine  Hankey,  fl.  1867. 
James  John  Cummins,  Ep.,  d.  1867. 
Rev.  William  Cowan,  Ep.,  fl.   1878 

(1.) 

Mrs.  Urania  L.  Bailey,  fl.    1870. 
Elizabeth  C.  Clephane.P.,  1830-69. 
Lord   Plunket,  Bp.  of  Meath,  Ep., 

fl.  1879  (i.) 
Rev.  Henry  James  Buckoll,  Ep.,  d. 

1871. 
Rev.    Frederick   George   Lee,  Ep., 

d.  1868. 
Rev.  Henry  Arthur  Martin,  Ep.,  fl. 

1872. 
Mary    F.     Cusack     (the    "Nun    of 

Kenmare  "),  A.  1878  (1.) 
John  Morrison  Sloan,  fl.  1880. 
Miss  Sarah  Doudney,  fl.  1881. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


635 


Mrs.  Alessie  (Bond)   Faussett,  Ep., 

fl.  1878(1.) 
Charles  Lawrence  Ford,  fl.  1865. 


Mrs.  R.  H.  Taylor,  Plym.  Br.,  fl.  ? 
Mrs.    Mary   Jane    (Deck)  Walker, 
Ep.,  fl.  1868. 


AMERICAN    HYMN-WRITERS. 


The  "  Bay  Psalm-Book  "  1639  (by 
John  Eliot,  1604-1690,  Rev. 
Thomas  Welde,  b.  Eng.,  d. 
1660,  and  Rev.  Richard  Mather, 
b.  Eng.,  1 596-1669). 


Pres.    Henry    Dunster,     Cong.,  d. 

1659- 
Anne  Bradstreet,  Pur.,   1612-1672, 

b.  Eng. 
Rev.  Michael  Wigglesworth,  Pur., 

1631-1705  (b.  Eng.) 


Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  D.D.,  F.R.S., 

Cong.,  1663-1728. 
Rev.  John  Barnard,    Cong.,   1681- 

1770. 
Thomas  Prince,  Cong.,  1687-1758. 
Mrs.    Elizabeth     (Scott)   Williams, 

Cong.,  1708  (?)-i776  (b.  Eng.  ) 
Benjamin   Cleveland,   B.,  1717  (?)- 

1790  (?) 


P.,    1723- 


P., 


A.D.   I 700-I 750. 

Rev.    Samson    Occom 

1792  (Indian). 
Rev.    Samuel     Davies,    D.D 

1724-1761. 
Mrs.  Sarah  Bache,  Q.,  1745-1808. 
Rev.  Nathan    Strong,  D.D.,  Cong. 

1748-1816. 
Rev.   Henry    Alline,   Cong.,    1748 

1785. 


A.D.   1750-1800. 


Rev.  Timothy  Dwight,  D.D.,Cong., 

1752-1817. 
Rev.    Thomas    Baldwin,   B.,  1753- 

1825. 
Rev.  John  Leland,  B.,   1754-1841. 
Joel  Barlow,  Cong.,  1755-1812. 
Rev.    Abijah  Davis,    Pres.,    1763- 

1817. 
James  Hart,  fl.  1799. 
Oliver      Holden,     Baptist,      1765- 

1844. 
John    Quincy    Adams,    U.,     1767- 

1848. 
Rev.    John    B—    Matthias,    M.E., 

1767-1848. 
Samuel  J.  Smith,  Q.,  1771-1835. 
Rev.   Joshua    Marsden,    1777-1S37 

(b.   England).    M.  E. 
Francis    Scott     Key,     Ep.,     1779- 

1843. 


Rev.  John   Adam  Granade,   M.  E., 

1770-1806. 
Mrs.    Phoebe   Hinsdale  Brown,  C, 

1782-1862. 
Rev.    Charles    Giles,   M.E.,    1783- 

1867. 
Rev.   Asahel  Nettleton,    P.,    1783- 

1844. 
Thomas     Hastings,     Mus.D.,     P., 

1784-1872. 
Rev.  Wm.  Allen,   D.D.,  C,  1784- 

1S68. 
Rev.    John      Pierpont,     U.,    1785- 

1866. 
Rev.  Nathan  Sydney  Smith  Beman, 

D.D.,  P.,  1786-1871. 
Rev.    Josiah    Hopkins,    P.,     17S6- 

1862. 
Rev.  Prof.   Henry  Mills,  P.,  1786- 

1867. 


6S6 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


Prof.     Andrews      Norton,     Unit., 

1786-1853. 
Rev.    Thomas   Hopkins  Gallaudet, 

D.D.,  Ep.,  1787-1851. 
Mrs.  Eliza  Lee  (Cabot)  Follen,    U., 

1787-1860. 
Mrs.    Emma    C—  (Hart)    Willard, 

U.(?)  1787-1870. 
Rev.  Joseph  Rusling,  M.  E.,  1788- 

1839  (b.  Epworth,  Eng.) 
Rev.  Seth    Mattison,   M.  E.,   17S8- 

1843. 
Rev.  Adoniram    Judson,  B.,    1788- 

1850. 
Bp.  Henry  UstickOnderdonk,D.D., 

Ep.,  1789-1858. 
Miss  Hannah    Flagg    Gould,  1789- 

1865,  P. 
Rev.  Prof.Elea'zar  Thompson  Fitch, 

Cong.,  1791-1871. 
Mrs.  Lydia  Howard  (Huntley)  Sig- 

ourney,  C,  1791-1865. 
Rev.    Samuel    Gilman,     U.,    1791- 

1858. 
[John  Howard  Payne,  1792-1852.] 
Augustus  Lucas  Hillhouse,   Cong., 

1792-1859. 
Rev. William  Mitchell,  Cong.,  1793- 

1867. 

A.D.  180O-1850. 


Rev.  Nathaniel  Langdon  Frothing- 

ham,  U.,  1 793-1 870. 
Rev.     David     Nelson,     M.D.,     P., 

1 793-1 844. 
Rev.   Nathaniel    Colver,   D.D.,  B., 

1 794-1 870. 
Rev.  William  Bingham  Tappan,  C, 

1 794-1 849. 
Rev.    William    Augustus    Muhlen- 
berg, D.D.,  Ep.,  1796-1877. 
William  Cullen  Bryant,   U.,   1794- 

1878. 
Rev.  James  Wallis    Eastburn,  Ep., 

1797-1819. 
Rev.    James    Davis    Knowles,    B., 

1798-1838. 
Bp.    George 

D.D.,  Ep. 


Doane, 


Washington 
1799-1859. 

Mrs.  Abigail  (Bradley)  Hyde, Cong., 
1799-1872. 

Rev.  William  Bourne    Oliver  Pea- 
body,  U.,  1799-1847. 

Rev.    Samuel    Simon     Schmucker, 
D.D.,  Luth.,  1799-1873. 

Rev.  Jared  Bell  Waterbury,  D.D., 
P.(?)  1 790-1 876. 

Rev.     Thomas    Cogswell    Upham, 
Cong.,  1799-1872. 


George    Pope    Morris,  Ep(?)    1802- 

1864. 
Rev.  Leonard  Bacon,  D.D.,  Cong., 

1802-1881. 
Rev.  William  Henry  Furness,  D.D., 

U.,  1802- 
Rev.  John    Newton    Brown,  D.D., 

B.,  1803-1868. 
Mrs.  Sarah  (Boardman)  Judson,  B., 

1803-1845. 
Rev.   Nathaniel  Emmons  Johnson, 

P.,  1804-1S47. 
Rev.    James    Waddell    Alexander, 

D.D.,  P.,  1804-1859. 
Rev.  William  Crosswell,  D.D.,  Ep., 

1 804-1 8  54. 


Rev.  George  Washington  Bethune, 

D.D.,  R.  P.  D.,  1805-1862. 
Rev.  George  Barton  Ide,  D.D.,  B., 

1805-1872. 
Rev.  Frederic  Henry  Hedge,  D.D., 

U.,  1805- 
Bp.  Wm.    Rollinson  Whittingham, 

D.D.,  Ep.,  1805-1879. 
Rev.      Nehemiah     Adams,     D.D., 

Cong.,  1806-1878. 
Harriet  Cecilia  Phillips,  M.  E. ,  1 806- 
Rev.  Edwin  Francis  Hatfield,  D.D., 

P.,  1807-1883. 
Rev.  Jefferson  Hascall,  M.E.,  1807- 
Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow,  U., 

1807-1882. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


637 


Mrs.  Phoebe   Palmer,  M.  E.,  1807- 

1874. 
Rev.    Rcswell    Park,    Ep.,     1807- 

1869. 
Nathaniel  Parker  Willis,  1807-1867. 
Mrs.     Sarah    Elizabeth   (Appleton) 

Miles,  U.,  1807- 
Rev.    Ray    Palmer,    D.D.,    Cong., 

1808- 
John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  Q.,  1808- 
Rev.  Samuel  Francis  Smith,  D.D., 

B.  1808- 
Rev.  Thomas    Hewlings    Stockton, 

D.D.,  M.   P.,  1808-1868. 
Rev.    Joseph    Addison    Alexander, 

D.D.,  P.,  1809-1860. 
Bp.    George    Burgess,    D.D.,    Ep., 

1809-1866. 
Mrs.  Lydia  Baxter,  B.,  1809-1874. 
Rev.   Stephen  Greenleaf  Bullfinch, 

U.,  1809-1870. 
Rev.   Robert   Turnbull,  D.D.,    B., 

1809-1877  (b.  Scotland.) 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  M.D.,  U., 

1809- 
Rev.  Samuel  Young  Harmer,  M.E., 

1809- 
Daniel  Clement  Colesworthy.Cong., 

1810- 
Rev.  James  Freeman    Clarke,    U., 

1810- 
Mrs.  Mary  Stanley  Bunce  (Palmer) 

(Dana)  Shindler,  Ep.,  1810- 
Alfred  Alexander  Woodhull,  M.D., 

P.,  1810-1836. 
Willis  Gaylord  Clark,  — ,  1810-1841. 
Rev.  Edmund  Hamilton  Sears,  U., 

1810-1876. 
William  Hunter,  D.D.,  M.  E.,  1811- 

1877  (b.   Ireland). 
Rev.  Elias  Nason,  Cong.,  1811- 
Mrs.      Frances      Miriam      (Berry) 

Whitcher,  1812-1852. 
Rev.  John  Sullivan  D wight,  Cong., 
1812- 


Rev.  Theodore    Parker,    U.,  1812- 

1860. 
William  Henry  Burleigh,  U.,  1812- 

1871. 
Rev.     Thomas     Summers,     D.D., 

M.  E.,   1812- 
Thomas  MacKellar,  P.,  1812- 
Mrs.    Cath.    Harbison  (Waterman) 

Esling,  Ep.,  1812- 
Prof.   George   Nelson    Allen,    Ep., 

1812-1877. 
Rev.     Sewall     Sylvester     Cutting, 

D.D.,  B.,  1813-1882. 
Rev.  Samuel  Wolcott,  D.D.,  Cong., 

1813-1886. 
Rev.  Archibald  Kenyon,  B.,  1813- 
Rev.  Alfred  Arthur  Graley,  Cong., 

1813- 
Rev.  Jones  Very,  U.,  1813-1880. 
Rev.  Charles  Timothy  Brooks,  U., 

1813-1883. 
Rev.  John    Hart    Stockton,  M.  E., 

1813-1877. 
Rev.   Edwin  Henry    Nevin,   D.D., 

P.,  1814- 
Mrs.    Mary  Hamlin  (Mann)    Max- 
well, M.  E.,  1814-1853. 
Rev.  Edwin  Hubbell  Chapin,  D.D., 

Univ.,  1814-1880. 
Rev.  Charles  William  Everest,  Ep., 

1814-1877. 
Rev.  Sidney  Dyer,  B.,  1814- 
Mrs.      Harriet     (Beecher)     Stowe, 

Cong.,  1814- 
Rev.  Russell  Sturgis  Cook,  Cong., 

1814-1864. 
Jacob  R— Scott,  B.,  1815-1861. 
Rev.    John    Perry    Betker,    181 5- 

1879. 
Mrs.  Maria  Frances  Anderson,  B., 

1819-  (b.  France). 
Christopher  Christian  Cox,   M.D., 

LL.D.,  M.P.,   1816-1882. 
Rev.  Sylvanus  Dryden  Phelps,  B., 

1816- 
Rev.  Daniel  March,  D.D.,  P.,  1816- 


638 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


Eli  Yates  Reese,  M.  P.,  1816-1861. 
Mrs.  Lucy  Evelina  (Metcalf)  Aker- 

man,  Univ.  (?),  1816-1874. 
Rev.  Edmund  Turney,    B.,    1817- 

1872. 
Rev.  Henry  Harbaugh,  Ger.   Ref., 

1817-1867. 
Rev.  Thomas  Hill,  D.D.,  U.,  1818- 
Bp.  Arthur  Cleveland  Coxe,  D.D., 

Ep.,  1818- 
Rev.  George  Duffield   (Jr.),  D.D., 

P.,  1818- 
Robert  Morris,  LL.D.,  P.,  1818- 
Rev.  James  Henry  Bancroft,  1819- 

1844. 
Rev.  Charles  Beecher,  Cong.,  1819- 
Rev.  Samuel  Longfellow,  U.,  1S19- 
Mrs.  Helen  Elizabeth  Brown,  1819- 
Bp.     Frederic     Dan     Huntington, 

D.D.,  Ep.,  1819- 
Richard  Storrs  Willis,  R.C.,  1819- 
Rev.  Benjamin  Webb,  1819- 
Mrs.   Elizabeth  (Payson)  Prentiss, 

P.,  1818-1878. 
William  Bennett,  1818- 
Mrs.  Sarah  Emily  York,   R.  P.  D. 

(?)  1819-1851. 
Miss  Alice  Cary,  Ind.,  1820-1871. 
Anson    Davis    Fitz-Randolph,    P., 

1820- 
Rev.     Calvin     Sears     Harrington, 

M.  E.,  1820-1886. 
Mrs.   Mary  Ann  (Pepper)  Kidder, 

M.  E.,   1820- 
Jeremiah       Moorehouse       Pelton, 

P.,  1821- 
Rev.  Henry  Martyn  Dexter,  D.D., 

Cong.,   1821- 
Rev.  Leonard  Swain,  Cong.,  1821- 

1869. 
Rev.    Aaron     Robarts    Wolfe,    P., 

1821- 
Mrs.      Martha     Matilda     (Brustar) 

Stockton.  M.  E.,  1821-1885. 
Miss  Eliza  Scudder,  Ep.,  1821- 


Rev.  Alexander    Ramsey    Thomp- 
son, D.D.,  R.  P.  D.,  1S22- 
Miss  Caroline  May,  Ep.,    1822(7)- 

(b.  England). 
Rev.    Samuel   Johnson,   U.,   1822- 

1882. 
(Rev.)    Col.     Thomas     Wentworth 

Higginson,  U.,  1S23- 
Rev.  Charles  Collins,  P.,  1823- 
Rev.  Frank  Bottome,  D.D.,  M.  E., 

1823- 
Rev.  William  Orcutt  Cushing,  Sw., 

1823- 
Mrs.    Fanny   Jane    (Crosby)    Van 

Alstyne,  M.  E.,  1823- 
Rev.  Mark  R — Watkinson,  Bapt., 

1824-1877. 
Miss  Phcebe  Cary,  Ind.,  1824-1871. 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cynthia  (Andrews) 

Ellsworth,  1824- 
R.  S.  James,  B.,  1824- 
John  Miller  Evans,  B.,  1825- 
Rev.  Basil    Manly,  Jr.,   D.D.,    B., 

1825- 
Rev.  Prof.  Robinson  Potter  Dunn, 

P.,  1825-1867. 
Rev.  James  Wheaton  Smith,  D.D., 

B.,  1826- 
Prof.    William    Fisk   Sherwin,    B., 

1826- 
Rev.  Peter  Stryker,  D.D.,  P.,  1826- 
Mrs.    Mary  B—  C—  Slade,   1S26- 

1882. 
Rev.     Robert    Lowry,     D.D.,     B., 

1826- 
Francis  Miles  Finch,  P.,  1827- 
Rev.  Lewis  Hartsough,  M.E.,  1823- 
Mrs.     Caroline     (Sprague)    Smith, 

1827- 
Rev.  Charles    Seymour    Robinson, 

D.D.,  LL.D.,  P.,  1829- 
Christopher  Ruby  Blackall,  M.D., 

B.,  1830- 
Horace    Lorenzo    Hastings,    Ind., 

1831- 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


639 


Mrs.     Grace    Webster    (Haddock) 

Hinsdale,  Cong.,  1832- 
Rev.   Benj.   Russell  Hanby,    1833- 

1867. 
Mrs.     Emily     Huntington    Miller, 

M.  E.,  1833- 
Rev.  Pres.  William  Fairfield  War- 
ren, D.D.,  M.  E.,  1833- 
Mrs.     Margaret     Elizabeth    (Hoff) 

Carmichael,  M.  E.,  1833- 
Rev.  Prof.  Joseph  Henry  Gilmore, 

B.,  1834- 
Rev.  Alexander  Clark,  D.D.,  M.  P., 

1834-1879. 
Nathaniel  Niles,  Ep.,  1835- 
Mrs.  Annie  Sherwood  Hawks,  B., 

1835- 
Mrs.     Ellen    Maria    (Huntington) 

Gates,  P.,  1835- 
Theodore    Frelinghuysen    Seward, 

P.,  1835- 
Rev.  John  Atkinson,  D.D.,  M.  E., 

1835- 
Margaret  Elizabeth  Winslow,  1836- 
Mrs.     Maria    Burbank    (Williams) 

Barnes,    B.   ("  Kate   Cameron"), 
1836-1873. 


Rev.  Arthur  Tappan  Pierson,  D.D., 

P..  1S36- 
Mrs.      Katharine      (Hardenburgh) 

Johnson,  P.,  1838- 
Philip    [p]    "P."  Bliss,   B.,   1838- 

1876.. 
Rev.     Elisha    Albright     Hoffman, 

M.  E.,  1839- 
Mrs.  Mary  Holden(Coggswell)  Sew- 
ard    ("Agnes     Burney "),      P., 

1839- 
Eden  Reeder  Latta,  1839- 
Rev.   Jonathan    Burch   Atchinson, 

M.  E.,  1840-1882. 
Rev.  Samuel  (Augustus)  Willough- 

by  Duffield,  P.,  1843- 
Mrs.    May    Louise   (Riley)    Smith, 

1S43- 
(Rev.  ?)     Eben    Eugene     Rexford, 

Univ.,  1847- 
R.ev.     Melancthon   Woolsey   Stry- 

ker,  P.,  1851- 
Mrs.  Ethel  (Lynn)  Beers,  d.  1880. 
Rev.   Edmund  Simon  Lorenz,  Un. 

Breth.,  1854- 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  (Lee)  Demarest,  fi. 

i860. 
Francis  Butler  St.  John,  1860-1879. 


INDEX   OF   AUTHORS. 


Note. — The  asterisk  designates  the  prominent  biography  ;    the  numbers  previous  to  the 
dash  refer  to  the  authors  ;  the  numbers  subsequent  to  the  dash  relate  to  their  hymns. 


Abelard,  P.,  ^440 —  2,  440,  441. 
Adam  of  St.  Victor, —  112,  416. 
Adams,  Mrs.  S.  F.,  *383 —  222,  382. 
Addison,  Joseph,  *527 —  222,  527, 

529,  539.  593- 
Akerman,  Mrs.    L.   E.,  *38g —  389. 
Albinus,  J.  G.,  *57i—  57o,  57L 
Alderson,  Mrs.  E.  S.,  *335 —  335. 
Alexander,  Mrs.  C.  F.,  445,  ^607 — 

275.  445,  535,  607. 
Alexander,  J.  A.,  ^382 —  382. 
Alexander,  J.  W.,  ^430 —  382,  418, 

430. 
Alford,  H.,  *i2o,   211,  513 —  120, 

155,  513. 
Allen,  James,  *I70 —  171,  454,  508. 
Altenburg,  J.  M.,  150 — . 
Ambrose, —  170,  399,  424. 
Anatolius,  St., —   *i5i —   151,  152 

517- 
Anderson,  Mrs.  M.  F.,  ^451 —  451. 
Andrew,  St.,  of  Crete, —  92. 
"  Angelus  Silesius  "  (Johann  Schef- 

fler),  *I36,  *i77,  *545~  136,  284. 
Anon., —  47,  90,  127,  145,202,214, 

219,  291,  306,  325,  333,  395,  400, 

461,  473,  476,  477,  478,  510,  514, 

566,  579.  589. 
Anstice,  Joseph,  ^144 —  144,  336. 
Aquinas,  Thomas,  — 215,  396,  485. 
Astley,  C.  T.,  ^585 —  585. 
Atkinson,  J.,^588 —  588'. 
Auber,  Miss    Harriet,   *45i —  210, 

445,  45i,  505,  619. 
Aveling,  T.  W.  B.,  *20i —  201. 
Aylward,  J.  D., —  221. 


Bacon,  Leonard,  *4i4 —  414,  566. 
Baker,  H.   W.,  *77 —  77,  440,  445, 

525,  546,  592. 
Bakewell,  T.,  *202 —  202,  281. 
Bancroft,     Mrs.    C.    L.,    *58—  58, 

210. 
Barbauld,   Mrs.  A.    L.,    *225 —  76, 

225,  458. 
Baring-Gould,  S.,   127,  *450 —  127, 

394,  45o,  568. 
Barton,  B.,  ^582—  582. 
Bateman,  C.  H.,  *igi — . 
Bateman,  H.,  "'190 —  190. 
Bathurst,  W.  H.,  *ig6 —  196,  304, 

407. 
Batty,  C,  —171. 
Baxter,  R.,  ^330 —  330. 
Baynes,  R.  H.,  *304 — 304. 
Beddome,  Benjamin,  45,  100,  ^132, 
381—45,  95,   100,   113,  132,   133, 
257,  314.  38i,  459,  572. 
Benson,  E.  W.,  *6g—  69,  86. 
Bernard  of  Clairvaulx, —  299,  300, 

317,  430,  600. 
Bernard  of  Cluny, — 78,.  154,  271. 
Berridge,    J.,    67,    *339,  604 — 67, 

339,  340. 
Bethune,  Geo.  W.,  265,*409,  585 — 

265,  409,  585. 
Bickersteth,  E.  H.,  *388—  388,  399, 

415,  455,  570. 
Binney,  Thomas,  ^138 —  138. 
Birks,  T.  R.,  *4ig—  419. 
Blackie,  John  Stuart,  *33— -  33. 
Blacklock,  T.,  *io9 —  109. 
Bliss,  P.  P.,  -236—  236. 


642 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


Boden,  James,  ^270 —  270. 
Bonar,   Horatius,  68,  *i68—  2,  68, 

71,   So,    log,  140,    168,    174,   211, 

217,  238,  241,  247,  3S8,  514,  560, 

570,  602,  622. 
Bonaventura, —  400. 
Borthwick,    Miss    Jane,    *3i —  31, 

177,  205,  298,  371,  462. 
Bourne,  H., —  622. 
Bowring,  E.  A., —  599. 
Bowring,    John,    162,   *26o,    583 — 

162,  163,  260,  263,  581,  583. 
Brace,    Seth    Collins,    246,    *359 — 

359- 
Breviary,   Paris, —  47,  77,  84,   337, 

394,  399,  583,  601. 
Breviary,  Roman, —  212. 
Breviary,   Mozarabic, —  135. 
Breviary  of  Le  Mans, —  445. 
Brewer,  J.,  270 — . 
Bridges,  M.,  *I25 —  125,  210,  464. 
Brown,  Mrs.  P.  H.,  98,  *242 —  242, 

424,  585- 
Brown,  Wm., —  *59i —  591. 
Browne,  J.  E.,  *4i6 —  416. 
Browne,  Simon,  "'96 — 96,  102,  200. 
Browne,  Sir  Thomas, —  172. 
"  Bristol    Student."     See     B.     H. 

Draper,  *490 —  490. 
Bruce,  Michael,  64,  *6o8 —  64,  607. 
Bryant,  W.   C,  *44 — 43,  44,  320, 

439- 
Buckoll,  H.  J.,  *io8—  108. 
Bulfinch,  S.  G.,  *204 —  204. 
Burder,  George,  *5o8 —  121,  508. 
Burgess,  G.,  '-522 —  522. 
Burleigh,  W.  H.,  *3i3 —  313. 
Burnham,  R.,  *300 —  300,  534. 
Burns,  J.  D.,  ^499 —  499. 
Burton,  John,  Sr.,  -216 —  216,  438. 
Burton,  John,  Jr.,  *438 — 438. 
Butcher,  E.,  *6i8—  618. 
Byrom,  J.,  *g2 —  92. 

Cameron,  C.  I.,  *405 —  405. 
Cameron  Wm.,  "'575 _  575- 


Campbell,  Miss  J.  M.,  *588  —587. 
Campbell,  Lady  Margaret,  *45S — 

458. 
Campbell,  R.,  -'47,  112 — 47,  112. 
Campbell,  Thomas,  *5g6 —  596. 
Canitz,  Baron  L.  von.,  *io8 —  108. 
Carlyle,  J.  D.,  ^343 —  343,  609. 
Carlyle,  Thomas, —  3. 
Cary,  Miss  Phcebe,  *447 —  447. 
Caswall,  Edward,  *597 —  109,  118, 

129,  212,  221,  299,  416,  418,  419, 

444,  542,  597. 
Cawood,  J.,  *27 —  27,  210. 
Cennick,  John,  82,  *2gi,  578,  604 — 

82,  291,  319,  516,  578. 
Chambers,  J.  D., —  583,  601. 
Chandler,    John,    *400 —  87,    205, 

398,  399,  443. 
Charles,  Mrs.  E.,  *387,  591 — 319, 

387. 
Claudius,  Matthias,  *587 —  587. 
Clephane,  Miss  E.  C,  ^556 —  556. 
Cleveland,  B.,  *402 —  402. 
Codner,  Mrs.  E.,  *328 — 328. 
Coffin,  Charles, —  443,  601. 
Colesworthy,  D.  C,  *6i2 — 612. 
Collins,  H.,  *294 —  294. 
Collyer,   W.    B. ,  *ig4 — 194,    195, 

462. 
Conder,    J.,    434,   *522 —  77,    233, 

434.  522,  574- 
Cooke,  Henry,  ^296 —  296. 
Cooke,  W.,  *358—  358. 
Cooper,  E.,  ^147 —  147. 
Cosmas,  St.,  40,  41,  *85—  85. 
Cotterill,  T.,  "53 —  53. 
Cousin,  Mrs.  A.  R.,  *535 —  535. 
Cowper,   W.,    142,    179,    214,  255, 

375,   405,    *422,    4S3,    540—  142. 

179,  205,  214,  305,  375,  377,  405, 

420,  423,  488,  540,  547,  573,  609. 
Cox,  Miss  F.   E.,   135,  *286—  135, 

285,  286,  613. 
Coxe,  A.  C,  *224 —  224,  441. 
Craig,  James,  *428 —  428. 
Cramer,  J.  A., —  589. 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


643 


Crewdson,  Mrs.  J.,  ^413 —  413,  439. 
Croly,  George,  **49i —  491. 
Crosby,  Fanny  (Mrs.  Van  Alstyne), 

*469—  469. 
Cross,  Mrs.,  ^514 —  514. 
Crossman,  S.,  *27i —  271. 
Crosswell,  W.,  *333 —  333. 
Cummins,  J.  J.,  *286 —  286. 
Cutting,  S.  S.,  *i84—  184. 

Damascene,  St.  John,  40,  41,  *5i8 — 

517. 

Damiani,  Peter, —  444. 

Darby,  J.  N.,  *404—  403. 

Davies,  S.,  ^326—  326,  327,  418. 

Dayman,  E.  A.,  *22i —  221,  485, 
5S2. 

De  Courcy,  R.,  '^274,  604 —  274. 

Deck,  J.  G.,  *425 —  221,  425, 
472. 

Denham,  David,  *352 —  352. 

Denny,  Sir  Edward,  *7 —  7,  75, 
78,  82,  129,  222,  318,  592,  609. 

Dickson,  David, —  268. 

Dix,  W.  C,  *45—  45,  119. 

Doane,  G.  W.,  *4S7—  4S7,  562. 

Dobell,  J.,  *39i —  391. 

Doddridge,  Philip,  1,  32,  53,  139, 
233,  ^364,  366,  604,  606—  32,  51, 
53,  112,  131,  134,  139,  148,  190, 
196,  231,  282,  294,  364,  366,  370, 
391,  415,  432,  442,  452,  462,  476, 
479.  543,  557,  553,  574,  579,  580, 
617. 

Doudney,  Miss   Sarah,  *473—  473. 

Draper,  B.  H.,  *4go—  490,  621. 

Drese,  A., — 276,  298. 

Drummond,  W.  H.,  ^446—  446. 

Dryden,  John,  *I24—  124. 

Duffield,  Geo.,  70,  291,  306,  ^494 — 
70,  71,  361,  493,  495. 

Duffield,  S.  W.,  'f420— (transla- 
tions, etc.),  2,  220,  303,  398,  420, 
440,  44i,  463,  576,  600. 

Dunn   R.  P.,  *2S4—  284,  285. 

Dutch,  translation  from  the,  444. 


Dwight,  Timothy,  ^241,  334,  395 — 

241,  334,  395- 
Dyer,  S.,  *620 —  620. 

Eastburn,  J.  W.,  ^417 —  417. 
Eber,  P.,  ^302 —  303. 
Eddis,  E.  W.,  *453—  453- 
Edeling,  C.  L.,  2S0— . 
Edmeston,    J.,  *28,    472 —  28,  469, 

472,  505. 
Ellerton,  ].,  ^560— 472,   517,   560, 

59i- 
Elliott,    Miss    Charlotte,    92,    307, 

*368,  370—  92,  1S3,  307,  368,  370, 

439.  535,  553- 
Elliott,  Mrs.  J.  A.,  ^192 —  192. 
Elven,  C,  ^617 —  617. 
Enfield,  W.,  *66—  66. 
Ennodius,  398 — 91,  398,  576. 
Evans,  J..  ^117—  117,  209. 
Everest,  C.  W.,  ^511 —  511. 

Faber,  F.  W.,  367,  ^506—  206, 
2S4,  367,  414,  416,  428,  432,  505, 
556,  569. 

Fabricius,  J.,  ^150 —  150. 

Falckner, —  466. 

Fanch,  James,  *67 —  67. 

Farrar,  F.  W.,  ^320 —  320. 

Faussett,  Mrs.  A.  B.,  *42o— 420. 

Fawcett,  John,  ^73,  325—  73,  232, 
325,  45S,  570,  609. 

Fellows,  John,  -192 —  192. 

Findlater,  Mrs.  Eric,  32 —  338. 

Fitch,  E.  T.,  *323—  323. 

Fletcher,  Miss,  559 —  559. 

Follen,  Mrs.  E.  L.,  *562 — 562. 

Ford,  C.  L.,  *56o —  560. 

Ford,  D.  E.,  ^235 —  235. 

Forsyth,  Miss  C,  ^417 —  417. 

Fortunatus,  Venantius, —  152,  591. 

Foster,  F.  W.,—  186. 

Francis,  B.,  274,  *37i — 371. 

Frank,  Solomon,  173,  *4&6 —  486. 

Franke,  A.  H.,  108,  276,  280 — . 

Franzen,  Bishop,  ^319 —  319. 


644 


INDEX  OF  AUTHORS. 


Fry.     See  Mrs.  Wilson. 
F.  B.  P.,  267—  267. 

Gambold,  J.,  8,  326—. 
Ganse,  H.  D.,  *I37—  *37- 
Garve,  C,  *205 —  205. 
Gaskell,  W.,  *452—  452. 
Gates,  Mrs.  E.  H.,  257*— 


=  57- 


Gellert,  C.  F.,  ^285—  2S5. 
Gerhardt,     P.,   *2I,    165—  20,    24, 

165,  214,  238,  303,  418,  430,  480. 
Gibbons,   T.,  ^194,  440—  193,   391- 

440,  596. 
Gill,  T.  H.,  *I30—  130,  342,  428. 
Gilman,  Samuel,  ^558 —  55S. 
Gladden,  Washington,   ""427—  427- 
Goode,  W.,  *i26—  126. 
Gotter,  L.  A.,  *i25—  125. 
Gough,  Benjamin,  ^223 —  48,  223. 
Grant,  Sir  R.,  *27—  27,    335,    442, 

475-  593- 
Gregor,  C,  2S0 —  280. 
Gregory  the  Great,—  398,  445,  598. 
Grigg,  J.,  *273—  60,  273,  4*9- 
Gurney,  A.  T.,  *87~  87. 
Gurney,  J.  H.,  ^322—  322. 
Guyon,  Madame  La  Mothe,  *42o — 

420. 

Hagenbach,   Karl  Rudolph,  *4So— 

480. 
Hamilton,  James,  *4i9 — 419. 
Hammond,  W.,   48,  81,    ""342—  48, 

81,  221,  342. 
Hanaford,  Mrs.  P.  H.,  *8o-  80. 
Hall,  C.  Newman,  *I55—  *55« 
Hall,  Mrs.  E.  M.,  *23g—  239. 
Harbaugh,  H.,—  227. 
Hardenberg,   F.  von,  *28o — . 
Harsdorffer,  P.,  *598— . 
Hart,   J.,   94,  *ioo,    132—94,    100, 

132,  134,  446,  559. 
Hastings,    Thos.,  *l63,  211—  131, 

163,  204,  211,  389,  462,  574,  609. 
Hatfield,  E.  F.,  *6i4—  614. 
Havergal,  W.  H.,  *222— 222,  480. 


Havergal,  Miss  F.  R.,  *i89,  367, 
511,  512 —  189,  216,  238,  291,  294, 
351,  430,  485,  498,  511,  512,  560, 
568,  569,  622. 

Haweis,    T.,  *x6o,    604 —  159,  300, 

433,   575- 
Hawker,  Robert,  *324 —  323. 
Hayn,  Miss  H.  L.  von,  280 — . 
Hayward,  *590 —  590. 
Heath,  G.,  *379 —  379. 
Heathcote,  H.   B.,  407 — 407. 
Heber,  Reginald,  77,   78,  158,    212, 

*335,    539-f  66,  77,    78,  79,    158, 

187,   218,  222,  335,  455,  539,  567, 

621,  561. 
Hedge,  F.  H.,  *3—  2. 
Heginbotham,     O.,    *76,   392 —  76, 

392- 
Herbert,  Algernon,  582—  227,  336. 
Herbert,  George,  ^372 —  256,  372. 
Hermann,   Nicholas,  *599 —  599. 
Hermannus  Contractus, —  97,  102, 

132,  220. 
Hill,  R.,   206,   302,  461,  504,  604 — 

314,  461. 
Hill,  T.,  *I9—  19. 
Hinsdale,     Mrs.      G.     W.,    *379— 

379- 
Holden,  O.,  19,  "557—  557- 
Holme,  James,  *27 —  27. 
Holmes,  Miss  E.     See  Mrs.   Reed. 

218,  *403 —  403. 
Holmes,    O.    W.,    334,   ^426— 334, 

426. 
Hope,  H.  J.  M.,  *39T—  391- 
Hopkins,  John,  *26 — . 
Hopkins,  Josiah,  ^439 —  439. 
Hopper,  E.,  *2g5—  295. 
How,   Wm.    Walsham,  ^442—  153, 

419,  442,  585. 
Humphreys,  J.,  *68— 68,  293. 
Huntingdon,    Lady.      See    Shirley, 

Selina. 
Hupton,  Job,  *374 — . 
Hutton,  H.  W.,  263—. 
Hutton,  James,  *373—  373- 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


645 


Hyde,    Mrs.    A.    B.,  *30—  30,    3*. 

475- 
H.  A.  P.,— 480. 
H.  M.  C.,—  580. 

Ingemann,  B.  S.,  *568—  568. 
Irons,  W.  J.,  +483—483- 

Jacobi,  J.  C.  U)5—  195- 
Jacoponus, —  382. 
Jervis,  T.,  *6i9 — 619. 
Johns,  J.,*io2 — 102. 
Johnson,  S.,  *I46—  146,   450. 
Joseph,  St.,  *32— 32,  315,416,  498. 
Joyce,  J.,  *6i4 —  614. 

Keble,  John,  310,  312,  *500—  386, 
500,  546,  593- 

Keith,  G.,  *22g —  229. 

Kelly,  Thomas,  112,  *2o6,  592— 
40,  70,  95,  112,  170,  184,  206.  207, 
235,  264,  276,  309,  320,  444,  458. 

472,  474,  481,   513,   5^9.   522,    526, 

534,  56S,  592,  609,  613. 
Kempthorne,  John,  *457~  457- 
Ken,   Thomas,  *49.   171—48,    171. 

456. 
Kennedy,  B.  H.,  *46—  46. 
Kent,  John,  ^591 —  591,  609. 
Kethe,  W.,  *25 —  25. 
Key,  Francis  S.,  *345—  345,  346. 
King,  J.,*594—  594- 
Kingsbury,    W.,    233,    *3i6—  233, 

316. 
Klopstock,  F.  G.,  *33S—  338. 
Knapp,  A.,  285—  285. 
Knollis,  F.  M.,  *55o—  55&. 
Knowlton,  Miss  H.  O.,  *238--  238, 

474- 
Knox,  W.,  *io—  10,  131. 
Krause,  J.,  *205 —  205. 

Lange,  E.,  *565 —  565. 

Lange,  J.  P.,—  188. 

Lathbury,   Miss  M.  A.,    78,  *I28— 

78,  128. 
Laurenti,  L.,  *433~  432,  462. 


Lee,  R.,  *595 —  595- 

Leeson,    Miss   Jane    E.(    474—  90, 

474- 
Leland,  John,  ^515 —  5x5. 

Longfellow,  S.,  *I2,  215  —  12,  432. 
Lowry,  Robert,  *47<j —  479. 
Lowth,  R.,  *43—  43- 
Luther,  Martin,  *3 —  2,  26,  90,  150, 

214,  598. 
Lynch,  T.  T.,  *igi—  191. 
Lyte,  H.  F.,    8,    42,  *282,   489—  8, 

42,  282,  308,  380,  432,  455,  457, 

489,  533,  553- 

McCheyne,  R.   M.,  *82,  488—  82, 

84. 
McComb,  W.,  *82—  82. 
MacDonald,  George,  *45i— 451. 
Macduff,  J.  R.,  *S6—  86. 
MacKellar,  Thomas.  *55°—  55°- 
Mackey,  Mrs.  M.,    *46 — 46. 
Maclagan,  W.  D.,  -344—344. 
Madan,  M.,  69,  160,  207,  319,  422 — . 
Malan,  Cesar,  *266,  2S5,  307—  265. 
Mant,  R.,  *i52—  152,  183,  221,  342, 

488. 
Marckant,  J., —  26,  425. 
Mardley,  J.,—  26,  425. 
Marriott,  John,  *565 —  565. 
Marshman,  J.,  "'437 —  436- 
Martin,  H.   A.,  "'429—  429- 
Mason,  J..  *256—  256,  575. 
Mason,  Wm.,  *I3~  13- 
Mason,  Wm.,  *I4—  13,  591- 
Massie,    R.,   *42  5~  M9,   238,  239, 

425,  485- 
Maude,  Mrs.  Mary  Fawler,  *558 — 

558. 

May,  C.  E.,  431—431. 
May,  Miss  Caroline,  *43!— • 
Maxwell,  J.,  *I34—  133.  *34- 
Maxwell,  Mrs.,  *47I— 470. 
Medley,  S.,  *5I—  51,  402,  623. 
Meinhold,  J.  W.,  *5i3~  513. 
Mercer,  W.,  *i86—  186,  187,  400. 
Merrick,  J.,  *577~  48,  57^. 


646 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


Millard,  J.  E.,  "17S—  17S. 

Mills,    Mrs.    E.,    154,   *58g—    154, 

589- 
Milman,  H.  H.,  '-464 —  464,  601. 
Mitchell,  W.,  *304—  304. 
Mohr,  Joseph, —  220. 
Monseil,  J.  S.   D.,  ""135 —  135,  221, 

444.  43i,  512,  b2l. 
Montgomery,  J.,   455,  460,  *482 — 

10,  33,  44,  79-  10S,  119,  153,  174, 
175,  179,  204,  209,  214,  218,  239, 
263,  326,  441,  455,  460,  476,  481, 
489,  491,  493,  526,  548,  578,  597, 
601,  620. 

Moore,  Thomas,  *i2i —  121,  623. 

Morgan,  Mrs.  J.  P.,  155 —  155. 

Morris,  Mrs.  E.  F.,  *i84 — 184. 

Moultrie,  John,  "'20 —  20. 

Moultrie,  G.,  "60 —  60,  586. 

Muhlenberg,  W.  A.,  ^397,  475 — 
396,  475,  479-  622. 

Nason,  Elias,  *294 —  294. 

Neale,  John  Mason,  *272 —  15,  32, 
40,  47,  78,  85,  86,  92,  134,  151, 
152,  154,  217,  271,  294,  299,  315, 
416,  424,  426,  441,  443,  498,  516, 
517,  621. 

Neander,  C.  F., —  559. 

Needham,  J.,  *2i6 —  216. 

Nettleton,  A.,  *99,  246,  593 — 9S. 

Neumann,  Gottfried,  280 — . 

Nevin,  E.  H.,  *28—  28,  472. 

Newman,   J.    H.,  *3io,    501 —  310, 

394- 
Newton,  J.,  29,  65,  128,  *24S,  305, 
476—  13,    29,  31,   36,  58,   65,  79, 
109,  128,  152,   167,  205,  234,  248, 
305,  306,  317,  326,  328,  351,  392, 

445,  447,  449,  4&i,  47©,  475,  509, 
534,  566,  610,  613. 

Nicolai,  P.,  *226 —  226,  227,  5S1. 

Niles,  N.,  *46i — 461. 

Noel,  G.  T.,  *256—  256. 

Norton,  T.,  26 — . 

Notker  Balbulus,  26 —  598. 

Nunn,  Miss  Marianne,  *447 —  447. 


Oakeley,  Frederick,  ^401 —  400. 
Occom,  S.,  *54 —  54,  56. 
Offord,  R.  M.,  *28o—  266,  280. 
Olivers,  T.,  *520 —  202,  520. 
Onderdonk,  H.  U.,  397,  "541 —  538, 

541,  542. 
Osier,  E.,  *43i —  431. 
O.  P.,  154—  154. 

Palmer,  Ray,  57,  97,  299,  333,  *362, 
569—  31,  57,  97,  103,  285,  299, 
300,  317,  333,  342,  358,  361,  396, 
398,  399.  419,  432,  498,  5io,  558, 
565,  569,  589,  594,  621. 

Park,  Roswell,  ^'297 —  297. 

Parker,'  Theodore,  *435 —  435. 

Parr,  Miss  H.,  *2i3 —  213. 

Peabody,  W.  B.  O.,  ^65—  65. 

Perronet,  E.,  *I5,  604 —  15. 

Peters,  Mrs.  M.  B.,  *2i7—  217,  218. 

Phelps,  S.  D.,  *474—  474. 

Pierpoint,  F.  S.,  *I53~  153,  154- 

Pierpont,  John,  *I75 —  175,  176. 

Pierson,  A.  T.,  ^576—  576. 

Pirie,  A.,  ^105 —  104. 

Plumptre,  E.  H.,  *2o8—  20S. 

Pollock,  T.  B.,  *283—  2S3,  284. 

Pollock,  W.,  *32g —  329. 

Pope,  Alexander,  ^463 —  463. 

Pott,  F.,  *35—  35,  544- 

Potter,  T.  J.,  *79—  79. 

Prentiss,  Mrs.  E.,  ^358,  386,  4*4~ 
358. 

Procter,  Miss  A.  A.,  *538—  538. 

Prudentius,Aur.  Clemens, — 395, 443 

Pusey,  P.,  *336,  501,  582—227, 
336. 

Pyper,  Miss  M.,  *588 —  588. 

Rabanus    Maurus, —  97,    109,    124, 

221. 
Raffles,  T.,  *5&i—  561,    562. 
Rawson,  G.,  79,  *I46—  79,  146,  218, 

263. 
Reed,  Andrew,  *2l8 —  218. 
Reed,  Mrs.  E.  See  Miss  E.  Holmes. 
Ringwaldt,  B.,  *I96 —  195. 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


647 


Rinkart,  M.,  '"393—  393- 
Robinson,  C.  S.,  *472—  472. 
Robinson,  George  W.,  *447—  447- 
Robinson,  Robert,  *ii7,*352—  n6, 

352. 
Robinson,  R.  H.,  *2I7—  217. 
Rodigast,  S.,—  592- 
Rorison,  G.,  ^567 —  567. 
Rothe,  J.  A.,  280—. 
Rous,  Fry,  *533—  533- 
Rowe,  J.,  *i62 —  162. 
Rowe,  Mrs.     See  Singer. 
Russell,    A.    T.,    383,    *j3&—  196. 

276,  3S6,  418,  4T9. 
Ryland,  J.,  ^259—  259. 

Sabine,  Chas.,  210 —  210. 

Santeul,   J.    B.    (Santolius   Victori- 

nus),  "399—  399- 
Saxby,  Mrs.  jane  E.     See  Browne. 
Scheffler.     See  Angelus  Silesius. 
Schenck,  H.  T.,   "613—613. 
Schlegel,  J.  A.,  226. 
Schmolke,     B.,     173.    *37i—   205, 

37i,  450,  592. 
Scott,  Elizabeth,  53,  *i83—  183. 
Scott,  T.,  "34—  34- 
Scudder,  Miss  E.,  "'563 —  563,  564. 
Seagrave,  R.,  ^465 — 465. 
Sears,  E.  H.,  80,  ^264—  80,  264. 
Sherwin,  W.  F.,  ^614 — 614. 
Shirley,     Selina,     116,     159,      274, 

*6o2 —  602,  605. 
Shirley,    Walter,    159,    *453,    604 — 

453,  47i. 
Shrubsole,    Wm.,   Jr.,    *6oi — 601, 

622. 
Sigourney,    Mrs.  L.    H.,   *75 —  75, 

45o. 
Singer,      Miss      Elizabeth      (Mrs. 

Rowe),  61,  *235 —  235. 
Slinn,  Sarah,  188 —  188. 
Sloan,  J.  M., —  226. 
Smith,  J.  D.,  *8—  8. 
Smith,  S.  F.,  *36o,  361 —  360,  427, 

486,  534,  574,  590. 


Spangenberg,  A.  G., —  280. 
Spener,  109,  151,  276,  280,  582—. 
Spitta,   C.  J.    P.,  *239—    149,    239, 

426. 
Spurgeon,  C.   H.,    109,  *524,  618— 

524- 

Stanley,  A.  P.,  *io2—  102,  129, 
211. 

Steele,  Miss  Anne,  6,  342,  *53& — 
6,  15,  114,  129,  130,  148,  149, 
194,  2ii,  231,  274,  326,  342,368, 
439,  502,  536,  565,   576,  601,  610. 

Stennett,  J.,  *35~  35,  396- 

Stennett,  S.,  35,  *443~  227,  351, 
443,  572,  609. 

Stephen,   St.,  *40-- 40. 

Sternhold,  F.,  25,  *525~  525. 

Steward,  James,  98 — . 

Stewart,  John,  100 —  100. 

Stocker,  John,  *ig2 —  191. 

Stockton,  Mrs.  M.  M.,  *i79~  J79- 

Stone,  S.  J.,  *4i8—  418,  514,  59°- 

Stowell,  Hugh,  "156—  156,  157- 

Strong,  Nathan,  98,  "509—  5°9- 

Swain,  J.,  "234,  255—  78,  234,  255. 

Swain,  L.,  *38i— 381. 

Symington,  Andrew  J.,  ^328 —  328. 

Tappan,  W.  B.,  *555~  555.  572. 
Tate,  Nahum,  *6ro—  97,  416,  610. 
Tate  and  Brady,—  42S.  567- 
Taylor,  Mrs.  R.  H.,  375—  375- 
Taylor,  T.  R.,  *584~  584- 
Tersteegen,     G.,  *I77—  177.    I78, 
186,  298,  318. 

!    Theoctistus, —  294. 

j     "Theodosia."     See  Anne  Steele. 

I    Theodulphus,  *I5— 15. 

J    Thompson,  A.  R.;  *484—  215,  484. 

485. 
Thomson,  John,  ^267—  267. 
Thring,    G.,    213,  ^534— 151,    200, 

213,  275,  472,  534- 
Titze,  Christoph,  623—. 
Toke,    Mrs.   Emma   Leslie,  *56i— 

561. 


648 


INDEX   OF  AUTHORS. 


Toplady,  A.  M.,  57,  77,  91,  192, 
275,  466,  *502,  604 —  258,  466. 
467,  502,  504,  622. 

Tregelles,  S.  P.,  *5ig — 221,  519. 

Turner,  D.,  67,  "141—  67,   141. 

Van  Alstyne.     See  Crosby. 

Voke,  Mrs.,  195,  489,  621—  489, 
621. 

Von  Canitz.    See  Canitz,*io8 —  108. 

Walker,  Miss  A.  L.,  621 —  620. 

Walker,  Mrs.  M.  J.,  *239 —  239. 

Wallace,  J.  A.,  *553 —  553- 

Wakeford,  Mrs.  A.,  273—  273. 

Watts,  Isaac,  *6i,  235,  365,  604 — 
1,  14,  29,  39,  40,  47,  48,  53,  57, 
58,  59,  61,  66,  68,  71,  95,  102, 
103,  108,  113,  119,  135,  140,   142, 

145,  152,  156,  165,  182,  193,  197, 
211,  215,  223,  228,  229,  232,  233, 
234,  235,  246,  247,  255,  259,  264, 
270,  284,  293,  296,  301,  307,  310, 
313,  317,  318,  319,  326,  328,  337, 
341,  344,  357,  361,  365,  370,  375, 
379,  380,  387,  388,  394,  395,  396, 
407,  408,  417,  418,  432,  444,  446, 
452,  458,  471,  479,  480,  485,  493, 
505,  512,  523,  527,  530,  544,  553, 
560,  568,  571,  574,  575,  580,  581, 
585,  591,  592.  594,  595,  609,  613, 
615,  616,  620. 

Ward,  Wtn.,  *ig3 — . 
Wardlaw,  R.,  *8g—  89,  317. 
Waring,    Miss  A.    L.,  *I46—    145, 

146,  259. 

Weisse,  Michael,  *90 —  89. 

Wesley,  Charles,  90,  91,  93,  115, 
144,  *349,  408,  428—  1,  30,  37,  71, 
77,  90,  91,  104,  113,  115.  118,  131, 
144,  149,  169,  201,  207,  212,  241, 
275,  286,  299,  301,  305,  315,  318, 
336,  346,  349,  35o,  398,  407,  408, 
409,  429,  438,  452,  462,  477,  484, 
491,  504,  563,  565,  609,  621. 


Wesley,  John,  17,  57,  68,  178,  201, 
246,318,  *35o,  466,  616—24,165, 
178,  280,  298,  301,  303,  318,  544. 

Wesley,  Samuel,  Sr.,  *64,  347 —  64, 

349- 
Whately,  R.,  *i8S—  187. 
White,    Henry    Kirke,  *530 —  530, 

532,  567,  597- 
Whitfield,  F.,  *247 —  247,  553. 
Whiting,  W.,  *I36 —  136. 
Whitmore,  Lady  Lucy  E.  G.,  *I44 — 

144. 
Whittier,    J.  G.,    *s86—  238,    579, 

586. 
Whittingham,  W.,  *26 — . 
Williams,  Miss  H.  M.,  *6io—  610. 
Williams,  Isaac,  35,  ^329 —  35,  329. 
Williams,  J.,  *:{'26o —  260. 
Williams,  W.,  ^199,  604 —  197,  442, 

443- 
Willis,  Miss  E.  H.,  241 —  241. 
Willis,  R.  S.,  *I40—  140. 
Wilson,  Mrs.  C.  F.,  ^154 —  154. 
Winkworth,  Miss  C,  ^513 —  20,  89, 

125,  149,  150,  214,  227,  238,  390, 

393,  432,  450,  480,  486,  513,  565, 

570,  581,  592,  613. 
Wisdome,  H.,  26 — . 
Wolcott,  S.,  *84,  188—  84,  85,  188, 

189,  512. 
Wolfe,  A.  R.,  *i22—  7,  122,  123. 
Woodd,  Basil,—  117. 
Woodford,  J.    R.,  *337— 84,   337, 

396- 
Woodhull,  A.  A.,  *iS3—  183. 
Wordsworth,   C,  ^402 —  191,   209, 

220,  402,  424,  476,  514. 
Wreford,  J.   R.,  *345~  344- 

Young,  Andrew,  *55o —  550. 
Young,  J.,  408—  408. 
Zinzendorf,  Count,  ^276,  29S,  301— 
276,  280,  298,  301,  374,  569,  623. 


INDEX     OF     HYMNS, 

ANNOTATED   OR  MENTIONED. 


A  broken  heart,  my  God,  my  King,  i. 

A  charge  to  keep  I  have,  i. 

A  few  more  years  shall  roll,  2. 

A  firm  defence  our  God  is  still,  2. 

A  great  and  mighty  wonder,  152. 

A  little  while  to  wear  the  weeds  of  sadness, 

4i3- 

A  little  word  in  kindness  spoken,  613. 

A  mighty  fortress  is  our  God,  2,  6. 

A  mother  may  forgetful  be,  6. 

A  parting  hymn  we  sing,  7,  123. 

A  pilgrim  through  this  lonely  world,  7. 

A  safe  stronghold  our  God  is  still,  3. 

A  sure  stronghold  our  God  is  he,  452. 

Abide  in  thee,  in  that  deep  love  of  thine,  8. 

Abide  with  me  ;  fast  falls  the  eventide, 8,  308. 

According  to  thy  gracious  word,  10. 

Acquaint  thee,  O  mortal,  n. 

Acquaint  thyself  quickly,  O  sinner,  with 
God,  10,  131. 

Again  our  earthly  cares  we  leave,  13. 

Again  as  evening's  shadow  falls,  12. 

Again  returns  the  day  of  holy  rest,  13. 

Again  the  Lord  of  Life  and  Light,  458. 

Alas  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed,  14. 

Alas  !  what  hourly  dangers  rise,  15. 

All  glory,  laud,  and  honor,  15. 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,  15,  17, 
19,  557- 

All-hallowed  be  our  walk  this  day,  400. 

All-holy,  ever-living  One,  ig. 

All  is  o'er,  the  pain,  the  sorrow,  20. 

All  my  heart  this  night  rejoices,  20. 

All  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell,  25. 

All  praise  to  him  of  Nazareth,  44. 

All  praise  to  thee,  eternal  Lord,  26. 

All  that  in  this  wide  world  we  see,  44. 

All  things  are  ours,  how  abundant  the  treas- 
ure, 27. 

All  those  who  seek  a  throne  of  grace,  557. 

Almighty  God,  thy  word  is  cast,  27. 

Almighty  !  hear  thy  children  raise,  44. 

Almighty  Lord,  the  sun  shall  fail,  27. 


Almighty  Maker  of  my  frame,  512. 

Along  my  earthly  way,  28. 

Always  with  us,  always  with  us,  28. 

Amazing  grace  !  how  sweet  the  sound,  29. 

Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  29. 

Ancient  of  days,  except  thou  deign,  44. 

And  are  we  yet  alive,  30. 

And  canst  thou,  sinner,  slight,  30. 

And  dost  thou  say,  '!  Ask  what  thou  wilt," 

And  is  there,  Lord  !  a  rest,  31. 

And  is  the  time  approaching,  31. 

And  shall  I  still,  359. 

And  will  the  Judge  descend,  32. 

And  wilt  thou  hear,  O  Lord,  32. 

And  wilt  thou  pardon,  Lord,  32,  498. 

Angel  voices  ever  singing,  35. 

Angels  from  the  realms  of  glory,  33. 

Angels  holy,  high,  and  lowly,  33. 

Angels  roll  the  rock  away,  34. 

Another  day  is  past  and  gone,  35. 

Another  fleeting  day  is  gone,  195. 

Another  six  days'  work  is  done,  35. 

Approach,  my  soul,  the  mercy-seat,  36,  326. 

Arise,  my  soul,  arise,  37. 

Arise,  my  soul,  my  joyful  powers,  39. 

Arise,  O  King  of  grace,  arise,  40. 

Arise,  ye  saints,  arise,  40. 

Arm  of  the  Lord,  awake,  awake,  622. 

Art  thou  weary,  art  thou  languid,  40,  42. 

As  o'er  the  cradle  of  her  Son,  44. 

As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling  streams,  42, 

43- 
As  shadows  cast  by  cloud  and  sun,  43. 
As  the  hart  with  eager  looks,  44. 
As  the  sun's  enlivening  eye,  152. 
As  with  gladness  men  of  old,  45. 
Ascend  thy  throne,  Almighty  King,  45. 
Ask  ye  what  great  thing  I  know,  46. 
Assembled  in  thy  name,  359. 
Asleep  in  Jesus,  blessed  sleep,  46. 
At  evening  time  let  there  be  light,  47. 
At  the  Lamb's  high  feast  we  sing,  47. 


650 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS, 


At  thy  command,  our  dearest  Lord,  47. 
Author  of  good,  to  thee  I  turn,  48. 
Awake,  awake,  O  Zion,  48. 
Awake  and  sing  the  song,  48. 
Awake  my  heart  and  sing,  24. 
Awake,  my  heart,  arise,  my  tongue,  48. 
Awake,  my  soul  !  lift  up  thine  eyes,  458. 
Awake,  my  soul,  and  with  the  sun,  48. 
Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve,  51. 
Awake,  my  soul,  to  joyful  lays,  51,  623. 
Awake,  my  soul,  to  meet  the  day,  53. 
Awake,  our  drowsy  souls,  53. 
Awake  our  souls  !  away  our  fears,  53. 
Awake,  sweet  harp  of  Judah,  wake,  532. 
Awake,  ye  saints,  awake,  53. 
Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound,  54. 
Away  from  earth  my  spirit  turns,  57,  103, 
498. 

Be  still,  my  heart,  these  anxious  cares,  58, 

573- 
Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne,  57. 
Before  the  heavens  were  spread  abroad,  58. 
Before  the  throne  of  God,  58. 
Begin,  my  tongue,  some  heavenly  theme,  59. 
Begin  the  high  celestial  strain,  235. 
Begone,  unbelief,  573. 

Behold  a  stranger  at  the  door,  60,  273,  419. 
Behold,  the  Bridegroom  cometh,  60. 
Behold,  the  glories  of  the  Lamb,  61. 
Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God,  210. 
Behold,  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  64. 
Behold,  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  64,  349. 
Behold,  the  throne  of  grace,  65. 
Behold,  the  western  evening  light,  65. 
Behold,  what  wondrous  grace,  66. 
Behold,  where  breathing  love  divine,  458. 
Behold,  where  in  a  mortal  form,  66. 
Behold,  where  in  the  Friend  of  man,  67. 
Behold,  yon  new-born  infant  griev'd,  48. 
Beneath  our  feet  and  o'er  our  head,  66. 
Beyond  the  smiling  and  the  weeping,  6S. 
Beyond  the  starry  skies,  67. 
Beyond  the  glittering,  starry  skies,  67. 
Bless,  O  my  soul,  the  living  God,  68. 
Blessed  are  the  sons  of  God,  68,  293. 
Blessed  city,  heavenly  Salem,  69,  86. 
Blessed  fountain,  full  of  grace,  70. 
Blessed  Saviour,  thee  I  love,  70,  71. 
Blessed  Saviour,  who  hast  taught  me,  217. 
Blessing  and  honor  and  glory  and  power,  71. 
Blessing,  honor,  thanks  and  praise,  349. 
Blest  are  the  sons  of  peace,  71. 
Blest  are  the  souls  that  hear  and  know,  71. 
Blest  be  the  dear  uniting  love,  71,  73. 
Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,  73,  609. 
Blest  comforter  divine,  75. 


Blest  day  of  God,  most  calm,  most  bright, 
256. 

Blest  feast  of  love  divine,  75. 

Blest  is  the  man  whose  softening  heart,  76, 
458. 

Blest  Jesus,  when  my  soaring  thoughts,  76. 

Blest  Trinity,  from  mortal  sight,  77. 

Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow,  77. 

Bread  of  heaven,  on  thee  we  feed,  77. 

Bread  of  life,  10. 

Bread  of  the  world,  in  mercy  broken,  77. 

Break  thou  the  bread  of  life,  78. 

Breathe  from  the  gentle  south,  O  Lord,  377. 

Brethren,  while  we  sojourn  here,  30,  78. 

Bride  of  the  Lamb,  awake,  78. 

Brief  life  is  here  our  portion,  78,  271. 

Bright  as  the  sun's  meridian  blaze,  622. 

Bright  the  vision  that  delighted,  342. 

Brightest  and  best  of  the  sons  of  the  morn- 
ing, 78,  621. 

Brightly  gleams  our  banner,  30,  79. 

Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  356. 

Brother,  thou  art  gone  before  us,  601. 

By  Christ  redeemed,  in  Christ  restored,  79. 

By  cool  Siloam's  shady  rill,  79. 

By  faith  in  Christ  I  walk  with  God,  79. 

Call  Jehovah  thy  salvation,  79. 

Calm  me,  my  God,  and  keep  me  calm,  80. 

Calm  on  the  listening  ear  of  night,  80. 

Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  80. 

Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord,  81. 

Cheer  up,  my  soul,  there  is  a  mercy-seat, 

36,  326. 
Chief  of  sinners  though  I  be,  82. 
Children  of  light,  arise  and  shine,  82. 
Children  of  the  heavenly  King,  82. 
Chosen  not  for  good  in  me,  82. 
Christ  above  all  glory  seated,  84. 
Christ  for  the  world  we  sing,  84,  85,  512. 
Christ  is  born,  tell  forth  his  name,  85. 
Christ  is  coming  !  let  creation,  86. 
Christ  is  made  the  sure  foundation,  86. 
Christ  is  our  corner-stone,  87. 
Christ  is  risen  !  Christ  is  risen,  87. 
Christ,  of  all  my  hopes,  the  ground,  89. 
Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  again,  89. 
Christ  the  Lord  is  risen  to-day,  90,  91. 
Christ,  whose  glory  fills  the  skies,  91,  308, 

5°4- 
Christ  will  gather  in  his  own,  280. 
Christian,  dost  thou  see  them,  92. 
Christian,  seek  not  yet  repose,  92. 
Christians,  awake,  salute  the  morn,  92. 
Come,  all  ye  chosen  saints  of  God,  94,  100. 
Come,  behold  a  great  expedient,  95. 
Come,  blessed  Spirit,  source  of  light,  95, 113. 


ANNOTATED   OR  MENTIONED. 


651 


Come, 
Come, 

102. 
Come, 
Come, 

221. 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 

me, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 

610. 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 
Come, 


dear  Desire  of  nations,  come,  122. 
gracious    Spirit,  heavenly  Dove,  96, 

Holy  Ghost,  Creator,  come,  97. 
Holy   Ghost,    my   soul    inspire,    98, 

Holy  Ghost,  in  love,  97. 

Holy  Spirit,  calm  my  mind,  100. 

Holy  Spirit,  come  ;  Let,  100. 

Holy  Spirit,  come  with,  100. 

Holy  Spirit,  from  above,  102. 

Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove,  102, 132. 

Jesus,  Redeemer,  abide  thou    with 

103. 

let  us  join  our  cheerful  songs,  103. 

let  us  join  our  songs  of  praise,  104. 

let  us  join  our  friends  above,  104. 

let  us  lift  our  joyful  eyes,  108. 

let  us  sing  the  song  of  songs,  108. 

my  fond,  fluttering  heart,  574. 

my  soul,  thy  suit  prepare,  65,    109, 

my  soul,  thou  must  be  waking,  108. 
O  Creator  Spirit  blest,  109. 
O  my  soul,  in  sacred  lays,    109. 
pure   hearts,   in  sweetest   measure. 


Come,  sacred  Spirit  from  above,  112. 
Come,  said  Jesus'  sacred  voice,  458. 
Come,  see  the  place  where  Jesus  lay,  112. 
Come,  sound  his  praise  abroad,  113. 
Come,  Spirit,  Source  of  light,  96,  113. 
Come,  thou  Almighty  King,  113,  114. 
Come,  thou  Desire  of  all  thy  saints,    114, 

610. 
Come,  thou  everlasting  Spirit,  115. 
Come,  thou  everlasting  Lord,  115. 
Come,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing,    114, 

"6,  352,  356>  6°5- 
Come,  thou  long-expected  Jesus,  118. 
Come,   thou  soul-transforming  Spirit,  117, 

209. 
Come,  thou,  who  dost  the  soul  endue,  118. 
Come  to  Calvary's  holy  mountain,  119. 
Come  to  our  poor  nature's  night,  218. 
Come  unto  me,  ye  weary,  119. 
Come,  we  who  love  the  Lord,  119,  609. 
Come,  ye  disconsolate,  121. 
Come,  ye  thankful  people,  come,  120. 
Come,  ye  that  know  and  fear  the  Lord,  121. 
Commit  thou  all  thy  griefs,  165. 
Commit  thy  way  to  God,  24. 
Complete  in  thee,  no  work  of  mine,  122. 
Creator  Spirit,  by  whose  aid,  124. 
Cross,  reproach  and  tribulation,  125. 
Crown  him  with  many  crowns,  125. 
Crown  his  head  with  endless  blessing,  126. 


Daily,  daily  sing  the  praises,  127. 

Daughter  of  Zion,  awake  from  thy,  127. 

Daughters  of  Sion,  come,  behold,  301. 

Day  is  dying  in  the  west,  128. 

Day  of  judgment,  day  of  wonders,  128. 

Day  of  wrath  !  O  day  of  mourning,  483. 

Day  of  wrath,  O  dreadful  day,  129. 

Days  and  moments  quickly  flying,  129. 

Dear  Father,  to  thy  mercy-seat,  129. 

Dear  Jesus,  cast  a  look  on  me,  340. 

Dear  Lord,  amid  the  throng  that  pressed, 

129. 
Dear  Lord  and  Master  mine,  130. 
Dear  Lord,  and  shall  thy  Spirit  rest,  502. 
Dear  Refuge  of  my  weary  soul,  130. 
Dear  Saviour,  we  are  thine,  131. 
Dear  Shepherd  of  thy  people,  hear,  305. 
Death  is  sin's  tremendous  wages,  95. 
Deathless  principle,  arise,  504. 
Deem  not  that  they  are  blest  alone,  44. 
Delay  not,  delay  not,  O  sinner,  draw  near, 

131- 
Depth  of  mercy,  can  there  be,  131. 
Descend  from  heaven,  celestial  Dove,  132. 
Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep,  132. 
Didst  thou,  dear  Jesus,  suffer  shame,  133. 
Dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,  Lord,  134. 
Disowned    of  heaven,   by  man   oppressed, 

614. 
Do  not  I  love  thee,  O  my  Lord,  134. 
Draw  near,  O  holy  Dove,  draw  near,  123. 
Draw  nigh  and  take  the  body  of  the  Lord, 

134- 
Draw  nigh,  draw  nigh,  Immanuel,  134. 

Early,  my  God,  without  delay,  135. 
Earth  below  is  teeming,  135. 
Earth  has  nothing  sweet  or  fair,  135,  286. 
Earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to  dust,  491. 
Enthroned  on  high,  almighty  Lord,  159. 
Ere  another  Sabbath's  close,  154. 
Eternal  Father  !  strong  to  save,  136. 
Eternal  Father,  when  to  thee,  137. 
Eternal  Light,  eternal  Light,  138. 
Eternal  Source  of  every  joy,  139. 
Eternal  Spirit,  we  confess,  140. 
Eternal  Spirit,  Source  of  light,  327. 
Every  morning  mercies  new,  140. 

Fairest  Lord  Jesus,  140. 

Faith  adds  new  charms  to  earthly  bliss,  141. 

Far  as  thy  name  is  known,  142. 

Far,  far  away,  like  bells  at  evening  pealing, 

42. 
Far  from  the  world,  O  Lord,  I  flee,  142. 
Far  from  my  thoughts,  vain  world,  begone, 

142. 


652 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS, 


again,  in  Jesus'  name  we  meet,  144. 

by  thy  love  and  power,  144. 

hear  the  blood  of  Jesus,  144. 

hear  the  prayer  we  offer,  145. 

how' wide  thy  glory  shines,  145. 

I  know  that  all  my  life,  145. 

I  own  thy  voice,  85. 

in  high  heaven  dwelling,  146. 

in  thy  mysterious  presence  kneeling, 

of   heaven,   whose   love   profound, 


Father, 
Father, 
Father, 
Father, 
Father, 
Father, 
Father, 
Father, 
Father, 

146. 
Father 

147. 
Father  of  mercies,  in  thy  word,  148. 
Father  of  mercies,  send  thy  grace,  148. 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  149. 
Father,  thy  name  be  praised,  thy  kingdom 

given,  149. 
Father,  to  thy  kind  love  we  owe,  44. 
Father,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss,  149. 
Father,  whose  hand  hath  led  me  so  securely, 

149. 
Fear  not,  O  little  flock,  the  foe,  150. 
Fierce  raged  the  tempest  o'er  the  deep,  151. 
Fierce  was  the  wild  billow,  151. 
Fight  on,  ye  Christian  soldiers,  30. 
Firm  as  the  earth  thy  Gospel  stands,  152. 
Firm  as  the  rock  thy  Gospel  stands,  152. 
For  a  season  called  to  part,  152. 
For  all  thy  saints,  O  God,  152. 
For  all  thy  saints,  who  from   their  labors 

rest,  153. 
For  the  beauty  of  the  earth,  153. 
For  the  mercies  of  the  day,  154. 
For  thee,  O  dear,  dear  country,  154,  271. 
For  thy  dear  saints,  O  Lord,  152. 
For  what  shall  I   praise  thee,  my  God  and 

my  King,  154. 
Forever  with  the  Lord,  152. 
Forgive,  O  Lord,  our  frailties  past,  457. 
Forsake  me  not !  O  thou,  my  Lord,  my  Light, 

155- 
Forward,  be  our  watchword,  155. 
Friend  after  friend  departs,  54. 
Friend  of  sinners,  Lord  of  glory,  155. 
From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies>  156. 
From  Calvary's  cross  a  fountain  flows,  548. 
From  every  stormy  wind  that  blows,  156. 
From  Greenland's  icy  mountains,  158,  335. 
From  past  regret  and  present  faithlessness, 

565. 
From  pole  to  pole,  let  others  roam,  306. 
From  the  cross  uplifted  high,  159. 
From  the  recesses  of  a  lowly  spirit,  161,  263. 
From  the  table  now  retiring,  162. 

Gentle  friends  who  gather  here,  565. 
Gentle  Shepherd,  thou  hast  stilled,  513. 


Gently,  Lord,  O  gently  lead  us,  163. 
Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise,  1,  581. 
Give  to  the  Lord,  ye  sons  of  fame,  165. 
Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears,  24,  165. 
Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken,  167. 
Glory  be  to  God  on  high,  169. 
Glory  be  to  God  the  Father,  168. 
Glory,  glory  to  our  King,  170. 
Glory  to  God  on  high,  170. 
Glory  to  God,  whose  witness  train,  173,  623. 
Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night,  171. 
Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  who  safe  hast  kept, 

49. 
Glory  to  thee,  O  Lord,  561. 
Go  forth,  O  word  of  Christ !  go  forth  !  44. 
Go  forth,  ye  heralds,  in  my  name,  134. 
Go  labor  on  while  it  is  day,  174. 
Go  not  far  from  me,  O  my  Strength,  146. 
Go  to  dark  Gethsemane,  174. 
Go  to  the  grave  in  all  thy  glorious  prime, 

i75- 

God,  Almighty  and  All-seeing,  175. 

God  bless  the  king  !  I  mean  the  Faith's  de- 
fender, 94. 

God  calling  yet,  shall  I  not  hear,  177. 

God  eternal,  Lord  of  all,  178. 

God  eternal,  mighty  King,  178. 

God  is  in  his  holy  temple,  179. 

God  is  my  strong  salvation,  214. 

God  is  love,  his  mercy  brightens,  263. 

God  is  our  stronghold,  firm  and  sure,  452. 

God  is  the  refuge  of  his  saints,  182. 

God  loved  the  world  of  sinners  lost,  179. 

God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way,  179,  573. 

God,  my  King,  thy  might  confessing,  183. 

God  of  my  life,  to  thee  belong,  183,  573. 

God  of  my  life,  to  thee  I  call,  214. 

God  of  my  life,  thy  boundless  grace,  183. 

God  of  our  salvation,  hear  us,  183,  184. 

God  of  pity,  God  of  grace,  184. 

God  of  the  passing  year,  to  thee,  183. 

God  of  the  world,  thy  glories  shine,  184. 

God  will  support  our  hearts,  572. 

God  reveals  his  presence,  186. 

God,  that  madest   earth  and  heaven,   187, 

455- 
God  with  us,  O  glorious  name,  188. 
Golden  harps  are  sounding,  189. 
Goodly  were  thy  tents,  O  Israel,  188,  512. 
Grace,  'tis  a  charming  sound,  190. 
Gracious  Saviour,  thus  before  thee,  190. 
Gracious  Spirit,  dwell  with  me,  191. 
Gracious  Spirit,  Holy  Ghost,  191. 
Gracious  Spirit,  love  divine,  191. 
Grant  us  thy  peace,  down  from  thy  heavens 

falling,  565. 
Great  Creator,  who  this  day,  192. 


ANNOTATED   OR  MENTIONED. 


653 


Great  God,  attend,  while  Zion  sings,  193.! 
Great  God,  how  infinite  art  thou,  193. 
Great  God,  now  condescend,  192. 
Great  God  of  wonders,  all  thy  ways,  327. 
Great  God,  the  followers  of  thy  Son,  44. 
Great  God,  the  nations  of  the  earth,  193. 
Great  God,  to  thee  my  evening  song,  194. 
Great  God,  to  thee  our  song  we  raise,  457. 
Great  God,  we  sing  that  guiding  hand,  196. 
Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear,  194. 
Great  God,  when   I  approach   thy  throne, 

196. 
Great  God,  whose  universal  sway,  197. 
Great  High-Priest,  who  deign'dst  to  be,  545. 
Great  is  the  Lord  our  God,  197. 
Great  Sun  of  Righteousness,  arise,  197. 
Great  the  joy  when  Christians  meet,  121. 
Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah,  197. 

Hail,  happy  day,  thou  day  of  holy  rest,  200. 

Hail,  Holy  Spirit, bright,  immortal  Dove, 200. 

Hail,  sacred  day  of  earthly  rest,  200. 

Hail  the  day  that  sees  him  rise,  201. 

Hail  the  night,  all  hail  the  morn,  202. 

Hail,  thou  bright  and  sacred  morn,  192. 

Hail,  thou  God  of  grace  and  glory,  201. 

Hail,  thou  once  despised  Jesus,  202,  281. 

Hail,  thou  source  of  every  blessing,  117. 

Hail  to  the  brightness  of  Zion's  glad  morn- 
ing, 204. 

Hail  to  the  Lord's  Anointed,  204,  482. 

Hail  to  the  Sabbath  day,  204. 

Hallelujah,  best  and  sweetest,  205. 

Hallelujah,  fairest  morning,  205. 

Hark  !  a  voice  saith,  All  are  mortal,  571. 

Hark,  hark,  my  soul,  angelic  strains  are 
swelling,  206. 

Hark  how  all  the  welkin  rings,  207. 

Hark,  my  soul,  it  is  the  Lord,  205. 

Hark,  ten  thousand  harps  and  voices,  206, 
472. 

Hark,  ten  thousand  voices  cry,  276. 

Hark,  ten  thousand  voices  sounding,  276. 

Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing,  207,  366. 

Hark,  the  hosts  of  heaven  are  singing,  208. 

Hark,  the  song  of  jubilee,  209. 

Hark,  the  sound  of  angel  voices,  209. 

Hark,  the  sound  of  holy  voices,  209. 

Hark,  the  voice  of  love  and  mercy,  209,  477. 

Hark  !  what  mean  those  holy  voices,  27,  210. 

Hark  !  what  mean  those  lamentations,  27. 

Hasten,  Lord,  the  glorious  time,  210. 

He  by  his  Spirit  leads,  572. 

He  comes  in  blood-stained  garments,  210. 

He  gave  me  back  the  bond,  210. 

He  giveth  sun,  he  giveth  shower,  384. 

He  has  come,  the  Christ  of  God,  211. 


He  has  gone,  a  cloud  of  light,  211. 
He  is  gone,  and  we  remain,  211. 
He  is  gone  beyond  the  skies,  211. 
He  lives,  the  great  Redeemer  lives,  211. 
He  raised  me  from  the  deeps  of  sin,  39. 
He  that  goeth  forth  with  weeping,  211. 
He  that  hath  made  his  refuge,  God,  211. 
He  who  once  in  righteous  vengeance,  212. 
He's  gone  !  see  where  his  body  lay,  112, 
Head  of  the  church  triumphant,  212. 
Heal  me,  O  my  Saviour,  heal  me,  213. 
Hear,  gracious  sovereign,  from  thy  throne, 

112. 
Hear  my  prayer,  O  heavenly  Father,  213. 
Hear  what  God  the  Lord  hath  spoken,  214. 
Heart  and  heart  together  bound,  280. 
Heavenly  Father,  grant  thy  blessing,  214. 
Heirs  of  unending  life,  572. 
Here  I  can  firmly  rest,  214,  238,  480. 
Here  in  the  body  pent,  153. 
Here  lies  old  Bigotry,  abhorred,  314. 
Here  the  King  hath  spread  his  table,  215, 

485. 
High  in  the  heavens,  eternal  God,  215. 
High  in  yonder  realms  of  light,  562. 
Holy  and  infinite,  viewless,  eternal,  216. 
Holy  and  reverend  is  the  name,  216. 
Holy  Bible,  book  divine,  216,  438. 
Holy  Father,  cheer  our  way,  217. 
Holy  Father,  hear  my  cry,  217. 
Holy  Father,  thou  hast  taught  me,  217. 
Holy  Father,  we  address  thee,  217. 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Infinite,  218. 
Holy  Ghost,  with  light  divine,  218. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord,  218. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  218. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord,  God  of  hosts,  220. 
Holy  night,  peaceful  night,  220. 
Holy  offerings,  rich  and  rare,  221. 
Holy  Saviour,  we  adore  thee,  221. 
Holy  Spirit,  come  and  shine,  220. 
Holy  Spirit,  gently  come,  221. 
Holy  Spirit,  in  my  breast,  221. 
Holy  Spirit,  Lord  of  light,  221. 
Honor  and  glory,  thanksgiving  and  praise, 

221. 
Hope  of  our  hearts,  O  Lord,  appear,  222. 
ITosanna,  raise  the  pealing  hymn,  222. 
Hosanna  to  the  living  Lord,  222. 
How  are  thy  servants  blest,  O  Lord,   222, 

529- 
How  beauteous  are  their  feet,  223. 
How  beauteous  on  the  mountains,  223. 
How  beauteous  were  the  marks  divine,  224. 
How  blest,  indeed,  are  they,  123. 
How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies,  225, 

458. 


654 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS, 


How  blest  the  sacred  tie  that  binds,  458. 
How  blest  thy  creature  is,  O  God,  142. 
How  bright  appears  the  morning  star,  227. 
How  bright  these  glorious  spirits  shine,  575. 
How  brightly  shines  the  morning  star,  226, 

582. 
How  lovely  shines  the  morning  star,  227. 
How  charming  is  the  place,  227. 
How  condescending  and  how  kind,  228. 
How  did  my  heart  rejoice  to  hear,  223. 
How  firm   a  foundation,   ye   saints  of  the 

Lord,  229. 
How  gentle  God's  commands,  231. 
How  great,  how  terrible,  that  God,  327. 
How  helpless  guilty  nature  lies,  231. 
How  pleasant,  how  divinely  fair,  232. 
How  pleased  and  blest  was  I,  232. 
How  precious  is  the  book  divine,  232. 
How  sad  our  state  by  nature  is,  232. 
How  shall  I  follow  him  I  serve,  233. 
How  shall  the  young  secure   their  hearts, 

233- 
How  short  the  race  our  friend  has  run,  475. 
How  sweet  and  awful  is  the  place,  103,  234, 

270. 
How  sweet,  how  heavenly,  is  the  sight,  234. 
How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds,  234. 
How  sweet  to  leave  the  world  awhile,  235, 

609. 
How    sweetly   flowed   the   Gospel's  sound, 

263. 
How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours,  378. 
How  vain  are  all  things  here  below,  235. 
How  vain  is  all  beneath  the  skies,  235. 
Hush,  my  dear,  lie  still  and  slumber,  62. 


am  Jesus'  little  lamb,  280. 

am  so  glad  that  our  Father  in  heaven,  236. 

am  trusting  thee,  Lord  Jesus,  238. 

ask  not  now  for  gold  to  gild,  238. 

asked  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow,  573. 

bless  the  Christ  of  God,  238. 

build  on  this  foundation,  238. 

cannot  find  thee !  Still  on  restless  pinion, 

564- 

cannot  tell  if  short  or  long,  238. 

feed  by  faith  on  Christ,  my  bread,  239. 

gave  my  life  for  thee,  569. 

hear  my  Saviour  say,  239. 

heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say,  238. 

journey  through  a  desert  drear  and  wild, 

239. 

know  my  end  must  surely  come,  486. 

know  no  life  divided,  239. 

know  that  my  Redeemer  lives,  241,  350. 

lay  my  sins  on  Jesus,  2,  241. 

left  it  all  with  Jesus,  long  ago,  241. 


I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord,  241. 

I  love  thy  gentle  influence,  Rowe,  62. 

I  love  to  steal  awhile  away,  242. 

I'll  praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath,  246. 

I'm  but  a  stranger  here,  584. 

I'm  not  ashamed  to  own  my  Lord,  29,  247. 

I  need  thee,  precious  Jesus,  247. 

I  rest  in  Christ,  who  died  for  me,  303. 

I  saw  one  hanging  on  a  tree,  248. 

I  see  a  man  at  God's  right  hand,  247. 

I  see  the  wrong  that  round  me  lies,  579. 

I  sing  the  almighty  power  of  God,  255. 

I  stand  on  Zion's  mount,  255. 

I've  found  the  pearl  of  greatest  price,  256. 

I've  read  of  a  world  of  beauty,  29. 

I  would  not  live  alway,  396,  475. 

If  God  be  on  my  side,  214. 

If  God  himself  be  for  me,  238. 

If  God  is  mine,  then  present  things,  257. 

If  human  kindness  meets  return,  256. 

If  Jesus  be  my  friend,  480. 

If  life's  pleasures  cheer  thee,  346. 

If  there  be  any  special  thing,  418. 

If  through  unruffled  seas,  258,  622. 

If  to  Jesus  for  relief,  573. 

If,  with  sore  affliction,  263. 

If  you  cannot,  on  the  ocean,  257. 

In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways,  259,  490. 

In  all  my  vast  concerns  with  thee,  259. 

In  all  the  paths  my  feet  pursue,  622. 

In  evil  long  I  took  delight,  248. 

In  heavenly  love  abiding,  146,  259. 

In  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory,  162,  260. 

In  the  dark  and  cloudy  day,  263. 

In  the  hour  of  trial,  263. 

In  thee,  my  powers,  my  treasures  live,  564. 

In  thy  name,  O  Lord,  assembling,  207,  264. 

Is  God  my  strong  salvation,  214. 

Is  it  a  thing  so  small,  569. 

Is  there  a  time  when  moments  flow,  505. 

Is  there  ambition  in  my  heart,  264. 

Israel,  thy  mournful  night  is  past,  31. 

It  came  upon  the  midnight  clear,  80,  264. 

It  is  no  untried  way,  266. 

It  is  not  death  to  die,  265. 

Jehovah  God,  thy  gracious  power,  267. 
Jerusalem,  my  happy  home,  Name,  270. 
Jerusalem,    my   happy   home,   When,   267, 

427. 
Jerusalem  on  high,  271. 
Jerusalem  the  glorious,  271. 
Jerusalem  the  golden,  271. 
Jesus,  and  didst  thou  condescend,  273. 
Jesus,  and  didst  thou  leave,  274. 
Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be,  60,  273. 
Jesus,  all  our  ransom  paid,  284. 


ANNOTATED    OR  MENTIONED. 


655 


Jesus,  all  thy  labor  vast,  284. 

Jesus,  at  thy  command,  274. 

Jesus,  at  whose  supreme  command,  275. 

Jesus  calls  us,  o'er  the  tumult,  275. 

Jesus  came,  the  heavens  adoring,  275. 

Jesus  cast  a  look  on  me,  341. 

Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to-day,  go. 

Jesus  comes,  his  conflict  over,  276. 

Jesus,  day  by  day,  276. 

Jesus,  forgive  us,  472. 

Jesus,  full  of  love  divine,  224. 

Jesus,  guide  our  way,  276. 

Jesus,  hail,  enthroned  in  glory,  203,  281. 

Jesus,  heed  me,  lost  and  dying,  266,  2S0. 

Jesus,  how  much  thy  name  unfolds,  218. 

Jesus,  how  precious  is  thy  name,  327. 

Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name,  282. 

Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken,  282,  490. 

Jesus,  I  will  trust  thee,  189. 

Jesus,  in  thy  dying  woes,  283. 

Jesus,  in  thy  memory  keep,  319. 

Jesus,  in  thy  thirst  and  pain,  284. 

Jesus  invites  his  saints,  284. 

Jesus  is  all  my  hope,  443. 

Jesus  is  God,  the  glorious  bands,  284. 

Jesus  is  gone  above  the  skies,  284. 

Jesus,  Jesus,  visit  me,  284. 

Jesus,  Lamb  of  God,  for  me,  285. 

Jesus  lives,  no  longer  now,  285. 

Jesus,  Lord  of  life  and  glory,  286. 

Jesus,  Lord,  we  kneel  before  thee,  286. 

Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,  286,  350. 

Jesus,  loving  to  the  end,  284. 

Jesus,  Master,  whose  I  am,  291. 

Jesus,  Master,  hear  me  now,  291. 

Jesus,  my  all,  to  heaven  is  gone,  291. 

Jesus,  my  great  High  Priest,  293. 

Jesus,  my  Lord,  I  know  his  name,  398. 

Jesus,  my  Lord,  my  God,  my  all,  294. 

Jesus,  meek  and  lowly,  294. 

Jesus,  name  all  names  above,  294. 

"  Jesus  only,"  in  the  shadow,  294. 

44  Jesus  only,"  when  the  morning,  294. 

Jesus  our  hope,  our  heart's  desire,  398. 

Jesus,  our  Light  and  Saviour,  488. 

Jesus,  our  Lord,  how  rich  thy  grace,  294. 

Jesus,  our  Lord,  to  thee  we  raise,  438. 

Jesus,  pitying  the  sighs,  284. 

Jesus,  Saviour,  pilot  me,  295. 

Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun,  296. 

Jesus,  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  296. 

Jesus  spreads  his  banner  o'er  us,  297. 

Jesus,  still  lead  on,  298. 

Jesus,  the  sinner's  friend,  to  thee,  299. 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  is  sweet,  299. 

Jesus,  the  very  thought  of  thee,  299,  419. 

Jesus,  these  eyes  have  never  seen,  299. 


Jesus,  thou  art  the  sinner's  friend,  300. 
Jesus,  thou  everlasting  King,  301. 
Jesus,  thou  joy  of  loving  hearts,  300. 
Jesus,  thou  source  of  calm  repose,  301. 
Jesus,    thy    blood    and    righteousness,    280, 

301. 
Jesus,  thy  boundless  love  to  me,  303. 
Jesus,  thy  church  with  longing  eyes,  304. 
Jesus,  thy  love  shall  we  forget,  304. 
Jesus,  to  thy  table  led,  304. 
Jesus,  we  look  to  thee,  305. 
Jesus,  we  thus  obey,  305. 
Jesus,  whelmed  in  fears  unknown,  284. 
Jesus,  where'er  thy  people  meet,  305,  609. 
Jesus,  who  knows  full  well,  305. 
Jesus,  who  on  Calvary's  mountain,  306. 
Jesus,  who  on  his  glorious  throne,  306. 
Jesus,  whose  almighty  sceptre,  443. 
Joy  to  the  world,  the  Lord  is  come,  307. 
Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,  290,  307,  369. 
Just  as  thou  art,  how  wondrous  fair,  8. 

Keep  silence,  all  created  things,  310. 
Keep  us,  Lord,  Okeep  us  ever,  309. 

Last  night  I  lay  a-sleeping,  179. 

Lead,    kindly    light,    amid    the  encircling 

gloom,  310. 
Lead   us,  O  Father,   in  the  paths  of   peace, 

313- 
Let  all  the  saints  terrestrial  sing,  315. 
Let  me  but  hear  my  Saviour  say,  313. 
Let  other  thoughts,  where'er  I  roam,  50. 
Let  our  choir  new  anthems  raise,  498. 
Let  party  names  no  more,  133,  314. 
Let  saints  below  in  concert  sing,  315. 
Let  the  church  new  anthems  raise,  315. 
Let  us  awake  our  joys,  233,  316. 
Let  us  love  and  sing  and  wonder,  317. 
Let  worldly  minds  the  world  pursue,  317. 
Let  Zion  and  her  sons  rejoice,  317. 
Let  Zion's  watchmen  all  awake,  574. 
Life  !  I  know  not  what  thou  art,  226. 
Life  of  our  life,  and  light  of  all  our  seeing, 

565. 
Life  of  the  world,  I  hail  thee,  317. 
Lift  up  to  God  the  voice  of  praise,  89,  317. 
Light  of  life,  seraphic  Fire,  318. 
Light  of  the  lonely  pilgrim's  heart,  318. 
Light  of  those  whose  dreary  dwelling,  318. 
Like  as  the  hart  doth  breathe  and  bray, 42. 
Like  Noah's  weary  dove,  475. 
Like  sheep  we  went  astray,  318. 
Live  while  you  live,  the  Epicure  will  say, 

365- 
Lo  !  God  is  here  ;  let  us  adore,  178,  318. 
Lo,  he  comes,  with  clouds. descending,  319. 


6S6 


INDEX   OF  HYMNS, 


Lo,  he  cometh,  countless  trumpets,  319. 
Lo  !  what  a  glorious  sight  appears,  319. 
Look    from  thy  sphere  of  endless  day,  44, 

320. 
Look  to  Jesus,  till  reviving,  319. 
Look,  ye  saints,  the  sight  is  glorious,  320. 
Lord  and  Father,  great  and  holy,  320. 
Lord,  as  to  thy  dear  cross  we  flee,  322. 
Lord,  at  this  closing  hour,  323. 
Lord,  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,  Bid,  323. 
Lord  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing,  Fill,  325. 
Lord,  from  whose  glorious  presence  came, 

44. 
Lord  God  of  hosts,  by  all  adored,  325. 
Lord  God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  326. 
Lord,  how  mysterious  are  thy  ways,  326. 
Lord,  how  secure  and  blest  are  they,  326. 
Lord,  how  shall  I  be  meeting,  418. 
Lord,  if  he  sleep,  he  shall  do  well,  329. 
Lord,  if  thou  thy  grace  impart,  429. 
Lord,  in  love  and  mercy  save  us,  328. 
Lord,  in  the  morning  thou  shalt  hear,  328. 
Lord,  in  this  thy  mercy^  day,  329. 
Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care,  330. 
Lord,  it  is  thy  holy  day,  333. 
Lord,  I  am  come,  thy  promise  is  my  plea, 

326. 
Lord,  I  am  thine,  entirely  thine,  326,  327. 
Lord,  I  cannot  let  thee  go,  328. 
Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  blessing,  328. 
Lord,  I  know  thy  grace  is  nigh  me,  137. 
Lord,  keep  us  safe  this  night,  516. 
Lord,  lead  the  way  the  Saviour  went,  333. 
Lord,  let  my  spirit  dwell,  443. 
Lord,  like  the  publican  I  stand,  562. 
Lord,    my    weak    thought   in  vain    would 

climb,  333. 
Lord  of  all  being,  throned  afar,  334. 
Lord  of  all   worlds,    incline   thy   bounteous 

ear,  334. 
Lord  of  earth,  thy  forming  hand,  335. 
Lord  of  glory,  thou  hast  bought  us,  335. 
Lord  of  mercy  and  of  might,  157,  335. 
Lord  of  our  life  and  God  of  our  salvation, 

336. 
Lord  of  the  frost-bound  winter,  429. 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  hear,  336. 
Lord  of  the  hearts  of  men,  337. 
Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  hear  our  vows,  558. 
Lord  of  the  worlds  above,  337. 
Lord,  of  thy  mercy,  hear  our  cry,  561. 
Lord,  remove  the  veil  away,  338. 
Lord,  that  I  may  learn  of  thee,  339. 
Lord,  thou    hast    searched    and    seen     me 

through,  341. 
Lord,  thou  on  earth  didst  love  thine  own, 

342- 


Lord,  thou  wilt  bring  the  joyful  day,  342. 
Lord,  thy  glory  fills  the  heavens,  342. 
Lord,  vouchsafe  to  us  thy  blessing,  325. 
Lord,  we  come  before  thee  now,  342. 
Lord,  when  I  all  things  would  possess,  342. 
Lord,  when  my  raptured  thought  surveys, 

342- 
Lord,  when  together  here  we  meet,  134. 
Lord,  when  we  bend  before  thy  throne,  343 

609. 
Lord,  when  with  dying  lips,  344. 
Lord,  where  shall    guilty    souls   retire,    259, 

344- 
Lord,  while  for  all  mankind  we  pray,  344. 
Lord,  with  glowing  heart   I'd   praise  thee, 

345- 
Lord,  who  ordainest  for  mankind,  44. 
Love  divine,  all  love  excelling,  346,  350. 
Loving  Shepherd,  kind  and  true,  545. 

Majestic  sweetness  sits  enthroned,  351. 
Many  a  gift  did  Christ  impart,  565. 
Master,  speak,  thy  servant  heareth,  351. 
May  the  grace  of  Christ  our  Saviour,  351. 
'Mid  scenes  of  confusion  and  creature  com- 
plaints, 352. 
Might  verse  of  mine  inspire,  380. 
Mighty  God,  while  angels  bless  thee,   117, 

352,  357- 
Mighty  One,  before  whose  face,  44. 
Mine  eyes  and  my  desire,  357. 
More  love  to  thee,  O  Christ,  358. 
Morn's  roseate  hues  have  decked  the  sky, 

358. 
Morning  breaks  upon  the  tomb,  195. 
Most  high  and  holy  Trinity,  545. 
Mourn  for  the  thousands  slain,  359. 
Much  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe,  532. 
My  blessed  Saviour,  is  thy  love,  396. 
My  country,  'tis  of  thee,  360. 
My  dear  Redeemer  and  my  Lord,  361. 
My  faith   looks  up   to   thee,    103,  264,  358, 

361. 
My  Father,  God,  how  sweet  the  sound,  364. 
My  former  hopes  are  fled,  36. 
My  God,  and  is  thy  table  spread,  366. 
My  God,  defend  my  cause,  396. 
My  God,  how  endless  is  thy  love,  365. 
My  God,  how  wonderful  thou  art,  367. 
My  God,  is  any  hour  so  sweet,  368. 
My  God,  I  thank  thee  for  the  guide,  123. 
My  God,  my  Father,  blissful  name,  368. 
My  God,  my  Father,  while  I  stray,  370. 
My  God,  my  King,  thy  various  praise,   370. 
My  God,  my  Life,  my  Love,  370. 
My  God,  permit  my  tongue,  370. 
My  God,  the  covenant  of  thy  love,  370. 


ANNOTATED    OR  MENTIONED. 


657 


My  God,  the  spring  of  all  my  joys,  370. 

My  God,  'tis  to  thy  mercy-seat,  129. 

My  gracious  Redeemer  I  love,  371,  378. 

My  heart  is  resting,  O  my  God,  146. 

My  heart  lies  dead  and  no  increase,  372. 

My  Helper,  God,  I  bless  his  name,  452. 

My  Jesus,  as  thou  wilt,  371. 

My  opening  eyes  with  rapture  see,  373. 

My  Saviour,  I  am  thine,  131. 

My  Saviour,  I  would  own,  375. 

My  Saviour,  my  Almighty  Friend,  375. 

My  Saviour,  on  the  word  of  truth,  146. 

My  Saviour,  whom  absent  I  love,  375. 

My  Shepherd  will  supply  my  need,  379. 

My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard,  29,  379. 

My  soul,  complete,  in  Jesus  stands,  379. 

My  soul  is  sad  and  much  dismayed,  573. 

My  soul  it  is  thy  God,  381. 

My  soul,  how  lovely  is  the  place,  380. 

My  soul,  repeat  his  praise,  380. 

My  soul,  there  is  a  countrie,  552. 

My  soul,  weigh  not  thy  life,  381. 

My  spirit,  on  thy  care,  380. 

My  times  of  sorrow  and  of  joy,  381. 

My  whole,  though  broken  heart,   O  Lord, 

33o- 
Mysterious  influence  divine,  123. 

Nature  with  open  volume  stands,  432. 
Nay,  I  cannot  let  thee  go,  328. 
Near  the  cross  was  Mary,  weeping,  382. 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee,  222,  382,  385. 
New  every  morning  is  the  love,  386. 
Night's  shadows  falling,    men   to   rest  are 

calling,  386. 
No  Gospel  like  this  feast,  387. 
No  more,  my  God,  I  boast  no  more,  387. 
No,  no,  it  is  not  dying,  285. 
Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts,  387. 
Not  all  the  outward  forms  of  earth,  387. 
Not  in  anger  smite  us,  Lord,  571. 
Not  to  my  wish,  but  to  my  want,  65. 
Not  to  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  388. 
Not  what  I  am,  O  Lord,  but  what  thou  art, 

388. 
Not  with  our  mortal  eyes,  388. 
Not  worthy,  Lord,  to  gather  up  the  crumbs, 

388. 
Nothing  but  leaves,  389. 
Nothing  fair  on  earth  I  see,  545. 
Now  be  the  Gospel  banner,  389. 
Now  from  labor  and  from  care,  389. 
Now  from  the  altar  of  my  heart,  256. 
Now  God  be  with  us,  for  the  night  is  closing, 

149,  390. 
Now  hush  your  cries  and  shed  no  tear,  600. 
Now  I  have  found  a  friend,  391. 


Now  is  the  accepted  time,  392. 

Now,  let  my  soul,  eternal  King,  392. 

Now,  let  our  cheerful  eyes  survey,  391. 

Now,  let  our  souls  on  wings  sublime,  194, 
391. 

Now,  let  our  voices  join,  391. 

Now,  may  he  who  from  the  dead,  392. 

Now,  may  the  Lord  reveal  his  face,  445. 

Now,  take  my  heart,  and  all  that  is  in  me, 
545- 

Now,  thank  we  all  our  God,  393. 

Now  that  the  sun  is  gleaming  bright,  394. 

Now  the  day  is  over,  394. 

Now  the  shades  of  night  are  gone,  56. 

Now,  to  the  Lord  a  noble  song,  394. 

Now,  to  the  Lord,  who  makes  us  know,  395, 
574- 

Now,  to  the  power  of  God  supreme,  395. 

Now,  to  thy  sacred  house,  395. 

Now,  when  the  dusky  shades  of  night  re- 
treating, 395. 

Oh,  bless  the  Lord,  my  soul,  396. 

O  blessed  Saviour,  is  thy  love,  396. 

O  blest  memorial  of  our  dying  Lord,  396. 

O  bread  to  pilgrims  given,  396. 

O  Brightness  of  the  Eternal  Father's  face, 

453- 
Oh,  cease,  my  wandering  soul,  396. 
O  Christ,  our  hope,  our  heart's  desire,  398. 
O  Christ,  our  King,  Creator,  Lord,  398. 
O  Christ,  the  eternal  Light,  91,  398. 
O  Christ,  the  Lord  of  heaven,  to  thee,  399. 
O  Christ,  thou  hast  ascended,  399. 
O  Christ,  who  hast  prepared  a  place,  399. 
O  Christ,  with  each  returning  morn,  399. 
Oh,  come  and  let  us  all,  with  one  accord,  400. 
Oh,  come,  all  ye  faithful,  400. 
Oh,  could  I  find  from  day  to  day,  402. 
Oh,  could  I  speak  the  matchless  worth,  402. 
O  cross,  O  cross  of  shame,  154. 
O  cross,  we  hail  thy  bitter  reign,  125. 
O  day  of  rest  and  gladness,  402. 
Oh,  deem  not  they  are  blest  alone,  44. 
Oh,  disclose  thy  lovely  face,  91. 
Oh,  do  not  let  the  word  depart,  403. 
O  ever  skilled  to  wear  the  form  we  love, 

611. 
O  eyes  that  are  weary,  403. 
Oh,  fair  the  gleams  of  glory,  405. 
O  faith,  thou  workest  miracles,  414. 
O  Father,  who  didst  all  things  make,  407. 
Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God,  405. 
Oh,  for  a  faith  that  will  not  shrink,  407. 
Oh,  for  a  heart  to  praise  my  God,  407. 
Oh,  for  a  shout  of  joy,  408. 
Oh,  for  a  shout  of  sacred  joy,  408. 


658 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS, 


Oh,  for  a  strong,  a  lasting  faith,  407. 

Oh,  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing,  113,  408. 

Oh,  for  that  tenderness  of  heart,  409. 

Oh,  for  the  happy  hour,  409. 

Oh,  for  the  peace  which  floweth  as  a  river, 

4*3- 
Oh,  for  the  robes  of  whiteness,  58. 
O  gift  of  gifts,  O  grace  of  faith,  414. 
O  God,  beneath  thy  guiding  hand,  414. 
O  God  of  Bethel,  by  whose  hand,  415. 
O  God,  the  Rock  of  Ages,  415. 
O  God,  thy  power  is  wonderful,  416. 
O  God,  we  praise  thee  and  confess,  326,  416. 
O  God,  whose  dread  and  dazzling  brow,  44. 
O  glorious  King,  O  happy  state,  440. 
O  gracious  Redeemer,  O  Jesus  our  Lord,  189. 
O  happy  band  of  pilgrims,  416,  498. 
O  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice,  432. 
O  Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter,  416. 
O  Holy  Ghost,  thou  Fount  of  light,  416. 
O  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord,  124,  417. 
O  Holy  Spirit,  now  descend  on  me,  417. 
Oh,  how  I  love  thy  holy  law,  417. 
Oh,  how  I  love  thy  holy  word,  573. 
Oh,  how  shall  I  receive  thee,  418. 
Oh,  if  my  soul  were  formed  for  woe,  418. 
O  inexhaustive  Fount  of  light,  416. 
O  Jesu,  Lord,  most  merciful,  419. 
O  Jesus  Christ,  if  sin  there  be,  418. 
O  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous,  418. 
O  Jesus  !  King  most  wonderful,  419. 
O  Jesus,  Lord  of  heavenly  grace,  400. 
O  Jesus,  our  salvation,  419'. 
O  Jesus,  sweet  the  tears,  419. 
O  Jesus,  thou  art  standing,  419. 
O  Jesus,  we  adore  thee,  419. 
O  King  of  mercy,  from  thy  throne  on  high, 

419. 
O  Lamb  of  God,  that  tak'st  away,  420. 
O  land  relieved  from  sorrow,  420. 
O  Lord,  how  full  of  sweet  content,  420. 
O  Lord,  I  look  to  thee,  585. 
O  Lord,  in  all  our  trials  here,  561. 
O  Lord  most  high,  eternal  King,  424. 
O  Lord,  my  best  desires  fulfil,  407,  573. 
O  Lord  of  heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea,  424. 
O  Lord,  our  languid  souls  inspire,  13,  305. 
O  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  the  snares,  561. 
O  Lord,  thy  work  revive,  424. 
O  Lord,  turn  not  thy  face  away,  425. 
O  Lord,  we  now  the  path  retrace,  425. 
O  Lord,  when  we  the  path  retrace,  425. 
O   Lord,  who  by  thy  presence   hast  made 

light,  425. 
O  Love  Divine,  that  stooped  to  share,  426. 
0  Love, how  deep!  how  broad,  how  high, 

426. 


O  Love  who  formedst  me  to  wear,  545. 

O  Man  of  Sorrows  !  hast  thou  given  to  me, 

53. 
O  Master,  let  me  walk  with  thee,  427. 
Oh,  may  our  sympathizing  breasts,  148. 
O  morning  star,  how  fair  and  bright,  227. 
O  mother  dear,  Jerusalem,  268,  427. 
O  North,  with  all  thy  vales  of  green,  44. 
Oh,  not  my  own  these  verdant  hills,  427. 
Oh,  not  to  fill  the  mouth  of  fame,  428. 
O  Paradise,  O  Paradise,  428. 
Oh,  render  thanks  to  God  above,  428. 
O  Rock  of  Ages,  one  foundation,  429. 
O  sacred  head,  now  wounded,  430. 
O  Saviour,  precious  Saviour,  430. 
O  Saviour,  where  shall  guilty  man,  431. 
O  Saviour,  who  didst  come,  431. 
Oh,  see  how  Jesus  trusts  himself,  432. 
Oh,  still  in  accents  sweet  and  strong,  432. 
Oh,  sweetly  breathe  the  lyres  above,  432. 
Oh,  that  the  Lord's  salvation,  432. 
Oh,  that  the  Lord  would  guide  my  ways, 

432. 
Oh,  the  sweet  wonders  of  that  cross,  432. 
O  thou  by  long  experience  tried,  422. 
O  thou  essential  Word,  432. 
O  thou  from  whom  all  goodness  flows,  159, 

300,  433- 
O  thou  God,  who  hearest  prayer,  435. 
O  thou  great  Friend  to  all  the  sons  of  men, 

435- 
O  thou,  my  soul  forget  no  more,  436. 
O  thou  that  hearest  prayer,  438. 
O  thou,  the  contrite  sinner's  Friend,  439. 
O  thou  to  whom  in  ancient  time,  176. 
O  thou  to  whose  all-searching  sight,  298, 466. 
O  thou  to  whose  all-seeing  eye,  561. 
O  thou  who  bid'st  the  ocean  deep,  136. 
O  thou  who  didst  with  love  untold,  561. 
O  thou  !  who  dry'st  the  mourner's  tear,  121. 
O  thou  whom  we  adore,  438. 
O  thou  whose  bounty  fills  my  cup,  439. 
O  thou  whose  own  vast  temple  stands,  44, 439. 
O  thou  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget,  44. 
O  thou  whose  tender  mercy  hears,  439. 
Oh,  turn  ye,  oh,  turn  ye,  for  why  will  ye 

die,  439. 
Oh,  was  my  heart  but  formed  for  woe,  327, 

418. 
Oh,  what  if  we  are  Christ's,  440. 
Oh,  what  shall  be,  oh,  when  shall  be,  440,  441 
Oh,  what  stupendous  mercy  shines,  440. 
Oh,  what  the  joy  and  the  glory  must  be,  441. 
Oh,  when  my  righteous  Judge  shall  come, 

605. 
Oh,  where  are  kings  and  empires  now,  441. 
Oh,  where  shall  rest  be  found,  441. 


ANNOTATED   OR  MENTIONED. 


659 


Oh,  why  should  Israel's  sons,  614. 

Oh,   why  should   the  spirit   of    mortal   be    j 

proud,  10. 
Oh,  worship  the  King  all  glorious  above,  442. 
O  Word  of  God  incarnate,  442. 
O  Zion,  tune  thy  voice,  442. 
O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness,  442. 
Of  the  Father's  love  begotten,  443. 
Oft  in  sorrow,  oft  in  woe,  532. 
On  Jordan's  banks  the  Baptist's  cry,  443. 
On  Jordan's  rugged  banks  I  stand,  443. 
On  mountains  and  in  valleys,  444. 
On  our  way  rejoicing,  444. 
On  the  fount  of  life  eternal,  444. 
On  the  mountain's  top  appearing,  444. 
On  this  day,  the  first  of  days,  445. 
On  thy  Church,  O  power  divine,  445. 
On  Zion  and  on  Lebanon,  542. 
Once  I  thought  my  mountain  strong,  445. 
Once  in  royal  David's  city,  445. 
Once  more  before  we  part,  446. 
Once  more,  my  soul,  the  rising  day,  446. 
One  cup  of  healing  oil  and  wine,  446. 
One  family  we  dwell  in  him,  104. 
One  is  kind  above  all  others,  447. 
One  sole  baptismal  sign,  447. 
One  sweetly  solemn  thought,  447. 
One  there  is  above  all  others,  449. 
Onward,  Christian  soldiers,  29,  450. 
Onward,  Christian,  though  the  region,  450. 
Onward,  onward,  though  the  region,  450. 
Onward,  onward,  men  of  heaven,  450. 
Open  now  thy  gates  of  beauty,  450. 
Our  blest  Redeemer,  ere  he  breathed,  451. 
Our  country's  voice  is  pleading,  451. 
Our  day  of  praise  is  done,  517. 
Our  Father,  hear  our  longing  prayer,  451. 
Our  Father  !  through  the  coming  year,  452. 
Our  Father,  to  thy  love  we  owe,  44. 
Our  God,  our  help  in  ages  past,  452. 
Our  Helper,  God  !  we  bless  thy  name,  452. 
Our  Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead,  452. 
Our  Lord  who  knows  full  well,  305. 
Our  sins,  our  sorrows,  Lord,  were  laid  on 

thee,  453. 

Parted  for  some  anxious  days,  71. 
Paschal  Lamb  by  God  appointed,  203. 
Peace,  perfect  peace,  in  this  dark  world  of 

sin,  455. 
Peace,  troubled  soul,  whose  plaintive  moan, 

453- 
People  of  the  living  God,  455. 
Pleasant  are  thy  courts  above,  455. 
Praise,  everlasting  praise,  be  paid,  407. 
Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 

394.  45<5- 


Praise,  Lord,  for  thee  in  Zion  waits,  457. 
Praise  the  Lord  who  reigns  above,  429. 
Praise  the  Lord,  ye  heavens  adore  him,  457. 
Praise  the  Saviour,  ye  who  know  him,  458. 
Praise  to  God,  immortal  praise,  458. 
Praise  to  thee,  thou  great  Creator,  458. 
Praise  waits  in  Zion,  Lord,  for  thee,  458. 
Praise  ye  Jehovah  !  praise  the  Lord,  459. 
Prayer  is  the  breath  of  God  in  man,  459. 
Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire,  460,  482. 
Precious  promise  God  hath  given,  461. 
Purer  yet,  and  purer,  461. 

Quiet,  Lord,  my  froward  heart,  461. 

Rejoice,  all  ye  believers,  462. 

Rejoice,  rejoice,  believers,  433,  462. 

Rejoice,  the  Lord  is  King,  462. 

Rest  of  the  weary  !  Thou,  486. 

Return,  my  roving  heart,  return,  462. 

Return,  O  wanderer,  return,  195,462. 

Return,  O  wanderer,  to  thy  home,  462. 

Ride  on,  ride  on  in  majesty,  464. 

Rise,  crowned  with  light,  imperial  Salem, 

rise,  463. 
Rise,  glorious  Conqueror,  rise,  464. 
Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings,  465. 
Rise,  ye  children  of  salvation,  466. 
Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me,  466. 
Roll  on,  thou  mighty  ocean,  469. 

Safe  home,  safe  home  in  port,  498. 
Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus,  469. 
Safely  through  another  week,  470. 
Saints  of  God,  the  dawn  is  brightening,  470. 
Salvation  is  forever  nigh,  471. 
Salvation,  oh,  the  joyful  sound,  471. 
Salvation,  O  thou  bleeding  Lamb,  471. 
Saviour,  again,  to  thy  dear  name  we  raise, 

472. 
Saviour,  blessed  Saviour,  472. 
Saviour,  breathe  an  evening   blessing,   472, 

5°5- 
Saviour,  happy  would  I  be,  472. 
Saviour  !  hasten,  thine  appearing,  472. 
Saviour,  I  do  feel  thy  merit,  219. 
Saviour,  I  follow  on,  472. 
Saviour  King,  in  hallowed  union,  473. 
Saviour,  let  thy  love  for  me,  474. 
Saviour,  now  the  day  is  ending,  473. 
Saviour,  send  a  blessing  to  us,  474. 
Saviour,  shine,  and  cheer  my  soul,  445. 
Saviour,  teach  me,  day  by  day,  474. 
Saviour,  through  the  desert  lead  us,  474. 
Saviour,  thy  dying  love,  474. 
Saviour,  visit  thy  plantation,  475. 
Saviour,  when  in  dust  to  thee,  47s. 


66o 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS, 


Saviour,  who  thy  flock  art  feeding,  475. 
Saviour,  whom  our  hearts  adore,  430. 
Say,  sinner,  hath  a  voice  within,  475. 
Scorn  not  the  slightest  word  or  deed,  476. 
See  Israel's  gentle  Shepherd  stand,  476,  538. 
See,  Jesus,  thy  disciples  see,  609. 
See,  the  Conqueror  mounts  in  triumph,  476. 
See,  the  eternal  Judge  descending,  477. 
Servant  of  God,  well  done,  476,  477. 
Shall  hymns  of  grateful  love,  286. 
Shall  we  gather  at  the  river,  479. 
Shepherd  of  tender  youth,  479. 
Shepherd  of  the  fold  of  God,  478. 
Shepherd,  with  thy  tenderest  care,  478. 
Shine,  mighty  God,  on  Zion  shine,  479. 
Shine,  mighty  God,  on  this  our  land,  479. 
Shine  on  our  land,  Jehovah,  shine,  479. 
Shine  on  our  souls,  eternal  God,  479. 
Shout,  O  earth,  from  silence  waking,  480. 
Shout  the  glad  tidings,  exultingly  sing,  475, 

479,  622. 
Show  pity,  Lord,  O  Lord  forgive,  480. 
Silent  night,  holy  night,  22c 
Since  Jesus  is  my  friend,  214,  480. 
Since  thy  Father's  arm,  480. 
Sing,  O  heavens,  O  earth,  rejoice,  481. 
Sing,  sing  his  lofty  praise,  481. 
Sing  to  the  Lord  a  joyful  song,  481. 
Sing  to  the  Lord  with  joyful  voice,  57. 
Sing  we  the  song  of  those  who  stand,  481. 
Sing  with  all  the  sons  of  glory,  483. 
Sinners,  turn,  why  will  ye  die,  484. 
Sion,  to  thy  Saviour  singing,  215,  484. 
Sit  down  beneath  his  shadow,  485. 
Sleep  thy  last  sleep,  485. 
Sleepers,  wake,  a  voice  is  calling, -227,  581. 
Slowlj  in  sadness  and  in  tears,  71. 
Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark 

sea,  623. 
So  let  our  lips  and  lives  express,  485. 
So  rest,  our  Rest,  thou  ever  blest,  485. 
Softly  fades  the  twilight  ray,  486. 
Softly  now  the  light  of  day,  487,  562. 
Sometimes  a  light  surprises,  488. 
Son  of  God,  to  thee  I  cry,  488. 
Songs  of  praise  the  angels  sang,  489. 
Soon  may  the  last  glad  song  arise,  489. 
Soon  shall  we  with  those  in  glory,  282. 
Soul,  then  know  thy  full  salvation,  489. 
Sound  aloud  Jehovah's  praises,  429. 
Source  of  my  life's  refreshing  springs,  146. 
Sovereign   of  worlds  !     display  thy   power, 

490,  621. 
Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed,  491. 
Speak  to  me,  Lord,  thyself  reveal,  491. 
Spirit  of  God,  descend  upon  my  heart,  491. 
Stand  up  and  bless  the  Lord,  493. 


Stand  up,  my  soul,  shake  off  thy  fears,  30, 

493- 
Stand  up,  stand  up,  for  Jesus,  29,  264,  291, 

36i,493- 
Standing  at  the  portal,  498. 
Stars  of  the  morning,  so  gloriously  bright, 

498. 
Stealing  from  the  world  away,  498. 
Still,  still  with  thee,  my  God,  499. 
Sun  of  my  soul,  thou  Saviour  dear,  500. 
Sure  the  blest  Comforter  is  nigh,  502. 
Surely  Christ  thy  griefs  hath  borne,  502. 
Sweet  feast  of  love  divine,  75. 
Sweet  is  the  light  of  Sabbath  eve,  505. 
Sweet  is  the  memory  of  thy  grace,  505. 
Sweet  is  the  scene  when  virtue  dies,  226,  458. 
Sweet  is  the  solace  of  thy  love,  146. 
Sweet  is  the  work,  my  God,  my  King,  505. 
Sweet  is  the  work,  O  Lord,  505. 
Sweet  place,  sweet  place  alone,  271. 
Sweet  Saviour,  bless  us  ere  we  go,  505. 
Sweet   the  moments,  rich  in  blessing,  171, 

454,  508. 
Sweet  the  time,  exceeding  sweet,  122,  508. 
Sweet  was  the  time  when  first  I  felt,  509. 
Sweeter  sounds  than  music  knows,  509. 
Swell  the  anthem,  raise  the  song,  509. 

Take  me,  O  my  Father,  take  me,  510. 
Take  my  heart,  O  Father,  take  it,  510. 
Take  my  heart,  O  Father  !  mould  it,  510. 
Take  my  life  and  let  it  be,  511. 
Take  my  soul,  thy  full  salvation,  490. 
"  Take  up  thy  cross,"  the  Saviour  said,  511. 
Talk  to  me,  Lord,  thyself  reveal,  491. 
Teach  me  the  measure  of  my  days,  512. 
Teach  me   to   do   the   thing    that  pleaseth 

thee,  512. 
Tell  it  out  among  the  nations,  512. 
Tell  me  whom  my  soul  doth  love,  512. 
Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  513. 
Tender  Shepherd,  thou  hast  stilled,  513. 
That  we  might  walk  with  God,  572. 
The  atoning  work  is  done,  513. 
The  billows  swell,  the  winds  are  high,  573. 
The  bird  let  loose  in  eastern  skies,  121. 
The  Church  has  waited  long,  514. 
The  Church's  one  foundation,  514. 
The  Comforter  has  come,  514. 
The  dawn  of  God's  new  Sabbath,  514. 
The  day  is  done  ;  the  weary  day  of  thought 

and  toil  is  past,  565. 
The  day  is  gently  sinking  to  a  close,  514. 
The  day  is  past  and  gone,  515. 
The  day  is  past  and  over,  152,  517. 
The  day,  O  Lord,  is  spent,  516. 
The  day  of  praise  is  done,  517. 


ANNOTATED   OR  MENTIONED. 


661 


The  day  of  rest  once  more  comes  round,  519. 

The  day  of  resurrection,  517. 

The  gentle  Saviour  calls,  542. 

The  gloomy  night  will  soon  be  past,  519. 

The  God  Jehovah  reigns,  527. 

The  God  of  Abraham  praise,  202,  520. 

The  harvest  dawn  is  near,  522. 

The    head    that    once  was    crowned  with 

thorns,  522. 
The  heavens  declare  his  glory,  522. 
The  heavens  declare  thy  glory,  Lord,  197, 

523- 
The  heavenly  King  must  come,  429. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  here,  524. 
The  Holy  Comforter  has  come,  514. 
The  King  of  glory  standeth,  210. 
The  King  of  love  my  Shepherd  is,  525. 
The  Lamb's  high  banquet  called  to  share, 

47- 
The  Lord  and  King  of  all  things,  152. 
The  Lord  descended  from  above,  525. 
The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  no  want  shall  I 

know,  526. 
The  Lord  is  risen  indeed,  526. 
The  Lord  Jehovah  reigns,  527. 
The  Lord  my  pasture  shall  prepare,  527. 
The  Lord  my  Shepherd  is,  530. 
The  Lord  of  glory  is  my  light,  530. 
The  Lord,  our  God,  is  full  of  might,  530. 
The  Lord's  my  Shepherd,  I'll  not  want,  533. 
The  mercies  of  my  God  and  King,  533. 
The  morning  light  is  breaking,  361,  534. 
The  morning  purples  all  the  sky,  485. 
The  night  is  come  like  to  the  day,  172. 
The  people  of  the  Lord,  534. 
The  place  which  God  alone  reveals,  534. 
The  radiant  morn  hath  passed  away,  534. 
The  roseate  hues  of  early  dawn,  535. 
The  Sabbath-day  has  reached  its  close,  535. 
The  sands  of  time  are  sinking,  535. 
The  Saviour  hides  his  face,  573. 
The  Saviour  kindly  calls,  538,  542. 
The  Saviour  !  oh,  what  endless  charms,  536. 
The  shadows  of  the  evening  hours,  538. 
The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war,  539. 
The  spacious  firmament  on  high,  529,  539. 
The  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  Word,  540. 
The  Spirit  in  our  hearts,  541. 
The  strife  is  o'er,  the  battle  won,  544. 
The  swift  declining  day,  543. 
The  sun  is  sinking  fast,  542. 
The  Sundays  of  man's  life,  373. 
Thee  we  adore,  Eternal  Name,  544. 
Thee  we  adore,  O  hidden  Saviour,  thee,  396. 
Thee  will  I  love,  my  strength,  my  tower, 

544- 
There  is  a  blessed  home,  546. 


There  is  a  blessed  land,  546. 

There  is  a  book,  who  runs  may  read,  546. 

There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood,  547. 

There  is  a  happy  land,  550. 

There  is  a  land  immortal,  550. 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight,  444,  553. 

There  is  a  line  by  us  unseen,  382. 

There  is  a  name  I  love,  553. 

There  is  a  safe  and  secret  place,  553. 

There  is  a  spot  of  consecrated  ground,  553. 

There  is  a  time  we  know  not  when,  382. 

There  is  an  eye  that  never  sleeps,  553. 

There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful  rest,  555. 

There  is  no  night  in  heaven,  556. 

There  were  ninety  and  nine  that  safely  lay 

556. 
There's  a  friend  above  all  others,  447. 
There's  a  wideness  in  God's  mercy,  556. 
There's  music  in  the  air,  470. 
They  who  seek  the  throne  of  grace,  557. 
Thine  earthly  Sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love,  557 
Thine  for  ever !  God  of  love,  558. 
Thine  holy  day's  returning,  558. 
Think  gently  of  the  erring,  559. 
Think  well  how  Jesus  trusts  himself,  432. 
This  child  we  dedicate  to  thee,  558. 
This  God  is  the  God  we  adore,  559. 
This  is  my  body  which  is  given  for  you,  560. 
This  is  not  my  place  of  resting,  560. 
This  is  the  day  of  light,  560. 
'   This  is  the  day  the  Lord  hath  made,  560. 
Thou  art  coming  !  At  thy  table,  560. 
Thou  art  coming  !  O  my  Saviour,  560. 
Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not 

deplore  thee,  561. 
Thou  art  gone  up  on  high,  561. 
Thou  art  my  hiding-place,  O  Lord,  561. 
Thou  art,  O  God,  the  life  and  light,  121. 
Thou  art  the  Way  :  to  thee  alone,  562. 
Thou,  from  whom  we  never  part,  562. 
Thou  God  of  glorious  majesty,  563. 
Thou  grace  divine  encircling  all,  563. 
Thou  hidden  love  of  God  whose  height,  178. 
Thou  hidden  Source  of  calm  repose,  301. 
Thou  holiest  Love,  whom  most  I  love,  545. 
Thou   long    disowned,   reviled,    oppressed, 

564- 
Thou  lovely  Source  of  true  delight,  565. 
Thou  Maker  of  our  mortal  frame,  123. 
Thou  only  Sovereign  of  my  heart,  565. 
Thou  very  present  aid,  565. 
Thou   wandering,    pleasant,   little    breath, 

463. 
Thou  who  roll'st  the  year  around,  565. 
Thou  !  whose  Almighty  word,  565. 
Thou  whose  unmeasured  temple  stands,  44, 

439- 


662 


INDEX  OF  HYMNS, 


Though  faint,  yet  pursuing,  566. 
Though  I  speak  with  angel  tongues,  565. 
Though  now  the  nations  sit  beneath,  566. 
Though  sorrows  rise  and  dangers  roll,  567. 
Though  the  morn  may  be  serene,  445. 
Though  troubles  assail,  566. 
Three  in  One  and  One  in  Three,  567. 
Through  all  the  changing  scenes  of  life,  567. 
Through  sorrow's  night  and  danger's  path, 

567- 
Through  the  day  thy  love  has  spared  us, 

207,  568. 
Through  the  love  of  God,  our  Saviour,  218. 
Through  the  night  of  doubt  and  sorrow,  568. 
Through  the  yesterday  of  ages,  568. 
Thus  far  the  Lord  hath  led  me  on,  568. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  your  Master  dear,  134. 
Thy    Father's    house !    thine    own    bright 

home,  569. 
Thy  home  is  with  the  humble,  Lord,  569. 
Thy  life  was  given  for  me,  569. 
Thy  way  is  best,  my  Father,  58. 
Thy  way  is  in  the  sea,  570. 
Thy  way,  not  mine,  O  Lord,  570. 
Thy  way,  O  Lord,  is  in  the  sea,  570. 
Thy  will  be  done  !     In  devious  way,  263. 
Thy  works,  not  mine,  O  Christ,  570. 
41  Till  he  come"  :  oh,  let  the  words,  570. 
Time  is  winging  us  away,  216,  438. 
Time,  thou  speedest  on  but  slowly,  570. 
Time  was  I  shrank  from  what  was  right,  310. 
'Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know,  206. 
'Tis  by  the  faith  of  joys  to  come,  571. 
41  'Tis  finished  !" — so  the  Saviour  cried,  572. 
'Tis  God  the  Spirit  leads,  572. 
'Tis  midnight,  and  on  Olive's  brow,  555,  572. 
'Tis  my  happiness  below,  573. 
'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  import,  574. 
'Tis  not  that  I  did  choose  thee,  574. 
'Tis  past — the  dreadful,  stormy  night,  573. 
'Tis  sure  that  awful  time  will  come,  196. 
To-day  the  Saviour  calls,  574. 
To  Christ  the  Lord  let  every  tongue,  351. 
To  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  574. 
To  God,  the  only  wise,  574. 
To  him  that  chose  us  first,  575. 
To  him  that  loved  the  souls  of  men,  574. 
To  him  that  loved  us  from  himself,  575. 
To  Jesus,  our  exalted  Lord,  576. 
To  Jesus,  our  victorious  Lord,  576. 
To  Jesus,  the  Crown  of  my  hope,  180,  375, 

423. 
To  thee,  my  God  arid  Saviour,  159,  575. 
To  thee,  O  Christ,  we  ever  pray,  576. 
To  thee,  O  God,  we  raise,  576. 
To  thy  great  name,  O  Prince  of  peace,  260. 
To  thy  pastures,  fair  and  large,  576. 


To  thy  temple  we  repair,  578. 
Together  with  these  symbols,  Lord,  578. 
Travelling  to  the  better  land,  579. 
Trembling  earth  gave  awful  signs,  35. 
Triumphant  Lord,  thy  goodness  reigns,  579. 
Triumphant  Zion,  lift  thy  head,  580. 
'Twas  on  that  dark,  that  doleful  night,  580. 

Unless  the  Lord  had  been  my  stay,  573. 
Upon  the  gospel's  sacred  page,  581. 
Unshaken  as  the  sacred  hill,  580. 
Unto  thee  be  glory  given,  580. 
Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithful  tomb,  581. 
Uplift  the  blood-red  banner,  48. 
Upward  I  lift  mine  eyes,  581. 

Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame,  463. 

Wake,  awake  !  for  night  is  flying,  227,  581. 
Waked  by  the  gospel's  joyful  sound,  54. 
Walk  in  the  light,  so  shalt  thou  know,  582. 
Warrior  kings  their  titles  gain,  583. 
Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  night,  162,  263,  583. 
We  are  but  strangers  here,  584. 
We  are  the  Lord's  ;  his  all-sufficient  merit, 

585- 
We  come,  O  Lord,  before  thy  throne,  585. 
We  come  to  the  fountain,  we  stand  by  the 

wave,  585. 
We  gather  at  the  mercy-seat,  359. 
We  give  immortal  praise,  585. 
We  give  thee  but  thine  own,  585. 
We  love  thee.  Lord,  yet  not  alone,  192. 
We  march,  we  march  to  victory,  30,  586. 
We  may  not  climb  the  heavenly  steeps,  586. 
We  plough  the  fields  and  scatter,  587. 
We  shall  meet  beyond  the  river,  5S8. 
44  We  shall  see  him,"  in  our  nature,  588. 
We  soon  shall  hear  the  midnight  cry,  605. 
We  speak  of  the  realms  of  the   blest,  154, 

589. 
We  stand  in  deep  repentance,  589. 
44  We  would  see  Jesus"  ;  for  the  shadows 

lengthen,  589. 
Weak  in  myself,  and  burden'd  too,  327. 
Weary  of  earth,  and  laden  with  my  sin,  590. 
Weary  with  my  load  of  sin,  447. 
Welcome,  days  of  solemn  meeting,  590. 
Welcome,  delightful  morn,  590. 
Welcome,  happy  morning,  591. 
Welcome,  sacred  day  of  rest,  591. 
Welcome,  sweet  day  of  rest,  591. 
Welcome  to  earth,  great  Son  of  God,  327. 
Welcome,  welcome,  dear  Redeemer,  13,  591. 
Were  I  so  tall  to  reach  the  pole,  365. 
What  cheering  words  are  these,  591. 
What  equal  honors  shall  we  pay,  592. 


ANNOTATED   OR  MENTIONED. 


663 


What  grace,  O  Lord,  and  beauty  shone,  592. 
What  is  life  ?  'Tis  but  a  vapor,  592. 
What  our  Father  does  is  well,  592. 
What  shall  I  render  to  my  God,  592. 
What  sinners  value,  I  resign,  592. 
Whate'er  he  bids,  observe  and  do,  44. 
Whate'er  my  God  ordains  is  right,  592. 
When  Abraham's  servant  to  procure,  259. 
When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God,  529,  593. 
When  as  returns  this  solemn  day,  458. 
When  bending  o'er  the  brink  of  life,  195. 
When  darkness  long  has  veiled  my  mind, 

573- 
When  downward  to  the  darksome  tomb,  594. 
When  gathering  clouds  around  I  view,  593. 
When  God  of  old  came  down,  593. 
When  he  who  from  the  scourge  of  wrong, 

44. 
When  his  salvation  bringing,  594. 
When  I  can  read  my  title  clear,  594. 
When  I  have  said  my  quiet  say,  486. 
When  I  survey  life's  varied  scene,  149. 
When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross,  595. 
When  I  view  my  Saviour  bleeding,  595. 
When    Israel  freed  from    Pharaoh's  hand, 

529- 
When  Jesus  dwelt  in  mortal  clay,  596. 
When  Jordan  hushed  his  waters  still,  596. 
When,  like  a  stranger  on  our  sphere,  597. 
When  marshalled  on  the  nightly  plain,  597. 
When  morning  gilds  the  skies,  597. 
When  my  dying  hour  must  be,  600. 
When  my  Jesus  I'm  possessing,  454. 
When  my  last  hour  is  close  at  hand,  599. 
When,  O  dear  Jesus,  when  shall  I,  516. 
When  on  Sinai's  top  I  see,  601. 
When  our  hearts  are  bowed  with  woe,  464, 

601. 
When  rising  from  the  bed  of  death,  529. 

When  shades  of  night  around  us  close,  601. 

When  sins  and  fears  prevailing  rise,  601. 

When,   streaming    from  the   eastern  skies, 
601,  622. 

When  the  weary  seeking  rest,  602. 

When  this  passing  world  is  done,  84. 

When  this  song  of  praise  shall  cease,  44. 

When  thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  shall  come, 
602. 

When  time  seems  short  and  death  is  near, 
265. 

When  wounded  sore,  the  stricken  soul,  607. 

Where  high  the  heavenly  temple   stands, 
607. 

Where  two  or  three  together  meet,  609. 

Where  two  or  three  with  sweet  accord,  609. 

Wherefore  should  I  grieve  and  pine,  20. 


Wherever  two  or  three  may  meet,  609. 

While  health  and  strength  and  youth  re- 
main, 457. 

While  in  a  thousand  open'd  veins,  327. 

While  in  sweet  communion  feeding,  609. 

While  my  Jesus  I'm  possessing,  171,  508. 

While  o'er  our  guilty  land,  O  Lord,  327. 

While  shepherds  watched  their  flocks  by 
night,  315,  610. 

While  thee  I  seek,  protecting  power,  610. 

While  various  rumors  spread  abroad,  327. 

While  we  lowly  bow  before  thee,  612. 

While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun,  613. 

Who  are  these  before  God's  throne,  613. 

Who  are  these  like  stars  appearing,  613. 

Who  is  this  that  comes  from  Edom,  613. 

Who  shall  the  Lord's  elect  condemn,  613. 

Why  do  we  mourn  departing  friends,  613. 

Why  dost   thou  beat  so  quick,   my   heart, 

569- 
Why  is  thy  faith,  O  child  of  God,  so  small, 

614. 
Why,  O  God,  thy  people  spurn,  614. 
Why  on  the  bending  willows  hung,  614. 
Why  should  the  children  of  a  King,  615. 
Why  should  we  start  and  fear  to  die,  616. 
Why  those  fears?  Behold,  'tis  Jesus,  309. 
j     Why  will  ye  lavish  out  your  years,  617. 
Why  will  ye  waste  in  trifling  cares,  617. 
With  broken  heart  and  contrite  sigh,  617. 
With  deepest  reverence  at  thy  throne,  618. 
With  joy  we  hail  the  sacred  day,  619. 
With  joy  we  lift  our  eyes,  619. 
With  songs  and  honors  sounding  loud,  620. 
Work,  for  the  night  is  coming,  620. 
Work  while  it  is  to-day,  620. 
World,  farewell !  of  thee,  I'm  tired,  571. 
Worship  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of  holiness, 

621. 
Worthy  the  Lamb  that  died  they  cry,  103. 
Wouldst  thou  eternal  life  obtain,  621. 

Ye  Christian  heralds,  go,  proclaim,  490,  621. 

Ye  faithful,  approach  ye,  401. 

Ye  messengers  of  Christ,  621. 

Ye  saints,  your  grateful  praises  bring,  622. 

Ye  servants  of  God,  your  Master  proclaim, 

621. 
Ye  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord,  621. 
Yes,  for  me,  for  me  he  careth,  622. 
Yes,  he  knows  the  way  is  dreary,  622. 
Yes,  I  must  bow  my  head  and  die,  327. 
Your  harps,  ye  trembling  saints,  258,  622. 

Zion,  awake  !  thy  strength  renew,  622. 
Zion,  the  marvellous  story  be  telling,  622. 


664 


INDEX   OF  HYMNS, 


LATIN    HYMNS. 


A  solis  ortus  cardine,  172. 
Ad  coenam  Agni  providi,  47. 
Ad  perennis  vitaj  fontem,  444. 
Ad  regias  Agni  dapes,  47. 
Adeste  fideles,  400. 
Adoro  te  devote,  latens  deitas,  3Q6. 
iEterne  Rex  altissime,  424. 
Alleluia,  dulce  carmen,  205. 
Angulare  fundamentum,  86. 
Animula  vagula,  blandula,  463. 
Aurora  ccelum  purpurat,  485. 
Beata  urbs  Hirusalem,  267. 
Christe  lumen  perpetuum,  91,  398. 
Christe  precamur  annue,  576. 
Christe,  qui  sedes  Olympo,  84. 
Christe,  rex  coeli  domine,  84. 
Corde  natus  e  parentis,  443. 
Diei  luce  reddita,  35. 
Die  parente  temporum,  445. 

Dies  irae,  129,  195,  483. 

Ecce  jam  noctis  tenuatur  umbra,  395. 

Finita  jam  sunt  praelia,  544. 

Gloria,  laus  et  honor,  15. 

Grates  nunc  omnes  reddamus,  26,  598. 

Hie  breve  vivitur,  78,  271. 

In  noctis  umbra  desides,  601. 

Ira  justa  Conditoris,  212. 

Jam  lucis  orto  sidere,  172,  394. 

Jam  mcesta  quiesce  querela,  600. 

Jerusalem  luminosa,  268. 

Jesu,  dulcis  memoria,  299. 

Jesu,  nostra  redemptio,  398. 

Jesu,  plena  caritate,  241. 

Jesu  redemptor  gentium,  170. 


Jordanis  oras  praevia,  443. 

Jucundare  plebs  fidelis,  112. 

Lauda  Sion  Salvatorem,  485. 

Nobis  Olympo  redditus,  399.  » 

O  amor  qui  exstaticus,  426. 

O  bona  patria,  154,  271. 

O  esca  viatorum,  396. 

O  filii  et  filiae,  621. 

O  luce  quae  tua  lates,  77. 

O  quanta  qualia  sunt  ilia  Sabbata,  2,  440. 

Nox  et  tenebrse  et  nubila,  395. 

Primo  die  quo  Trinitas,  445. 

Pugnate  Christi  milites,  30. 

Qui  procedis  ab  utroque,  416. 

Rex  Christe,  factor  omnium,  398. 

Salve  caput  cruentatum,  430,  600. 

Salve  festa  dies,  toto  venerabilis  aevo,  591. 

Salve,  Jesu  !  forte  nomen,  18. 

Sancti  venite  corpus  Christi  sumite,  134. 

Sol   praeceps    rapitur,   proxima  nox    abest, 

542. 
Splendor  paternae  gloriae,  399. 
Stabat  mater  dolorosa,  382. 
Supreme  motor  cordium,  337. 
Te  lucis  ante  terminum,  172. 
Urbs  beata  Hirusalem,  70,  86. 
Urbs  Syon  aurea,  271. 
Urbs  Syon  inclyta,  271. 
Urit  me  patriae  decor,  129. 
Veni  Creator  Spiritus,  97,  iog,  221. 
Veni  Sancte  Spiritus,  97,  102,  132,  220. 
Veni,  veni,  Immanuel,  134. 
Victimae  paschali  laudes,  90. 
Victis  sibi  cognomina,  583. 


GERMAN    HYMNS. 


Alle  Menschen  miissen  sterben,  571. 

Befiehl  du  deine  Wege,  165,  167. 

Christ  lag  in  Todesbanden,  90. 

Christi  Blut  und  Gerechtigkeit,  280,  301. 

Christus  ist  erstanden,  89. 

Die  Nacht  istkommen,  149,  390. 

Du  wesentlich.es  Wort,  432. 

Du  wiesest,  Jesu,  559. 

Ein'  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott,  2,  150,  214, 

394,  452. 
Ermuntert  euch,  ihr  Frommen,  462. 
Es  ist  gewisslich  an  der  Zeit,  195. 
Gelobet  seist  Du,  Jesus  Christ,  26,  598. 
Gelobet  sei  Jesus  Christ,  598. 
Gepreiset  seist  du,  Jesu  Christ,  598. 
Gluck  zu  Creutz  von  ganzem  Herzen,  125. 
Gott  ist  gegenwartig,  178,  186,  319. 
Gott  mit  uns,  mit  uns  auf  Erden,  188. 


Gott  rufet   noch ;   sollt  ich    nicht  endlich 

horen,  177. 
Guter  Hirt,  du  hast  gestillet,  513. 
Hallelujah,  Jesus  lebt,  205. 
Hallelujah,  schoner  Morgen,  205. 
Herz  und  Herz  vereint  zusammen,  280. 
Ich  will  dich  lieben,  meine  Starke,  545. 
In  Christi  Wunden  schlaf  ich  ein,  302. 
Ist  Gott  fur  mich,  so  trete,  214,  238,  480. 
Jesu,  geh  voran,  276,  298. 
Jesus  lebt,  mit  ihm  auch  ich,  285. 
Keine  Schonheit  hat  die  Welt,  136. 
Mein  Jesu,  wie  du  willst,  371. 
Nein,  nein,  es  ist  kein  sterben,  285. 
Nun  danket  alle  Gott,  393. 
O  Haupt  voll  Blut  und  Wunden,  419,  430. 
O  Jesu  Christ,  mein  schonstes  Licht,  303. 
O  Jesu,  meine  Sonne,  239. 


ANNOTATED   OR   MENTIONED. 


665 


Schonster  Herr  Jesu,  141. 
Seelen  Brautigam,  276,  298. 
Seele,  du  musst  munter  werden,  108. 
So  ruhest  Du,  O  meine  Ruh,  486. 
Stille  Nacht,  heil'ge  Nacht,  220. 
Straf  mich  nicht  in  deinem  Zorn,  571. 
Thut  mir  auf  die  schone  Pforte,  451. 
Unter  jenen  grossen  Giitern,  565. 
Verborgne  Gottes  Liebe,  Du,  178. 
Wach  auf  mein  Herz  und  singe,  24. 
Wachet  auf,  ruft  uns  die  Stimme,  227,  581. 
Warum  sollt'  ich  mich  denn  gramen  ?  20. 


Was  Gott  thut,  das  ist  wohlgethan,  592. 
Welt  lebwohl,  ich  bin  dein  miide,  570. 
Wenn  mein  Stiindlein  vorhanden  ist,  599, 

600. 
Wer  sind  die  vor  Gottes  Thron,  613. 
Wie  herrlich  strahlt  der  Morgenstern,  226. 
Wie  schon  leuchtet  der  Morgenstern,  226. 
Wie  soil  ich  dich  empfangen,  418. 
Wir  erscheinen  hier  vor  Dir,  589. 
Wir  pfliigen,  und  wir  streuen,  587. 
Zeige  dich  uns  ohne  Hulle,  338. 


Grand  Dieu,  sauvez  le  Roi,  114. 


FRENCH. 


Non,  ce  n'est  pas  mourir,  265. 


DANISH. 


Igjennem  Nat  og  Traengsel,  568. 


SWEDISH. 

Jesum  haf  i  standigt  minne,  319. 


WELSH. 

Arglwydd,  arwain  tnvy'r  anialwch,  199. 


GREEK. 


'Avao-Tao-ew?  r)p.cpa,  517. 

Zo(£>epas  TpiKVfu'a?,  151. 

'Itjctou  •yAvKVTare,  294. 

Kottov  re  xai  KaiJ.aTov,  40. 

Oi>  yap  /3Ae7reis  tov>s  TapaTTOVTas,  93. 


Trjv  Tj/xe'pav  Stekduv,  517. 
Twv  iepiov  ad\o<f>6po)v,  315. 
*u>S  i\apbv,  4^3. 
Xpierrbs  yevvarat,  6o£a<xaTe,  85. 
■*vxv  P-ov,  xjjvxv  P-ov,  174. 


APPENDIX   OF  HYMN   LINES. 


As  pants  the  wearied  hart,  43. 

Before  the  Lord  we  bow,  346. 

Beneath  the  cross  of  Jesus,  556. 

City  of  God,  how  broad  and  far,  146. 

Come,  dearest  Lord,  descend,  95. 

Come,  gracious  Lord,  descend,  95. 

Come,  Lord,  and  tarry  not,  109. 

Father  of  all,  in  every  age,  463. 

From  Egypt  lately  come,  207. 

God,  the  Lord,  is  King,  146. 

Great  God  of  all  thy  churches,  hear,  316. 

Hasten,  sinner,  to  be  wise,  34. 

How  lovely  shines  the  morning  star,  227. 

If  Christ  is  mine,  then  all  is  mine,  257. 

I  know  not  the  hour  when  my  Lord  will 

come,  237. 
Immortal  love,  forever  full,  587. 
In  this  calm,  impressive  hour,  389. 
Jesus,  in  thy  transporting  name,  274. 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  once  again,  336. 


Lord  of  the  world's  majestic  frame,  619. 
My  God,  now  I  from  sleep  awake,  49. 
No  prophet,  no  dreamer  of  dreams,  559. 
Not  of  terrestrial,  mortal  themes,  402. 
Now  the  shades  of  night  are  gone,  56. 
O  Father,  let  thy  kingdom  come,  340. 
Oh,  that  I  were  as  in  months  past,  509. 
Praise  to  God,  immortal  praise,  458. 
See  from  Zion's  sacred  mountain,  207. 
Soon,  too  soon,  the  sweet  repose,  192. 
This  thought  transporting  pleasure   gives, 

260. 
Through  sorrow's  night  and  danger's  path, 

567. 
Wake,  isles  of  the  South,  your  redemption 

is  near,  555. 
Welcome,  cross  and  tribulation,  125. 
What  various  hindrances  we  meet,  305. 
Who  are  these  arrayed  in  white,  349. 
Zion,  the  city  of  our  God,  167. 


JOY   IN    EXILE. 

"  Friend  of  my  love,  your  face  is  bright, 
I  see  the  gladness  in  your  eyes. 
What  fills  your  life  so  full  of  light  ?" 
"I  was  three  days  in  Paradise. 

"  I  saw  the  angels  and  talked  with  them 
Of  mysteries  far  beyond  our  sphere, 
And  I  brushed  the  very  garments'  hem 
Of  those  whose  souls  were  white  and  clear." 

"  How  came  you  hence  then,  friend  of  mine  ? 
Methinks  had  I  been  there  with  you, 
I  should  cling  to  the  heavenly  bread  and  wine, 
And  dread  whatever  might  prove  untrue." 

"  Ah  !  but  I  was  not  fit  to  stay, 

I  could  not  speak  the  heavenly  speech  ; 
But  I  loved  to  linger  along  the  way, 
And  learn  the  lessons  the  angels  teach. 

"  And  so  I  thought  to  wait  awhile 

Where  men  are  weary  and  tears  are  shed  ; 
To  cause  the  sorrowing  heart  to  smile, 
And  open  the  darkness  above  the  dead. 

"  For  I  dream  by  night  and  I  strive  by  day 
To  touch  once  more  each  heavenly  hand  ; 
And  to  bring  my  neighbor,  as  best  I  may, 
Where  Love  is  the  lord  of  all  the  land  !" 

S.  W.  D. 


TOPICAL    INDEX. 


Abney,  Sir  Thomas,  63. 

Adam  Bede,  595. 

Advowson,  161. 

A  Kempis,  Thomas,  252,  545. 

^Eolian  harp,  David's,  460. 

^Esthetic  titles,  498- 

Agapemenon  of  Prince,  425. 

Alexander  the  Great,  238. 

"All  hail,"  etc.,  on  violin,  18. 

Allibone,  Dr.  S.  A.,  63,  210,  533. 

555- 
Alms-giving,  76,  447,  585- 
Alpha  and  Omega,  443. 
"Am— a,"  273. 
American  hymns,  361. 

poetry,   586. 

Amun-Ra,  271. 
Andersen,  Hans,  490. 
Anglican  services,  197. 
Anglicanism,  208. 

"Anodynes,"  Bp.  Ken's,  173. 
Anthology,  A  fine,  609. 

Antennae  of  insects,  571. 

Apocrisiarius,  151. 

"Appointing  Woodford,"  33s- 

Arabic  hymn,  364. 

Arianism,  296. 

Arklas,  John,  518. 

Armenian  farewell,  73. 

Asceticism,   177,  237,  282,  520. 

Ashtabula  disaster,  237. 

Atonement,  Ample,  302. 

Augustine,  142,  211,  250. 

Bacon,  Lord,  66. 

Bacon,  Rev.  L.  W.,  D.D.,  271,  497- 

Bainbridge,  Mrs.  L.  S.,  468. 


Balaam's  blessing,  125. 
Baptism,  274,  4IO« 
Barakat,  Mrs.,  363. 
Barclay  of  Ury,  582. 
Bardanes,  Philip,  92. 
Barlow,  Joel,  63,  242. 
Battle  with  death,  375. 
Beatty,  Rev.  Charles,  D.D.,  56. 
Beecher,  Rev.  H.  W.,  287. 
Beecher,  Rev.  T.  K.,  105. 
Belcher,  Rev.  Jos.,  D.D.,  117. 
Bellamy,  Rev.  George,  544- 
Beman,   Rev.  N.  S.  S.,  D.D.,  62 
516. 

Benevolence,  108. 

Bentham,  Jeremy,  261. 

Bethel,  386. 

Bethune,  Divie,  207,  409. 

"B.  H.  P.,"  246. 

Bible  Christians'  hymn,  569. 

"  Bible  reading,"  168,  182,  467. 

Bigotry,  18,  223,  314,  383- 

Bohemian  Brethren,  89,  122,  390. 

Bohler,  Peter,  351. 

Bohme,  Jacob,  544- 

Bollandists,  450. 

Books,  Influence  of,  305. 

. ,  Too  many,  34. 

Borrow,  George,  236. 

Boswell's  method,  13. 

Bradburn,  S.,  his  witty  reply,  526. 

Bradbury,  W.  B.,  189,  236,  264. 

Bray,  Thomas,  408. 

Briggs,  Prof.  C.  A.,  55- 

Bristol,  45,  69,  162,   199.  216,  271, 

37i,  579- 
Brixham,  Description  of,  10. 

Brooke,  W,  T.,  77,  199- 


66S 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Browning,  Mrs.,  quoted,  363. 

Buchanan,  Robert,  229. 

Bull,  Rev.   Wrn.,  421. 

Bunyan,  John,  136,  316. 

Bunyan's  Holy  War,  550. 

Burgesses'  oath,  107. 

Burghers  and  Anti-Burghers,  107. 

Burroughs,  John,  179. 

I    ron,  531. 

Cairns,  Earl,  153. 

Calvinistic  Methodists,  68,  342,  465. 

Catholicity,  112,  120,  185,203,392. 

Cape  Cod  Folks,  40. 

Carpani  and  Handel,  52. 

Carpenter,  F.  B.,  258. 

Carey,  Wm.,  436. 

Cary,  Alice,  447. 

Cecil,  Richard,  405. 

Century  Magazine,  415. 

Century  of  Dishonor,  56. 

Ceylon's  spicy  breezes,  159. 

Chalmers,  Dr.  Thomas,  83,  86,  168. 

Chance  and  change,  533. 

Charles  II.,  172. 

Chatterton,  Thomas,  45. 

Chautauqua,  78. 

Chenier,  Andre,  612. 

Child,  Death  of  Heber's,  561. 

Childhood,  462. 

Children  and  Christ,  476. 

and  Watts,  62. 

singing,  156. 

Chimes  of  Louvain,  535. 
Christian  spirit,  Cennick's,  578. 
Christian   Year,   The,  501. 
Choir  difficulty,  119. 
Clarke,  Dr.  Adam,  204,  521. 
Cobblers,  Learned,  193. 
Cobden,  Richard,  546. 
Coleridge,  531. 
Collects,    215,    315,    389,    399,  415, 

455- 
Colonization  Society,  304. 
Comfort  from  a  hymn,  302,  510. 
"Compline  Antiphon,"  187. 


Composition,  Habits  of,  68,  85,  123, 
137,  239,  259,  409. 

Composite  hymn,  258,  400. 

Conference  hymn,  30. 

Conflict,  Hymns  of,  573. 

Congregational  singing,  163. 

"  Connection,  Lady  Hunting- 
don's," 576. 

Conscience,  22. 

Consecration,  511. 

Contentment,  355. 

Controversy,  Religious,  1,  191,  466. 

Conversation,  233. 

Conversion  by  a  hymn,  37. 

of  Lyte,  283. 

Convert,  Mr.  Sankey's,  237. 

Converted  actress,  131. 

Conway,  Moncure  D.,  389. 

Coquerel,  Athenase,  611. 

Coronation  of  Q.  Victoria,  344. 

Cotton  famine,  181. 

Courage,  Spiritual,  264. 

Cowper  not  a  clergyman,  488. 

Cowper,  Rev.  John,  423. 

"  Cowper's  last  hymn,"  375. 

Cowpox,  267. 

Cox,  Rev.  S.  H.,  D.D.,  224. 

Creation  of  man,  317. 

Creed  subscription,  464. 

Cross,  Clinging  to  the,  469. 

Crowther,  Rev.  Jonathan,  593. 

Cullis,  Dr.  W.  B.,  182. 

"  Cut  the  cable,"  307. 

Danger  at  sea,  309. 

Darbyites,  403. 

Dart,  The  river,  9. 

Dartmouth  College,  55. 

Darwin,     Chas.,   on    missions,    39, 

567. 
Dashiell,  Dr.,  547. 
Dawson,  "  Billy,"  17, 166,  409,  456. 
De  Tocqueville,  238. 
De  Wette,  480. 
Death-beds,  467. 
Deck,  Rev.  John,  234. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


669 


Decrees,  The  eternal,  489. 
Deems,  Rev.  C.  F.,  D.D.,  449. 
Delaroche,  Paul,  514. 
Derzhavin,  261. 
Devon  sailors,  308. 
Dickens,  Chas.,  213,  538. 
Disadvantages  overcome,  in. 
D'Israeli,  Benj.,  70. 
D'Israeli,  Isaac,  609. 
Disruption,  The,  168. 
Dissenters,  35. 
Divided  parish,  76. 
Dixon,  Hepworth,  425. 
Doane,  Bishop  W.  C,  487. 
"Doggerel,"  High  Church,  135. 
Doxology,  Seeing  the,  457. 
Drummer  boy's  hymn,  385. 
Duncan,  Mary  Lundie,  168. 
Diisseldorf,  569. 
D wight's  Collection,  334. 
Dying  "  like  Addison,"  285. 
Dying  sailor,  290. 
Dyspepsia,  Baxter's,  332. 

Early  rising,  53,  438,  446. 

Earnestness,  100,  101. 

Easter  at  Athens,  517. 

"  Ecce  Homo  "  picture,  277,  569. 

Eccentric  preaching,  477, 

Eccentricity,  340. 

Ecclesiasticus,  394. 

Eclipses,  Instrument  for,  20. 

"  Editorial"  essays,  528. 

Edmands,    J.,     Bibliographies    of, 

129. 
Education  of  women,  225. 
Elliott,  Rev.  H.  Venn,  309. 
Ellis,  Rev.  Rufus,  265. 
Energy,  242. 

English  hymnologies,  48. 
Epigram  by  Byrom,  94. 

■ of  Doddridge,  364. 

Ephod,  107. 

Epitaph,  A  beautiful,  513. 

of  Albinus,  571. 

.  Miss  Havergal's,  190. 


on  a  daughter,  43. 

of  Bakewell,  203. 

of  Newton,  255. 

Erotic  hymns,  79. 
Error,  gyroscopic,  439. 
Esthonian  legend,  307. 
Ettrick  Shepherd,  390. 
Evarts,  Jeremiah,  616. 
Evening  reflections,  342. 
Evening  hymns,  35. 
Examiner,    The,  185. 
Experience  of  Miss  Elliott,  370. 
Ezekiel's  wheels,  250. 

Face  of  Christ,  299. 
Faith,  166,  443. 

of  A.  Duncan,  58. 

,  Wesley's,  616. 

Family  discipline,  348. 
Farewell  sermon,  74. 
Fenelon,  421. 
Fields,  J.  T.,  181. 
Finney,  Rev.  C.  G.,  99,  287. 
Fletcher  of  Madeley,  149,  407. 
Flockhart,  Robert,  198. 
"  Flowers,"  Order  of  the,  598. 
Follen,  Prof.  Charles,  562. 
Foote,  the  comedian,  160. 
Forsyth,  Rev.  John,  D.D.,  490. 
"  Foundry,"  The,  351. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  63. 
French  Revolution,  612. 
Friend,  The  best,  470. 
Fuller,  Thomas,  25. 

Gardiner,  Capt.  Allen,  38. 

Gaskell,  Mrs.,  452. 

German  hymnology,  167,  173,  280, 

394- 

emigrant,  167,  173. 

Gethsemane,  94,  174,  175. 
Glad  of  Christ's  love,  238 
Gladstone,  Wm.  E.,  70. 
Glenorchy,  Lady,  274. 
Glory  of  God,  215. 
God,  Longing  for,  368. 
,  Revelation  of,  547. 


670 


TOPICAL   INDEX. 


Goethe,  285. 

"Golden  Mary,"  Wreck  of,  213. 
Good,  Dr.  Mason,  548. 
Gough,  John  B.,  72,  434. 
Grace  before  meat,  303. 
Graham,  Isabella,  317,  409. 
Graham,  Joanna,  409. 
Grahame,  James,  505. 
Grant,  Gen.,  his  funeral,  469. 
Gray,  Thomas,  13. 
Greek  Testament,  Value  of,  130. 
Greenwell,  Miss  Dora,  486. 
Greig,  Rev.  W.,  D.D.,  405. 
Grimm,  Jacob,  47. 
Gurnall,  Rev.  Wm.,  590. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  5,  151. 

"Hacks,"  Literary,  281. 

Hale,  Rev.  E.  E.,  128. 

Hall,  Rev.  John,  D.D.,  296,  595. 

,  Capt.  John  Vine,  155. 

,  Rev.  Sam'l  N.,  D.D.,  295. 

,  Rev.  Robert,  46,  216. 

Hamerton,  Philip  Gilbert,  446. 

Hammond,  E.  P.,  14. 

Happiness,  355. 

Hare,  Julius  Charles,  336. 

Harrison,  Susanna,  103. 

Hastings,  Rev.  T.  S.,  D.D.,  609. 

Hatfield,  J.  B.  T.,  470,  615. 

"  Havelock's  saints,"  228. 

Havelock,  Gen.,  437,  462. 

Haydn,  Michael,  220. 

"  He  died  for  me,"  14. 

Heaven,  Ideas  of,  599. 

Ileimwek,  420,  428. 

Henry,  Matthew,  65,  270. 

Herrnhut,  278,  351,  374. 

Hesketh,  Lady,  422. 

"  High  Priest,  Our,"  105. 

"  Hinder  me  not,"  259. 

"H.  L.  L.,"32. 

Hodge,  Rev.  Chas.,  D.D.,  230. 

Hog,  James  M.,  290. 

Hood,  Tom,  406. 

"  Holy  Club,"  292. 


Home,  T.  H.,  287. 

Howard,  John,  444. 

Hugo,  Victor,  580. 

Hunt,  Holman,  419.  ' 

Huss,  John,  390. 

Hussites,  277. 

hymn-book,  390. 

Hymn-mending,  54,  57,  59,  60,  76, 
201,  214,  231,  263,  293,  301,  319, 
326,  400,  461,  543,  548,  566,  569, 
617. 

Hymn  saved  from  flames,  64. 

"  Hymnist,"  origin  of  word,  44. 

Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,   77. 

Ibn-Mansur,  518. 

"  Idiomela,"  its  meaning,  40. 

Ignatius,  32. 

Illness  and  hymns,  368,  499. 

Image-worship  ;  or,    "  Icons,"  40, 

519- 
Independent,  The,  414,  427. 
Index  to  Watts,  59. 
Indians,  Converted,   55. 
Inghamites,  170. 
Ingoldsby  Legends,  526. 
Inoculation,  242. 
Inspiration,  430,  453,  617. 
Intolerance,  68. 
Invalid 's  Hymn-Book,  369. 
Irenic  ability,  70. 
Irvingites,  453. 

Jablonsky,  Bp.,  279. 
Jackson,  Andrew,  230. 
"J.  B.,  Nottingham,"  216. 
Jesuit  hymn,  396. 
Jesuits,  372,  545. 
Jew,  Converted,  29. 

,  Generosity  to,  301. 

,  Mission  to,  82. 

Jewess,  converted,  387,  521. 
Johnson,  Dr.  Sam'l,  132,  225. 
"  Jonahs  at  Cambridge,"  357. 
Jonson,  Ben,  503. 
Journalism,  281. 


TOPICAL   INDEX. 


671 


Karr,  Alphonse,  517. 

King's  son,  140. 

Kirk,  Rev.  E.  N.,  D.D.,  223,  294. 

"Kirwan"  (Dr.  Murray),   52,   104, 

181,  559- 
Klopstock's  "  Messiah,"  338. 
Knapp,  Albert,  285. 
Krishna  Pal,  436. 

Land's  End,  Cornwall,  563. 
Landseer,  Sir  E.,  553. 
Languages,  Acquisition  of,  261. 
Last  hymn,  37. 

,  Dr.  Bethune's,  265. 

Latin   hymnology,    174,    272,    312, 

485. 
"  Leeds  Layman,"  146. 
Leipzig,  Battle  of,  150. 
Leoni's  singing,  521. 
Leper  bard,  467. 
Liberty,  355. 
Lichfield  Cathedral,  539. 
Life,  Lines  on,  226. 
"  Light  of  the  World,"  419. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  10,  257,  304. 

Tower,  155. 

Livingstone,  David,  415. 
Lock  Hospital,  160. 
Logan,  Rev.  John,  64,  607. 
"  Look  up  Legion,"  128. 
Lute,  Ken's  skill  on,  49. 
Lyra  Apostolica,  312,  501. 
Lyra  Britannica,   209. 
Lyte's  grave,  10. 

Madagascar  martyrs,  546. 

"Maiden  Martyr,"  434. 

Main,  Hubert  P.,  211,  447,  557. 

Malan,  Dr.  Caesar,  265. 

Mann,  Horace,  19. 

Manna,  140. 

Manual,  Bishop  Ken's,  49. 

Mar  Saba,  Visit  to,  41. 

Marat,  611,  612. 

March,  Prof.  F.  A.,  622. 

"  Marriage  Feast  Hymn,"  227. 

''Marrow  doctrine,"  411. 


Martyn,  Henry,  433,  521,  532. 
Marvell,  Andrew,  529. 
Mason,  John,  62,  575. 

,  Lowell,   361. 

McCheyne's  brother,  82. 
McKenzie,  Dr.  Alex.,  289,  468. 
Mendelssohn's  "  St.  Paul,"  581. 
"  Meshech,"  371. 
"  Messiah's  Throne,"  105. 
Methodism,  351,  353. 
Midnight  hymn,  49. 
Miller,  Hugh,  267. 
Milnes,  Monckton,  50. 
Minstrel  of  Middle  Ages,  33. 
Missionary  success,  39. 

hymns,  442. 

Missionaries  singing,  319. 
Moir,  D.  M.  ("Delta"),  20,  530. 
Momiers,  Les,  266. 
Montauks,  Last  of  the,  55. 
Moody  and  Sankey,  237. 
Moody's  S.S.  teacher,  74. 
Moore,  Thomas,   623. 
Moravians,  6,  10,  89,  209,  278,  351, 

374,  455- 
Morwenstow,  Vicar  of,  324. 
Murray,    Dr.   N.     See   "  Kirwan." 
"  Music  in    the    Air,"    Author  of, 

470. 
Myers,  F.  W.  H.,  206. 
Mysticism  of  Mason,  256. 

Name  of  Jesus,  247. 

Neal,  J.  C,  551. 

Neander,  480. 

Nelson,  Dr.  David,  59,  616. 

Nestorians,  444. 

Mew  Englander,   The,  414. 

New  Haven  theology,  323. 

Nonconformity,  330. 

Novalis,  280. 

Observer,  M.   Y.,  280. 

Old  Folks'  Concerts,  622. 

"  Old  Hundred  "  in  Japan,  57. 

"Old  Style,"  252. 

Oliphant,  Mrs.,  406,  453,  548. 


672 


TOPICAL   INDEX. 


Olney  prayer-meeting,  305. 
Open  communion,  353. 
Origin  of  English  Hymns,  159. 
Ox-goad,  317. 

Palm-Sunday  service,  15. 
"  Pant,"  The  word,  45. 
Parable  from  Talmud,  114,  232. 
Parson,  The  good,  173. 
Parsons,  Rev.  Benj.,  290. 
"Passing    the     Primary    School," 

360. 
Pastors  Sketches,  22>2. 
Pastorate,  Unique,   363. 
Patagonian  martyrs,  38. 
Patrick,  Bishop  John,  62,  326,  416. 
Patterson,  Richard,  521. 
Paul  and  Virginia,  611. 
Perfection,  407. 
Personal  influence,  305. 
Phillips,  Philip,  257. 
Photius,  32. 

Piccards  or  Beghards,  89. 
Pierrepont,  Edward,  554. 
Pietists  of  Halle,  276. 
Piety,  52. 
Pirate  vessel,  58. 

Pittsburgh  Landing,  Battle  of,  594. 
Pittsburgh,  First  sermons  in,  56. 

Plagiarism,  512,  607. 

Plague  of  1637,  393. 

Plantation,  Newton's,  475. 

Platform  vs.  Pulpit,  139. 

Plymouth    Brethren,    7,    375,    403, 
425,  520. 

Pomeroy,  Rev.  C.  S.,  D.D.,  468. 

Power  of  a  hymn,  228. 

Praed,  W.  M.,  261. 

Praise,  113. 

Prayer,  459. 

,  Baxter's,  332. 

of  D.  Bethune,  410,  411. 

of  St.  Patrick,  395. 

of  Rinkart,  393. 

test,  441. 

Preaching  to  one's  self,  233. 

without  notes,  83. 


Priestley,  Dr.,  357. 

Prime,  Rev.  S.  Irenaeus,  D.D.,  185. 

Prime,  William  C,  583. 

Probation,  382. 

Prodigal  son,  462,  463. 

Psalms,  "  Old  Version  "  of,  25. 

,  "  Spirit  of  the,"  42. 

,  "  New  Version  '  of,  366. 

,  Wesley's  Version  of,  429. 

Punctuation,  218. 
Punshon,  Rev.  Morley,  91. 
Puseyism,  310. 
Pythagoreans,   200. 

Quakers,  583. 
Quietism,  421. 

Rabaud  St.  Etienne,  611. 

Rabbi  Akiba,  211. 

Rabia's  piety,  557. 

Raikes,  Robert,  118. 

Rankin,  Rev.  E.  E.,  D.D.,  488. 

Rankin,  Rev.  J.  E.,  D.D.,  361. 

Recipe  for  hymn,  85. 

Record  of  one  hymn,  38. 

"Reformation  Symphony,"  5. 

Reid,  Dr.  William,  217,  248. 

Religio  Medici,  172. 

"  Remember  me,"  300. 

Revivals,  99,  509. 

Ribaldry,  299. 

Ritualism,  32. 

"  Robbers  of  churches,"  133. 

Roberts,  Rev.  Wm.  H.,  D.D.,  497. 

Robinson,     Rev.     C.      S.,     D.D., 

quoted,  230,  295,  263,  567. 
Robinson,  Rev.  G.  W.,  447. 
Roll-call  in  heaven,  606. 
Rolle,  Richard,  428. 
Root,  Geo.  F.,  237. 
Rowe,  Thomas,  62. 
Royal  generosity,  480. 
Rural  deans,  157. 
Rutherford,  Samuel,  535. 

Sabbath-breaking,  519. 

evening,  200,  389,  505. 

peace,  391.     See  Sunday. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


673 


Saffron,  354. 
Sandemanians,  170. 
Sailor's  death,  103. 
Sailors  from  Greenland,  159. 
Salisbury  Plain,  527. 
Sands,  Robert  G.,  417. 
Sankey,  Ira  D.,  556. 
Sappho,  463. 
Sarum,  222. 

"Saviour's  Merit,"  The,  219. 
Saunders,  Fred'k,  362. 
Scenery  and  poetry,  489. 
Schaff,  Rev.  Ph.,  D.D.,  211. 
Schleiermacher,  480. 
Sea,  Love  of  the,  8. 
Secession  Church,  106. 
Seeker,  Bishop,  160. 
Second  Advent,  453. 
Sedgwick,  D.,  113,  116,  187. 
Self-denial,  73. 
Self-sacrifice,  240. 
Sermon  of  Dr.  Watts,  29. 

on  the  Mount,  18. 

"  Serpent  and  the  Fox,"  191. 

Sequences,  90. 

Simeon,  Rev.  Charles,  5^2. 

Sin,  231. 

Sing,  Rev.  Thos.,  300. 

Singing,  Prof.  Blackie  on,  33. 

of  hymns,  151. 

schools,  163. 

Sisterhood  of  St.  Margaret,  272. 
"  Sleeping  in  Jesus,"  46. 
Smith,  Dr.  Asa  D.,  71. 
Soldier  songs,  Christian,  29. 
"  Soul  Dirge,"  224. 
Southey,  531. 
Spectator,  The,  93. 
Spring,  Dr.  Gardiner,  557. 
Spurgeon,  Rev.  C.  H.,  289. 
St.  Chad's  Church,  540. 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  397. 
St.  Paul's  and  Niagara,  179. 
St.  Sabas,  41. 
Stars,  Glory  of,  524. 
Steele,  Sir  Richard,  528. 


Stenography,  93. 

Stennett  family,  35. 

Stepping  Heavenward,  386. 

Stockton,  Rev.  T.  H.,  30. 

Story  Lizzie  Told,  289. 

Stryker,  Rev.  M.  W.,  211. 

Subjective  hymns,  435. 

Suffering,  414. 

Sunday  Afternoon,  427. 

Sunday,  337.     See  Sabbath. 

"  Sun-day  hymn,"  334. 

Sunday  hymn,  151. 

Sunday-school  hymns,  491. 

Swedish  hymn,  320. 

Sylvester,  Matthew,  331. 

Talmud,   200,    231,   236,    317,    428, 

519,  547,  585. 

Penuriousness,  424. 

Zeal  for  knowledge,  418. 

Tattersall,  Rev.  W.  D.,  578. 
Taylor,  Ann  and  Jane,  523. 

,  Father,  341. 

,  Jane,  574. 

,  Jeremy,  49,  539. 

,  Rev.  Thomas,  476. 

"  Ten  Theophanies,"  146. 
Tennyson,  460. 
Test  of  a  hymn,  1. 
Thanksgiving  hymn,  419. 
"  Theodosia,"  7. 
Theodulph's  prison  song,  15. 
Thirty  Years'  War,  150. 
Thui7ib  Bible,  49,  171. 
Thunderstorm,  120,  165,  197. 
Tilly,  Gen.,  450. 
Tobacco,  348,  424. 

,  Prof.  Blackie  on,  34. 

Torquay,  308. 

Tracts  for  the  Ti??ies,  312,  329,  501, 

506,  597- 
"  Traveller's  Hymn,"  223. 
Tribune,  N.   Y.,  440. 
Trinity  hymn,  218. 
Trouble  in  congregation,  235. 
Trudel,  Dorothea,  570. 
Tubingen,  278. 


674 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Tune 

"Anvern,"  580. 

Unregenerate  man,  299. 



"Ariel,  "402. 

Unworthiness,  300. 



"  Avison,"  623. 



"  Ball,"  264. 

Vaughan,  Henry,  9,  380,  552. 



"  Brown,"  246. 

Venn,  Henry,  460. 



"  Caritas,"  447. 

"  Verge  of  Jordan,"  198. 



"  Carol,"  264. 

Vesper  service,  Origin  of,  12. 



"  Conquering  Hero,"  91. 

Vicars,  Capt.  Hedley,  541. 



"  Coronation,"  19. 

Vicksburg,  Siege  of,  515. 



"  Courtville,"  402. 

Village  Sermons >  508. 



'  Crusaders'  hymn,"  140. 

Virgil,  464. 



"  Dirge,"  329. 

Voltaire,  266. 



"  Duffield,"  71. 

Walton,  Izaak,  372. 



1  Dundee,"  234. 

Warburton,  Bishop,  239. 



"  Even  me,"  328. 

Ward,  Miss  Anna  L.,  473. 



'  Ganges,"  402. 

,  Rev.  W.  H.,  D.D.,363. 



1  Georgia,"  91. 

,  Rev.  William,  193. 



'  God  Save  the  King,"  113. 

Warner,  Miss  Anna,  219. 



'  Grateful  Memory,"  304. 

Warton,  Philip,  26,  172. 



"  Hanler's  Chorale,"  419. 

Washington,  Geo.,  327. 



"  Hermas,"  190. 

Watts,  Isaac,  Sen.,  61. 



"  Hinsdale,"  242. 

,  Thomas,  61. 



"  Holy  Offerings,"  221. 

Wealth  and  piety,  260. 



"Jesus  Only,"  295. 

Weather  predictions,  20. 



"Luther's  Judgment  Hymn," 

Wedding,  115. 

196. 

Weems's  Life  of  Penn,  279. 



"  Melita,"  137. 

"  Well  beside  the  gate,"  45. 



"  Miles  Lane,"  19. 

Wellesley  College,  265. 



"  Monson,"  246. 

Welsh  hymnology,  371. 



"  Naomi,"  149. 

translation,  497. 



"  Old  Hundred,"  57,  456. 

Wesley  family,  346. 



'  Ortonville,"  165. 

,  Samuel  Sebastian,  550. 



'  Portuguese  Hymn, "  156, 401. 

"  West  "  and  "  South,"  98. 



1  Rock  of  Ages,"  165. 

White,  Chas.  Trumbull,  290. 

' 

'  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  345. 

Whitefield,  Rev.  G.,  274,  465,   520. 



'  Tallis's,"  172. 

Whittle  and  Bliss,  237. 

' 

'Tyng,"  497. 

"  Whosoever,"  37. 

' 

1  Waiting  and  Watching, "  237. 

Wilberforce,  Wm.,  143. 

' 

1  Yarmouth,"  497. 

Williams,  Benjamin,  357. 

, 

A  Welsh,  447. 

,  Joseph,  260. 

"Tweedledum    and    Tweedledee," 

,  Richard,  38. 

94. 

Winchester  School,  172. 

Tyng 

,  Rev.  Dudley  A.,  494,  496. 

"  Windows  of  agates,"  91. 
Wine  and  milk,  148. 

Uncertainties  of  hymnology,  77,  81. 

,  Non-fermented,  359. 

Unitarianism,  355. 

Wood,  Anthony  a',  533. 

TOPICAL   INDEX.  675 


Wolff,  Rev.  J.,  29. 
"Woman-minister,"  80. 
Wordsworth,  William,  611. 

Yankton  College,  512. 


Young  man  and  fortune,  65. 
"  Your  Mission,"  258. 

Zabriskie,  Rev.   F.  N.,  D.D.,  141. 
Zamio,  David,  343. 


It  came  even  to  pass,  as  the  trumpeters  and  singers  were 
as  one,  to  make  one  sound  to  be  heard  in  praising  and 
thanking  the  Lord  ;  and  when  they  lifted  up  their  voice 
with  the  trumpets  and  cymbals  and  instruments  of  music, 
and  praised  the  Lord,  saying,  For  he  is  good  ;  for  his  mercy 
endureth  for  ever  :  that  then  the  house  was  filled  with  a  cloud, 
even  the  house  of  the  Lord  ; 

So  that  the  priests  could  not  stand  to  minister  by  reason 
of  the  cloud  :  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled  the  house 
of  God. — 2  Chron.  v.  13,  14. 


Date  Due 


B  is  ays  it>'53 


f-nrd^ 


55 


FT 


**i  ft  ttMttfe 


